Implementing effective fisheries management practices in the United States
When the U.S. Congress reauthorized the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Act in 2006, new mandates for sustainable fisheries were introduced. These include requirements to specify annual catch limits for all fisheries at a level such that overfishing does not occur, and to implement measures to ensure accountability for adhering to these limits.
In the summer of 2007, the Lenfest Ocean Program convened a working group of U.S. and international experts in fisheries science and management to discuss how to set catch limits for all species caught in U.S. waters. The Expert Working Group developed a straightforward process for establishing catch limits and accountability measures, which included setting a sufficiently precautionary measure to ensure that overfishing does not occur. The report from the first working group, “Setting annual catch limits for U.S. fisheries,” determined that scientists need to assess each population’s vulnerability to overfishing in order to set sustainable and effective catch limits.
Following the report's recommendations, methods were developed for calculating productivity and susceptibility scores for fish species and close to 150 federally managed species scores were produced. In January 2009, the scientists convened a second working group of domestic and international fisheries experts and managers to review the methodology and incorporate recommendations from the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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