In the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies‘ publication Environment 360 Dr. Lubchenco answers questions about climate change, ocean acidification and fisheries. Question #9, approximately halfway through the interview, begins the discussion on fisheries.
The agency, tucked inside the Commerce Department, has long suffered from status problems, and during the Bush administration, NOAA staffers frequently complained that their findings were being ignored,or, worse still, suppressed. The appointment of Lubchenco — a marinebiologist from Oregon State University — seemed to signal that the new administration planned, finally, to take NOAA’s work seriously.
Lubchenco is a past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a MacArthur “genius” award-winner, and founder of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, which trains environmental scientists to be more effective communicators.
"NOAA is required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management Act to end overfishing. The important issue is how do we actually accomplish that. Traditional fisheries management has really focused on controlling how many days a year fisherman can fish, what the size of the catch can be, and other related means to control their effort. And that is the way most fisheries are managed, certainly within the United States. There is increasing scientific evidence that an alternate form of fishery management, that has now come to be called “catch shares,” is in fact more effective and produces better results at achieving sustainable fisheries and healthy ecosystems."
"The point … is to align conservation and economic incentives — that if you as a fisherman, or you as a community, that holds these catch shares, you have a vested interest in the future, not just the present, and it’s in your interest to see the value of your portfolio grow through time. "