November 6, 2012 — Some environmentalists are upset that federal regulators continue to set sardine catch limits they say are too high given the declining population.
The controversy is the latest episode in an ongoing debate about management of fish that make up much of the ocean's food base, including sardines, anchovies, squid and more. Monterey-based Oceana, which has an ongoing suit against the government over management of so-called forage fish, said Sunday's decision could hold back sardines' eventual rebound.
"They're fishing the population too hard when it's low," said Geoff Shester, Oceana's California program director. "When you fish it when it's down, you prolong the recovery. … I don't think it's going to come back until we really overhaul the formula that they're using."
Meeting in Costa Mesa, the Pacific Fishery Management Council set the West Coast catch limits at 66,495 metric tons. What upsets Oceana is that parts of that formula used to come up with that number will be considered Wednesday, when the council begins the process of looking at aspects of its fishery management program.
Wednesday is also the day when the state Fish and Game Commission meets in Los Angeles to possibly adopt its own forage fish management policy, which includes consideration a fishery's impact on marine ecosystems, something environmentalists have long sought.
Overall, sardine assessments have been on a decline for several years.
Read the full story at the San Jose Mercury News