This was a historic year for United States ocean management. Thirty-five years after the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) was enacted, we have finally established a system that, if implemented properly, will keep countless marine species healthy and ensure fishermen stay on the water.
By early 2012, science-based annual catch limits should be in place for all of our federally managed ocean fisheries. The regional management councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) deserve a lot of credit for their hard work and their pragmatic and innovative approaches to achieve this important goal. Based on my 25 years of experience with these issues (including a four-year stint at the Fisheries Service), I know this was an extremely heavy lift, and we at Pew congratulate NMFS Director Eric Schwaab and the regional councils on this remarkable accomplishment.
Although we are making significant progress toward restoring depleted fish populations, the job of ending overfishing is far from complete. We also cannot ignore the fact that some fishermen have been hit hard by the short-term quota reductions that are needed to reverse decades of mismanagement.
Read the complete story from The National Geographic.