Bowing to pressure from fishermen and Congress, and citing the grim economic environment, the National Marine Fisheries Service yesterday announced interim fishing regulations substantially less onerous than ones the agency had originally proposed in January.
"We listened to fishermen, conservationists, scientists, our leaders in the states and Congress, and decided to significantly modify our proposed rule," said Jane Lubchenco, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a telephone conference call with reporters. She said yesterday’s changed rule was "a significant compromise" to sustain fishermen, while still getting conservation benefits.
Yesterday, Lubchenco said the compromise measure was possible largely because fishery managers are working on a radically different type of plan that could end the chronic overfishing that has plagued New England’s fish stocks.
"Today’s announcement is very much about the future, a future with a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy ocean," Lubchenco said.
The current fishery management plan rewards those who go out to catch the most fish they can, as fast as regulations allow. That race has resulted in unsustainable amounts landed each year, despite increasingly harsh regulations.
The new management plan, known as Amendment 16, is currently under development by the New England Fishery Management Council. It promotes sector management, in which groups of fishermen form cooperatives that manage a percentage of the overall quota themselves.