June 6, 2012 – A new National Marine Fisheries Service rule that will deploy onboard observers to monitor fishing of Northeast groundfish on 17 to 25 percent of fishing trips isn't good enough, the environmental group Oceana says in Federal Court.
"Although the Fisheries Service intends to deploy onboard observers on 17 to 25 percent of all fishing trips in the groundfish fishery, the Fisheries Service failed to demonstrate why, in light of its own reports calling for high or even 100 percent coverage in other similar fisheries, monitoring of only 17 to 25 percent of fishing activity will be sufficient to accurately monitor the catch and adequately enforce catch limits in this fishery," Oceana says in its complaint against the Secretary of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Groundfish live on or near the bottom of the waters they inhabit.
The Fisheries Service issued a final rule this year setting the at-sea monitoring rate target at 17 percent, in addition to an expected 8 percent coverage rate in the Northeast Fishery Observer Program, resulting in an expected 25 percent coverage of all fishing trips in that sector, Oceana says.
Read the full story at Courthouse News Service.
Analysis:
This Courthouse News story stated "The Northeast Multispecies Fishery covers 20 stocks of groundfish off the New England and the Mid-Atlantic Coasts, including Atlantic halibut, cod, pollock, haddock, white hake, redfish, ocean pout, Atlantic wolf fish, yellowtail flounder, windowpane flounder and witch flounder. All have been depleted by overfishing."
However, it is not accurate to blame the stock depletion entirely on overfishing. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, many other factors, most notably, habitat loss, are contributing factors. Also, two other species, American plaice, and winter flounder, which once faced depletion are missing from the list.
However, the article fails to note that redfish, Georges Bank haddock, and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic windowpane flounder are rebuilt and no longer subject to overfishing. American plaice is not overfished nor subject to overfishing. It is rebuilding slowly.
Ocean pout, Atlantic wolf fish and Atlantic halibut remain in an overfished condition, but overfishing on those stocks is no longer occuring.
Overfishing – when the rate of removal from a stock is too high. A priority for the U.S. is ending overfishing so that all stocks can rebuild and be sustained at rebuilt levels.
Overfished – when the population is too low, or below a prescribed threshold. A population can be overfished but be managed under a rebuilding plan that over time returns the population to health.
Rebuilt – when a stock has increased to its target population level after falling below the critical overfished level.