Attorney Stephen M. Ouellette of Gloucester, who is a panelist in Monday's meeting with Dr. Lubchenco arranged by Senator Kerry, has released a statement which he plans to submit during tomorrow's meeting.
If the intent of Congress is to rebuild fisheries, including the fishing industry and fishing communities, either NOAA must reassess its interpretation of the Magnuson Act, or Congress must modify the Act to allow managers flexibility in rebuilding timetables to permit healthier stocks to be harvested while slower stocks recover.
The present interpretation of the Magnuson Act rebuilding requirements holds that every stock in a multi-species complex must be rebuilt within the timeframes specified even where it reduces or eliminates landings of healthier stocks. Not only does this prevent Optimum Yield from being attained on an ongoing basis and waste valuable fish, it also requires frequent modifications to regulations, with resultant negative impact on fishermen and their communities, as periodically one stock or another will drop below its overfished threshold (due to natural occurrences, fishing effort, climate change…), once again requiring rebuilding which will impact the ability to harvest other stocks.
NOAA could adjust its interpretation to avoid this absurdity and recognize flexibility within Magnuson for multi-species stocks, as noted in my letter of August, 2009 to the New England Fishery Management Council. NOAA refuses to do so, adopting the most harmful interpretation to the industry by requiring fishing effort to be determined by the lowest stock in a multi-species complex, and Congress needs to act immediately. The easiest solution to the problem is to relax rebuilding deadlines, letting Councils balance the speed of rebuilding with the economic needs of fishermen and communities. Congress should also clarify that multi-species stocks are to be given greater flexibility in rebuilding to allow for harvest of Optimum Yield from those fisheries on an ongoing basis, even if it results in an extension of rebuilding periods for other stocks.
Attorney Ouellette's comments complete with charts and data are available here.