A senior federal official today said his organization needs to do a better job of overseeing the management of the New England fishery. Eric Schwaab, the head the National Marine Fisheries Services, known as NFMS, released the first part of a highly-anticipated independent review of the agency that devises the region's fishing rules.
Speaking to reporters in a telephone news conference from a meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council in Mystic, Connecticut, Schwaab stopped short of overt self-criticism. "Every organization, no matter its size or how well-run, can benefit from efforts to improve its processes," he said.
He stressed that the decision of NMFS to undertake this review nine months ago does not mean the system is broken. "It also does not mean that the progress we're making together with the Fishery Management Council is not real, only that we can do better," he said. "We know we can do better for the fish, and the other resources we're responsible to manage. We know we can do better for the fishermen and the fishing communities–and frankly we can do better for our own process."
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