We are a group of fisheries researchers from across New England with expertise spanning marine ecology, fish population dynamics, law, policy and environmental history. We write today to urge U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to maintain the important progress that has been made toward ending overfishing in the northeast multispecies groundfish fishery and elsewhere by adhering to the mandates set out in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) and the subsequent National Standard 1 guidelines (NS1).
Specifically, we urge him to retain the science-based catch limits that have been set for the fishery, preserving and respecting the vital role of science in fisheries management, and more importantly allowing stocks to continue rebuilding as the foundation for productive and sustainable fisheries.
Ecosystems and fish stocks in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank have experienced long-term changes and declines due in large part to systematic overfishing, compromising a range of social, economic and ecological goals and creating a culture of crisis management. A key cause of this trend has been failure to incorporate an adequate degree of precaution in setting and enforcing biologically appropriate catch limits.
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