Fisheries scientist Brian Rothschild Wednesday cited the Obama administration's refusal to appoint the consensus choice of industry and state political leaders to a third term representing North Carolina on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council as the most recent sign the council system is broken.
In April, Rothschild testified to a congressional subcommittee that the way the system operates, it "disenfranchises" the fishing industry, which is subject to council regulation and policies. Such a system cannot earn the respect of those it governs, he argued to the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife of the House Natural Resources Committee.
To fix the problem, Rothschild recommends that councilors be elected directly by fishing communities; he also urged making the council full-time and cutting its size down from about 18 members to five or six.
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