GLOUCESTER, Mass. – February 2, 2010 – The Northeast Seafood Coalition congratulates Senator Brown for asserting leadership on an issue sorely in need of Congressional attention. Congress made clear in both National Standard 8 and the required economic impact statements that understanding and minimizing the economic impacts of federal fishery regulations on fishermen and fishing communities must be among the very top priorities of the Councils and NMFS. Instead, this has proved to be a weak link in the fishery management process as we have experienced first hand with groundfish management. Although prepared by Council and agency staff, fishery impact statements appear to have little if any operative effect in the actual fishery management process and so have been reduced to mere lip service to Congressional intent. When originally championed by Senator Olympia Snowe in the 1990's as part of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA), National Standard 8 was intended to provide the crucial, missing balance to those elements of the SFA that were focused strictly on fish stock conservation. In practice, it is difficult to see any real evidence that the National Standard 8 mandate to minimize adverse economic impacts on fishing communities has been taken seriously in the New England groundfish process. NSC believes that if enacted, the amendments in Senator Brown's bill would substantially reform the fishery management process by providing some real teeth behind National Standard 8 and the fishery impact statements. The requirement for truly independent impact analyses and a mandate for the Secretary of Congress to mitigate unacceptable economic impacts would be a giant leap forward in restoring balance to a process that threatens the foundation and economic stability of the New England groundfish industry. We greatly appreciate Senator Brown's vision and call on fishermen and their representatives in Congress throughout our region and across the nation to get behind this important legislation.
