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Alan Risenhoover, DirectorNOAA Fisheries Office of Sustainable Fisheries

New Mandates for Improving the Management of Marine Fisheries in

the United States

Mike Baird

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Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA)

• Governs marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters

– Enacted in 1976

– Amended in 1996 and 2007 (MSRA)

• Original Goals

– Conserve and manage U.S. fisheries

– Phase out foreign fishing, develop domestic capacity

– Provide stakeholders a role in management (Councils)

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Goals of 1996 Amendments

• Achieve optimum yield (OY) in all fisheries

– Social, economic, and ecological considerations

• End overfishing

• Rebuild overfished fisheries

• Minimize bycatch

• Protect fisheries habitat

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Goals of 2007 Amendments (MSRA)

• End and prevent overfishing

• Improve science and its role in decision-making

• Promote market-based management approaches

• Promote international cooperation to address IUU fishing and bycatch of protected living marine resources

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Status of U.S. Fisheries:Where are we now?

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What is the difference?

Overfishing – Rate of harvest is unsustainable.

Left alone, leads to overfished stocks

Overfished – Stock size has fallen below a sustainable level

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New England:1. Cod – Gulf of Maine2. Cod – Georges Bank3. Yellowtail flounder – Georges Bank4. Yellowtail flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic5. Yellowtail flounder – Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine6. White Hake7. Winter Flounder – Georges Bank8. Winter Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic

Stocks “Subject to Overfishing” (43) – as of 3rd quarter 2007

Mid-Atlantic:1. Summer flounder2. Scup

South Atlantic:1. Vermilion Snapper2. Red Snapper3. Snowy Grouper4. Golden Tilefish5. Red Grouper6. Black Sea Bass7. Gag8. Black Grouper9. Speckled Hind10.Warsaw Grouper11.*Red Drum

Gulf of Mexico:1. Red Snapper2. Greater Amberjack3. Gag4. Gray Triggerfish

Caribbean:1. Snapper Unit 12. Grouper Unit 13. Grouper Unit 44. Queen Conch5. *Parrotfishes

Pacific:1.Petrale sole2.Yellowfin Tuna – Eastern Pacific

Western Pacific1. Bottomfish Multi-Species Complex – Hawaiian Archipelago

Highly Migratory Species:1. Blue Marlin – Atlantic2. White Marlin – Atlantic3. Sailfish – West Atlantic4. Bigeye Tuna – Atlantic5. Albacore – North Atlantic6. Bluefin Tuna – West Atlantic7. Sandbar Shark8. Finetooth Shark9. Dusky Shark

Note: * indicates non-FSSI stock

Pacific and Western Pacific1. Bigeye Tuna – Pacific

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New England:1. Cod – Gulf of Maine2. Cod – Georges Bank3. Haddock – Gulf of Maine4. Haddock – Georges Bank5. American Plaice6. Yellowtail flounder – Georges Bank7. Yellowtail flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic8. Yellowtail flounder – Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine9. White Hake10. Windowpane Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic11. Winter Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic12. Ocean Pout13. Atlantic Halibut14. Winter skate15. Thorny skate16. *Atlantic Salmon

Overfished Stocks (47) – as of 3rd quarter 2007

New England/Mid Atlantic:1. Monkfish – North2. Monkfish – South

Mid-Atlantic:1. Summer Flounder2. Scup3. Butterfish (Atlantic)

South Atlantic:1. Pink shrimp2. Snowy grouper3. Black Sea Bass4. Red Porgy

Gulf of Mexico:1. Red Snapper2. Greater Amberjack

Caribbean:1. Grouper Unit 12. Grouper Unit 23. Grouper Unit 44. Queen Conch

Pacific:1. Bocaccio2. Darkblotched Rockfish3. Cowcod4. Yelloweye Rockfish

Western Pacific1. Seamount Groundfish Complex – Hancock Seamount

North Pacific:1. Blue King Crab – Pribilof Islands2. Blue King Crab – Saint Matthews Island

Highly Migratory Species:1. Blue Marlin – Atlantic2. White Marlin – Atlantic3. Sailfish – West Atlantic4. Bigeye Tuna – Atlantic5. Albacore – North Atlantic6. Bluefin Tuna – West Atlantic7. Sandbar Shark8. Porbeagle Shark9. Dusky Shark

Note: * indicates non-FSSI stockBlue = stocks also “subject to overfishing”

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Domestic Provisions of MSRA

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End and Prevent Overfishing

Annual Catch Limits

• Set at limits “such that overfishing does not occur”

• May not exceed recommendations of Councils’ scientific committees (SSCs)

• Accountability

• Required for stocks currently undergoing overfishing by 2010; all other stocks in 2011

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Promote Market-Based Approaches

• Additional management tool

• Transferable permit specifying the amount of catch a privilege holder may harvest

• Goals: rebuild overfished stocks, reduce overcapacity, promote safety

• Seek to provide social and economic benefits

• Allocations must be “fair and equitable” and prevent acquisition of excessive shares

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Improve Science for Management

Recreational Fisheries Data

• New program to improve the collection, analysis, and use of recreational fisheries data

• Registry of recreational fishermen

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Improve Science for Management (cont.)

• Stronger role for scientific and statistical committees

• Enhanced review of scientific information

• New regional pilot programs for ecosystem research

• New Research Programs

– Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program

– Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program

– Cooperative Research and Management Program

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Deep Sea Corals in MSRA

• Required new Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program

• Additional authority for Councils and NOAA to designate zones to protect corals from damage from fishing gear

• Deep sea coral habitats are biologically diverse, fragile, and a U.S. priority for protection

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The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States

• Released December 10, 2007.

• Basis of upcoming Report to Congress (January 2008)

• Highlights deep coral

– distribution and ecology

– threats they face, and

– U.S. conservation actions

• Addresses MSRA requirement to “identify existing research on and known locations of deep sea corals”

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Bycatch Reduction

• A new Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program

• Incentives to reduce bycatch, seabird interactions, and post-release mortality

• Coordination on seabird interactions

• Annual report to Congress (starting 2009)

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Bycatch Reduction Research Example

• To reduce interactions of sharks with fishing gear, research on Electropositive (E+) metals: – E+ metals react with seawater, producing large electric fields, unlike

inert metals such as lead.

– Large electric fields may disrupt the electric sense of sharks, making them avoid bait associated with E+ metal alloys.

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NEPA-MSA Streamlining

• Requires revised Agency procedures for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to:

– conform to the timelines for review and approval of fishery management actions

– integrate environmental analytical procedures and time frames for public input

• The Secretary must work with the Regional Councils and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

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Other Provisions

• Strengthens conflict of interest rules for Councils

• Improve fisheries enforcement through state and federal cooperation

• Address impacts to fisheries and fishing communities from recent hurricanes

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International Provisions

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International Fisheries & Protected Living Marine Resources

Actions must be taken to:

– Address international overfishing

– Reduce bycatch of protected living marine resources (LMRs)

– Strengthen international organizations with fisheries management oversight

– Combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing

– Promote improved monitoring and compliance of international fisheries

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Biennial Report to Congress

• Must include:

– Status of international living marine resources (LMRs)

– Identify nations whose vessels engage in IUU fishing or bycatch of protected LMRs

– Identify measures taken by nations or international fishery management organizations to end IUU fishing or reduce bycatch of LMRs

– Corrective actions taken or encouraged domestically or abroad

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Identification of Nations

• After identification, U.S. government will:

– Notify nations of their identification and the Act’s requirements to address IUU fishing and bycatch

– Initiate consultations with those nations

– Notify relevant international organizations of U.S. actions to address IUU fishing

– Seek international agreements to reduce bycatch

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Certification Procedures

• U.S. Commerce Secretary must certify whether corrective action has been taken

• Nations must be notified and provided an opportunity to comment

• Identified nations will receive either “positive” or “negative” certification

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International Cooperation and Assistance

• Support efforts to build capacity in other countries for fisheries management and enforcement

• U.S. has supported workshops on:

– Methods to prevent and mitigate incidental take of marine turtles, mammals, seabirds, and other resources

– Marine mammal stranding response

– Enforcement and preventing IUU fishing

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Summary of the MSRA

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Domestic Provisions

• End and prevent overfishing

• Additional fisheries management tools

• Enhanced role for science in management

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International Provisions

• Opportunities and challenges to improve fisheries management globally

• Multilateral process to address IUU fishing and bycatch

• Requires our commitment to strengthen international fishery organizations and capacity building

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Stay Informed:

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/