Regular readers of this weblog know that I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation in addition to Management Act, in addition to to a greater extent than particularly, of the conservation in addition to administration provisions of that deed which prohibit overfishing in addition to require the timely rebuilding of overfished stocks.
Those regular readers also know that I am a frequent critic of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in addition to other nation administration systems, largely because they don’t conduct hold such legally-enforceable requirements, in addition to ofttimes brand decisions inwards which economic, political in addition to social considerations are elevated inwards a higher house the demand to keep in addition to restore salubrious fish populations.
To that end, it’s in all likelihood worth noting that ASMFC’s one-time vision statement
“Healthy, self-sustaining populations for all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration good inwards progress past times the twelvemonth 2015”
has been abandoned, in addition to has been replaced by
“Sustainably Managing Atlantic Coastal Fisheries.”
All cite of “healthy”populations in addition to “successful restoration”, much less “by the twelvemonth 2015”, has been deleted, which in all likelihood makes feel from ASMFC’s standpoint, equally the aspirations expressed its previous vision statement, piece sure enough noble in addition to worthwhile, were never matched past times the organization’s real-world accomplishments, largely because the lack of legally-enforceable standards made it slow for ASMFC’s diverse species administration boards to avoid making the form of hard, but ever unpopular, decisions that are ofttimes needed to successfully restore badly depleted fish stocks
ASMFC’s administration procedure was criticized in 1 lawsuit once again final November.
Prior to that meeting, the Management Board had been deluged amongst comments from the public, which overwhelmingly supported the adoption of interim biological reference points, which would conduct hold required managers to consider menhaden’s role equally a provender fish, in addition to non but fishing’s deport upon on the sustainability of the stock, in addition to opposed whatever increment inwards menhaden harvest. However, inwards the end, the Management Board voted the other way, rejecting the interim reference points in addition to increasing the annual grab limit.
Such votes came equally a surprise to many inwards the conservation community, including both the professionals at diverse non-governmental organizations in addition to the many concerned individuals who idea that Management Board failed to properly stand upwards for the public’s involvement inwards a salubrious menhaden stock, in addition to instead bent over backward to adjust the demands of both the Commonwealth of Virginia, which had previously been granted nigh 85% of the overall menhaden harvest, in addition to Omega Protein Corporation, which harvests an overwhelming bulk of the Virginia allocation.
During the many post-mortems that took house afterwards the Management Board met in addition to made its decisions, some folks blamed the outcome on ASMFC’s legally unfettered approach to fisheries management, in addition to argued that the outcome would conduct hold been quite unlike had menhaden been managed nether Magnuson-Stevens.
It’s an interesting argument, in addition to 1 worth a flake of thought.
Although Magnuson-Stevens is a long in addition to complicated law, its strength in addition to effectiveness equally a conservation tool tin travel boiled downwards to a few primal provisions.
One is the concept of “optimum” yield, which for purposes of this give-and-take tin travel defined as
“…the amount of fish which volition render the greatest overall exercise goodness to the nation, peculiarly amongst honour to nutrient production in addition to recreational opportunities, in addition to taking into occupation organisation human relationship the protection of marine ecosystems [and] is prescribed equally such on the footing of the maximum sustainable yield from the fishery, equally reduced past times whatever relevant economic, social, or ecological factor…”
Such primal provisions also include National Standards One in addition to Two, which require that
“Conservation in addition to administration measures shall foreclose overfishing piece achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the U.S.A. line-fishing industry,”
and
“Conservation in addition to administration measures shall travel based on the best scientific information available.”
Finally, to assure that salubrious stocks are maintained at sustainable levels in addition to that depleted stocks are returned to health, Magnuson-Stevens requires that each regional fishery administration council
“develop annual grab limits for each of its managed fisheries that may non function past times the line-fishing grade recommendations of its scientific in addition to statistical commission or the peer review process…”
and that
“for a fishery that is overfished, whatever fishery administration plan, amendment, or proposed regulations…shall specify a fourth dimension menstruum for rebuilding the fishery that shall travel equally curt equally possible…and non function past times 10 years, except inwards cases where the biological scientific discipline of the stock of fish, other environmental conditions, or administration measures nether an international understanding inwards which the U.S.A. participates dictate otherwise… [internal numbering omitted]”
ASMFC isn’t legally outflow past times whatever of those guidelines, so the interrogation to travel asked is, had menhaden been federally managed rather than managed past times the states through ASMFC, would the outcome conduct hold been whatever different?
The most recent benchmark menhaden stock assessment, accepted for administration utilisation inwards 2015, found that
“Based on the electrical current adopted benchmarks, the Atlantic menhaden stock status is non overfished in addition to overfishing is non occurring. In addition, the stock is currently below the electrical current line-fishing mortality target in addition to inwards a higher house the electrical current [fecundity] target [an gauge of the eggs produced past times the stock, used inwards house of a biomass reference point]. The line-fishing mortality charge per unit of measurement is currently at F65% which is the lowest [fishing mortality rate] inwards the fourth dimension series.”
That existence the case, fifty-fifty if the menhaden stock was federally managed, or if ASMFC was outflow past times the linguistic communication of Magnuson-Stevens, neither the overfishing prohibition inwards National Standard One nor the 10-year rebuilding requirement would conduct hold prevented managers from making the same decisions that were made inwards November.
However, that nevertheless leaves opened upwards the interrogation of whether the annual grab boundary adopted past times the Management Board would constitute “optimum” yield equally defined inwards federal fisheries law. Arguments tin easily travel made that it would not. But those arguments would non reverberate a consensus on what the optimum yield ought to be; factions supporting either a higher or a lower annual grab boundary would each travel able to cite linguistic communication in addition to information that justifies their positions.
On Dec 20, 2017, Virginia did, inwards fact, appeal the Management Board’s decision, arguing inwards role that the annual grab boundary was ready likewise low. Virginia noted that
“the [Management] Board was presented amongst information indicating that raising the [total allowable catch] to 220,000 metric tons would termination inwards absolutely no adventure of the line-fishing mortality target existence exceeded in addition to raising the [total allowable catch] fifty-fifty higher would termination inwards solely a minor adventure of exceeding the target…The Board raised the [total allowable catch] past times 8%, setting it at 216,000 metric tons…
“In sum, the Board’s decisions on the [total allowable grab in addition to other, related matters]…are excessively restrictive in addition to unnecessary for the conservation of the menhaden fishery, should non travel allowed to persist. Virginia believes that the Interstate Fisheries Management Board should instead gild that the total allowable grab travel ready at 220,000 metric tons…”
A alphabetic lineament from ASMFC’s Chairman, James Gilmore of New York, made it clear that ASMFC volition non adjust that request, although it is willing to listen an appeal on the related, reduced cap on menhaden harvest inwards Chesapeake Bay. Would the grab boundary conduct hold been whatever higher if menhaden were federally managed?
Maybe.
The interrogation is whether a higher grab boundary would render “the greatest overall exercise goodness to the nation,” in addition to that’s a debatable question.
Certainly, a larger harvest would, at to the lowest degree inwards the curt term, render a greater economical exercise goodness to menhaden fishermen in addition to the menhaden industry, so inwards that respect, a 220,000 metric ton annual grab boundary would render a greater economic exercise goodness than 1 of 216,000 metric tons.
However, setting optimum yield requires that factors other than but economical gains travel considered.
In determining “the greatest overall exercise goodness to the nation,” managers are directed to give item consideration to “food production in addition to recreational opportunities.” Neither such component is straight relevant here, although the declaration could travel made that abundant menhaden in addition to other provender fish sustain in addition to concentrate of import nutrient in addition to recreational fish species, in addition to inwards that way enhances both nutrient production in addition to recreation.
But ecological factors also come upwards into play. In determining optimum yield, managers are directed to “[take] into occupation organisation human relationship the protection of marine ecosystems” in addition to are authorized to ready optimum yield at some grade below maximum sustainable yield if justified past times whatever “ecological factor.”
The conservation community in addition to the vast bulk of those who submitted populace comments made but those points: That interim ecological reference points were needed, in addition to no harvest increment should conduct hold been considered, because of menhaden’s importance to the marine ecosystem equally a provender fish.
Based on those arguments, had menhaden been federally managed, at that spot is expert ground to believe that interim ecological reference points would conduct hold been adopted, in addition to the annual grab boundary would non conduct hold been increased—provided that the requirements of National Standard Two were met: Such interim reference points, in addition to such lower grab limit, would conduct hold to travel justified past times the best available science.
And that’s just where things brutal apart at the Management Board.
While few fisheries managers seriously uncertainty the of import ecological role played past times menhaden, in addition to the endeavor to calculate menhaden-specific environmental reference points received broad support, the interim reference points preferred past times most of the public, including me, turned out to travel badly flawed, inwards a way that nosotros all originally missed.
The preferred interim points, designated “Option E” inwards a draft document released past times ASMFC, would conduct hold ready a target menhaden biomass at 75% of the biomass of an unfished stock, in addition to ready a threshold biomass at 40% of a virgin population. Remedial administration activity would solely travel required if biomass brutal below the threshold level.
The occupation amongst those reference points is that biomass includes all individuals inwards the population, immature fish equally good equally spawning-age adults. And inwards the representative of relatively short-lived provender fish such equally menhaden, which are eaten past times but nigh every larger predator that swims inwards or flies inwards a higher house the coastal sea, a lot of the biomass is made upwards of individuals that are likewise immature to reproduce, piece most of the line-fishing endeavor targets the sexually mature fish. As a result, equally explained at the Nov meeting,
“if you lot were to ramp upwards line-fishing mortality to the grade that would allow you lot to attain that threshold level, the vast bulk of the biomass exists inwards [zero twelvemonth old fish] in addition to [one twelvemonth old fish] in addition to and then equally you lot come inwards the [two twelvemonth old fish] the population actually starts to decay for line-fishing in addition to natural mortality in addition to all of those reasons.
“That is why the foible of that item role of the [environmental reference points] exists, in addition to that is you lot tin actually whack those older ages in addition to drive them downwards to nigh zero; but you lot nevertheless conduct hold plenty biomass inwards the zeros in addition to ones in addition to twos to run into that metric. But if you lot were to in addition to then compare it to your fecundity metrics that you lot had been using that is where you lot would see the large difference.”
Thus, had menhaden been federally managed, it’s possible—but past times no agency sure or perchance fifty-fifty probable—that the annual grab boundary would non conduct hold been increased.
On the other hand, the preferred interim ecological reference points would nevertheless conduct hold been doomed. National Standard One prohibits overfishing, in addition to overfishing occurs when
“[the] grade of line-fishing mortality…jeopardizes the capacity of a fishery to gain the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.”
And since, equally explained at the Nov meeting, the grade of line-fishing mortality proposed inwards the favored interim reference signal would conduct hold sharply reduced the fecundity of the stock, to a signal where the spawning stock biomass would travel “driven downwards to nigh zero,” such interim reference points would non run into the minimum criterion established past times Magnuson-Stevens.
Thus, the fate of such interim reference points would conduct hold been no unlike had menhaden been federally managed.
However, equally this give-and-take demonstrates, what Magnuson-Stevens would conduct hold brought to the tabular array is an orderly ready of standards that could conduct hold been used to evaluate the diverse administration options, a sort of structured analysis that is ofttimes absent at ASMFC.
While, amongst honour to menhaden, the termination would in all likelihood conduct hold been the same regardless of the administration body, that is ofttimes non the case, in addition to it is hard to debate that the ASMFC procedure would non travel improved in addition to made to a greater extent than effective if the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was outflow past times the same sort of objective legal standards that bind federal managers.
Would Menhaden Convey Done Amend Nether Magnuson-Stevens?
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Oleh
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