Guest commentator Debbie Salamone is Communications Manager for the Pew Environment Group.
Enjoyed some delicious New England scallop lately? Reeled in a Gulf of Mexico red snapper? Feasted on some mid-Atlantic summer flounder?
Apart from your fishing talent or culinary skills you have thank federal fisheries legislation. How many other fish species, which were once dangerously low, are in better shape today due to protection mechanisms developed to prevent and stop - with fish faster than they can reproduce overfishing.
Wednesday, April 13, the 35th is the country's first comprehensive fisheries anniversary law, most recently with the name Magnuson-Stevens fisheries conservation and Management Act. It has helped to promote America's fishing industry and stored dwindling species, but is now in the midst of the debate.
To a chance to populate some declining species, fishing is either off limits or catch is limited in certain areas. Some fishers complain those measures are economically hurting them, and they believe that the law is too strict. Protection measures for certain species must be done better disagree, successfully rebuild fish populations. The Pew Environment Group supports this position. In debate convened Congress a mistake last month discuss how works, to hear the law.
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The MSA was originally in 1976 eliminate rampant foreign fishing off the coast of the U.S. and encourage the domestic fishing industry. The fish changed in 1996 again focus of promotion of fishing on the conservation. And in 2006 it was increased to deadlines for fisheries to approve science-based limits on catches Manager, which allow not overfishing. When properly performed, can MSA provide robust fish populations.
Take Gulf of Mexico red snapper, for example: one of the many success stories in the MSA. Limits that allow no overfishing scientific fisheries have contributed, the species are older, reaching his best years spawn. Early evidence, that Red Snapper are numerous and spread over a large area. Allowable catch has increased, and this trend is expected to continue as the next species recover.
In the last 20 years the amount of fishing records boosted partly by federal programs and technology, easily find the fishermen, to help their objectives. These decades of unsustainable fishing in some parts of the country have to collapse certain sections of the population and dozens other to dangerously low levels, causes enormous losses for fishermen, coastal communities, and that sea plummeting ecosystem caused.
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The MSA to get through the fisheries Manager to set scientifically sound limits on catch require everything under control. But some fishermen say they don't believe in the data behind these restrictions. Scientists have progress on the difficult process of study of fish, and we must act on the information to the hand or risk further deplete our oceans valuable species.
Congress should maintain its commitment to our marine fish wisely maintain. Now is the time to stay the course because the long-term reward around the corner.
Image: Red Snapper. Credit: Greg McFall, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA.
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