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Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Cover art by Ellen Hill-Godfrey. Ms. Hill-Godfrey received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her paintings and prints have been exhibited in the Washington, DC, area and throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions. She has done illustrations for the University of Georgia Press and the University of North Carolina's Endeavors magazine. She lives in Germantown, MD, and teaches at The Barnesville School.
COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
JOHN J. MAGNUSON,
University of Wisconsin,
Chairman
DAYTON LEE ALVERSON,
Natural Resource Consultants
CHARLES A. BLACK, Sr.,
Mardela Corporation
GARDNER M. BROWN, JR.,
University of Washington
WILLIAM BURKE,
University of Washington
PAUL K. DAYTON,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
JACOB J. DYKSTRA,
Kingston, RI
JAMES JOSEPH,
InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission
CHARLES MEACHAM,
State of Alaska Fish & Game
WILLIAM J. MERRELL, JR.,
Texas A&M University
DONALD OLSON,
University of Miami
TERRANCE J. QUINN II,
University of Alaska
BRIAN J. ROTHSCHILD,
University of Maryland
Staff
MARY HOPE KATSOUROS, Director
ROBIN PEUSER, Study Director
LAVONCYÉ MALLORY, Project Assistant
CURTIS TAYLOR, Project Assistant
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
Current Members
WILLIAM MERRELL,
Texas A&M University,
Chairman
ROBERT A. BERNER,
Yale University
DONALD F. BOESCH,
University of Maryland
KENNETH BRINK,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
GERALD CANN, Independent Consultant
ROBERT CANNON,
Stanford University
BILIANA CICIN-SAIN,
University of Delaware
WILLIAM CURRY,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
RANA FINE,
University of Miami
JOHN E. FLIPSE,
Texas A&M University
MICHAEL FREILICH,
Oregon State University
GORDON GREVE,
Amoco Production Company
ROBERT KNOX,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
ARTHUR R. M. NOWELL,
University of Washington
PETER RHINES,
University of Washington
FRANK RICHTER,
University of Chicago
BRIAN ROTHSCHILD,
University of Maryland
THOMAS ROYER,
University of Alaska
LYNDA SHAPIRO,
Oregon State University
SHARON SMITH,
University of Miami
PAUL STOFFA,
University of Texas
Staff
MARY HOPE KATSOUROS, Director
EDWARD R. URBAN, JR., Staff Officer
ROBIN PEUSER, Research Associate
DAVID WILMOT, Research Associate
MARY PECHACEK, Administrative Associate
LAVONCYÉ MALLORY, Senior Secretary
CURTIS TAYLOR, Office Assistant
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
Current Members
M. GORDON WOLMAN,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD,
Chair
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, PA
EDITH BROWN WEISS,
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
EDWARD A. FRIEMAN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA
W. BARCLAY KAMB,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt/Clemson University, Nashville, TN
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Canada
THOMAS A. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, FL
WARREN WASHINGTON,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
ROBIN ALLEN, Senior Project Assistant (BOND)
Preface
Marine fish and shellfish are a living renewable resource of vital importance to the nation, and sound management practices are required to ensure their long-term sustainability. Fish are a significant source of protein in human and animal diets; the associated health benefits are becoming increasingly apparent to U.S. consumers. Fishing provides a commercial livelihood on all U.S. coasts, and offers recreational opportunities for millions of Americans.
To assess the effectiveness of the present U.S. fisheries management, a Committee on Fisheries was established in 1992 under the auspices of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council. The committee's charge was to study and report on means of improving our nation's capability to manage its marine fishery resources. Consistent with the policy of the National Research Council, committee members were selected with a wide range of expertise—resource economics, commercial fishing, fisheries policy, fisheries science, oceanography, marine ecology, marine technology, and fisheries management—and viewpoints, to ensure balance and fair treatment.
Since fisheries management encompasses a broad spectrum of issues, the committee used a number of means to gather information from fishery experts. Two meetings were organized so that the committee could hear about critical fisheries issues from panels of interest groups that included congressional staff, federal and state fisheries managers, and representatives of federal agencies, the fishing industry, and environmental organizations. Another meeting was held in conjunction with a national conference, Conserving America's Fisheries: A National Symposium on the Magnuson Act, to provide committee members with an opportunity to participate in a national debate on future U.S. fisheries policy.
The committee also reviewed summaries of testimony submitted for congressional hearings on the reauthorization of the Magnuson Act.
The objective of this report is to present recommendations while Congress considers changes in the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (MFCMA). The committee acknowledges that the report does not represent an in-depth evaluation or assessment of all of the issues relevant to the MFCMA. Rather it reflects the collective, deliberated views and recommendations of experts, who are well familiar with all aspects of the MFCMA, on how the act might be improved in the reauthorization process. The committee's recommendations are designed to enhance the most effective aspects of the present MFCMA and to introduce critically needed clarifications and structural improvements. Where consensus could not be reached, the committee agreed to accept differences of opinion and to present these differences in the report text.
The committee would like to express its gratitude to Dr. Brian Rothschild for serving as chairman during the development of this report. Under his leadership as chairman, the committee made significant steps toward completing a final draft. The committee would also like to thank Eldon Greenberg for his valuable contributions to the committee 's efforts, which include preparation of a review paper on the MFCMA and the evolution of fisheries management, and participation in several discussions on fisheries law and policy.
The committee hopes that this report will serve as a useful resource, contributing proactive recommendations for improving fisheries management, while Congress is engaged in national debate and deliberation related to the MFCMA reauthorization.
John J. Magnuson
Chairman