Vision for Responsibly Harvested Sustainable Fisheries
I am Chris McCaffity, a commercial fisherman who is deeply concerned about the future of America?s fisheries and the public?s access to fresh local seafood. My vision for our fisheries is guided by a life-long love of the sea and decades of on-the-water experience as well as conversations with scientists, environmentalists, fishery managers, fellow fishermen, seafood dealers, and concerned citizens. Please keep an open heart and mind as you read this.
- Sustainable fisheries start with reasonable quotas based on accurate data and sound science.
- The next step is to manage quotas so they are filled with minimal overages and regulatory discards.
- The sustainable fisheries management cycle is completed when landings are accurately documented and we make the most efficient use of harvested seafood.
- Once quotas are properly managed, we need to focus on enhancing our fisheries with things like artificial reefs, wetlands protection, and clean water initiatives. Healthy habitat yields more marine life.
- It is also important for good fishery management practices to be incorporated with other activities on the water like offshore energy production.
- My vision includes preserving independent commercial fishermen along with the culture, character, and heritage we bring to coastal communities.
- Finally, we need to ensure American seafood consumers have better access to our public resources.
These guiding principles can be applied to almost any fishery across the globe with input from local stakeholders. Now that the Congressional timelines to end overfishing have been met, we need to take a little time to solve some of the problems created in the rush to meet those hard deadlines. We need to work together as liaisons toward what should be everyone?s common goal of responsibly harvested sustainable fisheries.
Here are some ways we can accomplish many of the goals listed above.
- We can ask for volunteers to deploy underwater vid
Freefish,
Your comments are very sound and realistic. I like the idea of the reef permit. That would be a sound methodolgy to fishing similar to Game Management areas. The same could be done for MPAs. Permit the area, regulate it and collect valid data, not hypothetical data and assumptions that are made now.
Unfortunately we need some type of accountability and responsibility from SAFMC as well. Indiscriminate regulation is not oversight, nor is it responsible. They need to do their part and do some work to earn their wages. Likewise, how did NOAA become a regulatory body? More big government.
What SAFMC could do, is take these ideas (of which we are doing their job for them) and use it to stop illegal fishing. What are we, the US doing to prevent overfishing from foreign nationals? Many of the Asian countries see nothing wrong in plundering the resources of the ocean and that it was needs to be curbed. The combined efforts will help to ensure that we have these resources available to us for many years to come. But it takes work by all, not just one side.
Sea Hunt BX22 Br
WS Tarpon 140
jczc2414, current recreational landings are nothing but a guess based on fatally flawed data. I know nobody really wants another permit, but there has to be a better way of collecting recreational landings data. The recreational BSB fishery is only projected to last 6 months despite the increased quota. I believe with accurate data, the season could last most of the year. The BSB opening date should also be moved to May 1 to coincide with the shallow-water grouper opening.
We the People need to do a better job of managing all of our public servants. They are just like any other employees, without proper management they will continue to push the boundaries of what they can get away with while still collecting a paycheck.
As for curbing foreign fleets plundering the ocean’s resources, we should ban imports of seafood from nations that do not follow basic sustainable fishing practices.