The Law That's Saving American Fisheries - Ocean Conservancy

V. Innovators find ways to make the system work
Boats are anchored in the harbor in Ketchikan, Alaska. The 49th state was the location of an early and
successful fishery rebuilding program.
Jay Slupesky
In creating the framework of eight regional
councils, the drafters of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act anticipated that they would need the
experience, ingenuity, and savvy of the men and
women who work on the water. By bringing regional
know-how and specifics to a national system of
rebuilding, the councils have found myriad ways
to end overfishing, recover overfished stocks, and
enable people to keep fishing.
The rebuilding requirements give councils flexibility
in designing plans for overfished populations.
Regional bodies used that flexibility to craft plans
for more than 50 commercially and recreationally
important species using rebuilding timetables
ranging from four to 35 years, and some even to
100 years. In fact, half the current rebuilding plans
for overfished populations exceed the statutory
target period of 10 years, because the law allows
managers to take into account the biology of the
fish, environmental conditions, and international
management agreements. In those cases, the
timeline for rebuilding can be extended.
As U.S. fishermen face the transition from overfishing
to sustainability, many have found ways to stay
profitable in the short term while they work
with the councils to chart a course for long-term
stability. Rob Seitz and Glen Libby are two of
those innovators.
22 It’s a Keeper