U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy - Joint Ocean Commission Initiative

CHAPTER 19ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLEFISHERIESThe current fishery management regime’s emphasis on local participation, couplingof science and management, and regional flexibility is laudable. Nevertheless, thelast thirty years have witnessed overexploitation of many fish stocks, degradationof habitats, and negative consequences for too many ecosystems and fishingcommunities. To ensure the long-term sustainability of U.S. fisheries, maximizesocial and economic benefits, and reinforce the principle that livingmarine resources are held in public trust for the benefit of all U.S.citizens, fishery management must be improved. While ultimatelythe management of fisheries should move toward a more ecosystembasedapproach, specific reforms can produce some immediateimprovements. These include increasing the role of science byseparating allocation and assessment, better integration ofecosystem science, data collection, and processing with managementand enforcement, and exploring the use of dedicated accessprivileges. Finally, improved regional coordination and planningwill help put fishery management in the broader context of oceanand coastal management.Contemplating Thirty Yearsof Fishery ManagementWhen the Stratton <strong>Commission</strong> report was released in 1969, marinefisheries were largely unregulated and coastal states had primaryresponsibility for fishery management. The U.S. fishing industry was behindmuch of the world both in harvesting fish and technical sophistication. Distantfishing nations, such as Japan, Spain, and what was then the Soviet Union, dominatedharvests on the coasts of North America, fishing just outside the 3 nautical milelimit of U.S. territorial waters.But fishery harvests around the world were increasing in the 1960s, and many peoplebelieved they would continue to increase indefinitely. The Stratton <strong>Commission</strong> predictedthat enhanced technology and intensified exploitation of new species could eventuallyincrease worldwide landings from 60 million metric tons in 1966 to 440–550 milliontons. 1 That <strong>Commission</strong> saw fisheries as an area of immense opportunity, and called for274 A N O CEAN B LUEPRINT FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY