Oceans chief: Future of fishing in local nets

[seamonkey]

Oceans chief: Future of fishing in local nets

Federal oceans chief says fishing's future should stay in the hands of local fishermen

<LI class=byline>By Steve Leblanc, Associated Press Writer
On Sunday July 26, 2009, 10:01 am EDT
BOSTON (AP) -- The head of the agency overseeing ocean fisheries says the government has no interest in consolidating the nation's fishing industry into the hands of a few companies.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said the government can draft rules to help protect family run fisheries that have traditionally plied the nation's coastal waters.

Not all fisherman are convinced the government wants to preserve their way of life. They say the cost of government regulation and oversight is making it harder for individual fishermen to earn a living.

Lubchenco tells The Associated Press that she's opposed to relaxing fishing limits on specific species of fish.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oceans-chief-Future-of-apf-4180812694.html?x=0&.v=1

[dogfish]

I like the catch share idea, as long as there is accurate reporting and verification. Otherwise it's subject to wrong data, and no more effective than things are now.


from that article----

"That system has taken a toll on the local fishing fleet, narrowing the number of days people can fish to about two dozen annually for many in New England.
Environmentalists back the new system, saying it will stop overfishing by limiting how much of a certain species can be caught, while at the same time giving people more control over how to catch the fish.
Lubchenco said the new system can be structured in such a way as to help smaller fishing operations.
"You can design a catch-share program to prevent ending up with just a few big companies," she said. "That is and will be an active part of the discussions about catch-share programs as we are designing them."
Not all fishers are convinced the government wants to help preserve their way of life.
John Haviland, a Massachusetts fisherman with 34 years of commercial experience, said if it weren't for individual fishers pushing back, they would have long ago been squeezed out of the market.
The problem, Haviland said, is that the fishing limits and the cost of government regulations and oversight are making it increasingly difficult for anyone to turn a profit except for larger operations with fleets of boats.
"I personally have the opinion that the fisheries service and NOAA have for a long time wanted to consolidate the East Coast fisheries, and the only thing that hasn't gone their way is that the small boat commercial fishermen have put up a fight," Haviland said.
One key to the success of a catch-share system is an accurate accounting of which fish are being caught. Lubchenco said the government has been investing in the design of new, more accurate monitoring systems.
She also tried to allay fears that some fishers may be tempted to underreport their catch.
"With catch-share programs, fishermen are more likely to want everyone in the fishery to be abiding by the rules," she said.
Lubchenco said she would also be opposed to relaxing fishing limits on specific species of fish. Fishers are skeptical of the science used to formulate fishing rules, citing shifting estimates of various species.
Despite the occasionally frosty sentiments between the federal government and local fishers, Lubchenco said she hopes to forge a strong relationship with fishing communities in the future.
"I see them as our natural allies," she said. "In the end, we care about the same things, and that's the health of the fisheries, the health of the fish."