The Fisheries Management Experience in the United States: History, Legal Instruments and Performance Steven Murawski University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 smurawski@usf.edu 1 st International Symposium on Marine Fisheries Management in Brazil: Challenges and Opportunities Brasília 6-8 July, 2015, 2014 1
Outline Brief Overview of USA Fisheries History and Provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act, 1976- present The Roles of Managers, Scientists and Regulators Performance of Managed Fisheries Ongoing Challenges: 2015 and beyond
Managing USA Fisheries in Layers 30 individual marine coastal states in the USA + territories such as PR, VI, American Samoa, Guam, N. Mariana Islands all control their territorial seas (ex. NMI) usually 3 miles, TX, FL have 9 mi seas Three state commissions: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), Gulf of Mexico Marine Fisheries Commission; Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Federal government used to control 12 n.mi. Federal territorial sea and the continental shelves In 1983 President Reagan issues a Proclamation claiming a 200 mile exclusive economic zone around the USA Beyond the USA national Jurisdiction there 11 international Regional Fishery Management Organizations or RFMOs that the US is a signatory to. 3
N.B.: the USA is a big country with extremely diverse fisheries Ecosystem Goal Team & Technology, Planning and Integration Program Office
Management before Extended Jurisdiction Boston Fish Pier - 1932
Sequential Depletion Atlantic Halibut 1000 Landings (Metric Tons) 800 600 400 200 Landings Others Canada USA 0 1893 1903 1913 1923 1933 1943 1953 1963 1973 1983 1993 Year
Distant Water Fleets 1960-1976.try to imagine a mobile and completely self-contained timber-cutting machine that could smash through the roughest trails of forest, cut down trees, mill them, and deliver consumer-ready lumber in half the time of normal logging and milling operations. This was exactly what factory trawlers did this was exactly their effect in the forests of the deep. It could not long go unnoticed. Distant Water William Warner
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act History Originally Passed in 1976 (signed by President Ford) Congressional Sponsors were: Senate: Warren Magnuson & Ted Stevens House: Don Young (AK) and Gerry Studds (MA) Intent: Get control of foreign fishing to Americanize USA fisheries and create incentives to rebuild USA fisheries 12
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (1976-present) f Eight Regional Councils defined: - New England (ME, NH, MA, RI, CT) - Mid-Atlantic (NY, NJ, DE, VA, MD, NC) - South Atlantic (NC, SC, GA, FL) - Caribbean (VI, PR) - Gulf of Mexico (FL, AL. MS, LA, TX) - Pacific (WA, OR, CA, ID) - North Pacific (AK, WA) - Western Pacific (HA, SA, NMI, GA) individuals who, by reason of their occupational or other experience, scientific expertise or training, are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management, or the commercial or recreational harvest, of the fishery resources of the geographical area concerned. 13
8 Regional Fishery Management Councils 14
Fishery Management Councils Membership of each Council: - 1 state marine fisheries official from each state - at least one representative from each state (fisher, scientist, NGO person) - several at large members (including tribal if appropriate) - NMFS Regional Administrator - non-voting members from USFWS, USCG, DOS Role: develop fishery management plans (FMPs) for each major fishery in the region, develop appropriate plan amendments, collaborate with contiguous councils, assure that plans meet the 10 national standards, monitor and modify their plans accordingly 15
XI-XV How to Implement Fisheries Management There is no manual for what we are attempting!
10 USA National Standards for Fishery Management Plans #1 Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the United States fishing industry (optimum yield is maximum sustainable yield as reduced by any relevant economic, social or ecological factor ) this standard has primacy over all others #2 Conservation and management measures shall be based upon the best scientific information available #3 To the extent practicable, an individual stock of fish shall be managed as a unit throughout its range, and interrelated stocks of fish shall be managed as a unit or in close coordination 17
National Standards for Fishery Management Plans #4 Conservation and management measures shall not discriminate between residents of different states. allocations shall be (A) fair and equitable to all such fishermen, (B) reasonably calculated to promote conservation, and (C) carried out so no entity acquires and excessive share #5 Conservation and management actions shall, where practicable, consider efficiency in the utilization of fishery resources; except that no such measure shall have economic allocation as its sole purpose #6 Conservation and management measures shall take into account and allow for variations in, fisheries, fishery resources and catches. 18
National Standards for Fishery Management Plans #7 Conservation and management measures shall, where practicable, minimize costs and avoid unnecessary duplication #8 Conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the conservation requirements of this act (including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data and meet the requirements of (#2) in order to (A) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (B) to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities 19
National Standards for Fishery Management Plans #9 Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, (A) minimize bycatch and (B) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such bycatch #10 Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, promote the safety of human life at sea. 20
The Fishery Management Plan (FMP) Cycle Estimate ACLs Evaluate Success and options for management biological, social, and economic perspectives Council Scientific and Statistical Committees Regional Fishery Management Councils Develop FMPs that meet the 10 National Standards Recommend Allocations among sectors Public Process and Transparency Implement FMP Measures Enforce regulations NMFS, States, Coast Guard National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Evaluate Proposed FMPs for NS Consistency Approve Measures
Science Supporting Fisheries Management Basic science questions: - what is the current biomass relative to the target? - what is the current harvest rate relative to the target? - what Annual Catch limit is required to stay under the maximum fishing mortality rate limit (MFML) - what combination of ACLs is required to rebuild the stock (if required) by the end of the rebuilding plan? Basic science requirements: - estimates of the current harvest rate - estimates of the current stock size - estimates of the size of recruit age classes - robust projection methods for years t+1, t+2.. Ecosystem Goal Team & Technology, Planning and Integration Program Office
Science is the Cornerstone of Good Management TRENDS IN RELATIVE ABUNDANCE Fishery- Independent Data INDICES OF STOCK ABUNDANCE AND RECRUITMENT SCIENTIFIC ADVICE CATCH AND ABUNDANCE PROJECTIONS EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT OPTIONS ESTIMATE CURRENT ABUNDANCE AND FISHING MORTALITY AT AGE (MODELS) CALIBRATION HISTORICAL ABUNDANCE AND FISHING MORTALITY AT AGE CATCH-AT-AGE MATRIX (NUMBERS) Making a Fish Stock Assessment YIELD/RECRUIT SSB/RECRUIT BIOLOGICAL DATA GROWTH MORTALITY etc. SEQUENTIAL POPULATION ANALYSIS TRENDS IN RELATIVE ABUNDANCE Fishery- Dependent Data INDICES OF STOCK ABUNDANCE: CPUE/LANDINGS AGE-LENGTH KEY SIZE COMPOSITION LENGTH/WEIGHT FISHERY CATCHES RESEARCH VESSEL SURVEYS BIOLOGICAL DATA GROWTH MORTALITY etc. OBSERVER SAMPLING DISCARDS KEPT FISHERIES: LANDINGS EFFORT SAMPLING
President Bush signs reauthorization of the M-S FCMA in 2007
Some Highlights from the 2007 Reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act End Overfishing in two years for all stocks (2010, 2011) Annual Catch Limits (ACL) and accountability measures Strengthen International management (IUU illegal, unregulated and unreported) Improve Fishery-Dependent Data, National Data collection Programs & Recreational Registration Program in absence of State Licenses, improved Social & Economic Data Improved Science supporting Management: Formalize Peer Review, Funding for Observer Programs Greater Use of Dedicated Access Privileges to Reduce Overcapacity (catch shares) Deep Coral protection; expansion of Ecosystem Management Plans
Performance Criteria for Fishery Management - Defining Sustainability Overfishing: The RATE of harvest (percent of the stock removed by fishing) exceeds the pre-defined maximum rate (generally about 20% per year is sustainable) Overfished: The current SIZE of the population is less than ½ of the population size required to generate maximum sustainable yields If the rate of outflow exceeds the rate of inflow, the use rate is not sustainable If the glass ½ full or less the water supply is overused Ecosystem Goal Team & Technology, Planning and Integration Program Office
Current Year Stock Status - Status Determination MSRA Job #1 Prevent Overfishing 2.0 F / F-MSY 1.5 1.0 0.5 overfishing overfished no overfishing overfished 1/2 B-MSY overfishing not overfished F-MSY no overfishing not overfished 0.0 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 Biomass / B-MSY
F2001/FMSY 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 over over no over Alaskan Groundfish Stock Status 2002 EBS P-Cod GA Sable GA Pol 1/2 BMSY GA POP GA P-Cod AI POP EBS Pol A Mack overfishing not overfished GA Thorny EBS YF Sole EBS F Sole 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.05.0 B2001/BMSY no overfishing not overfished EBS O Flats FMSY EBS EBS R Sole Turbot EBS Arrow GA Arrow
From Worm, Hilborn et al.2009 SCIENCE World-Wide Stock Status
117 USA Stocks 2012 B/B MSY
Stocks that are Overfished or where Overfishing Still Occurs January 2015
37 rebuilt stocks as of 2015
Fishery Management Remains Controversial
Significant Issues Remain in Managing USA Fisheries Future of catch share programs ACLs require substantially more science Mixed Species fisheries and differential recovery Managing recreational fisheries Future of marine aquaculture Climate change impacts Implementing Fishery Management in an Ecosystem Context International provisions, IUU and agreements
Backup Slides
Catch Share Principles Allocations Transferability Distinctions among Sectors Duration Fishing Community Sustainability Royalties Cost Recovery Review Processes
Mixed Species Assemblages are Problematic for Several reasons: Differential recovery rates create demand to target those resources Most vulnerable stocks become weak stocks, great demand to write them off (SE reef fisheries, NE groundfishes) Ecosystem Goal Team & Technology, Planning and Integration Program Office
Climate-Related Issues for Oceans productivity distribution phenology GHG-CO 2 Enrichment Warming Ocean Acidification productivity Sea Ice Sea Level Rise Fresh Water Habitat Loss Estuarine Dependent Fisheries Resiliency of Ecosystems and Coastal Communities Other Coastal Sectors
What is an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM)? Look at the whole picture, not just the parts. Dave Goethel New England Fishery Management Council SIMOR Fisheries Constituent Listening Session - October 2006 Operational Ocean Observation System integrating biology, physical oceanography, chemistry, oceanatmosphere links and socio-economic data (at appropriate geographic scales) Ecosystem research plan that enables linking of human activities to incremental change in ecosystem state indicators Decision Support Tools supported by modeling, experimental ecology, and observation systems linked to support adaptive approaches to human uses of marine ecosystems consistent with goals of sustainable use allocation among sectors The #1 Myth Concerning EAM: Ecosystem approaches to ocean resource management are not well defined and we do not know how to implement them UN Law of the Sea Meeting, April 2006 Ecosystem Goal Team & Technology, Planning and Integration Program Office
Consensus Operational Objectives for EAF Conserve and Manage Species Minimize Bycatch Manage Tradeoffs Account for Feedback Effects Establish Appropriate Ecosystem Boundaries Maintain Ecosystem Productivity, Balance Ecosystem Structure Account for Climate Variability Use Adaptive Approaches to Management * PET = Protected, Endangered or Threatened Species
Known Locations of Deep-sea Corals locations of documented deep-water coral presence U.S. EEZ
Rolling Closures In addition to Year-round closures May June Oct- Nov. April March May
pixel is 1 lat by 1 long Multispecies (groundfish) Trawlers 2003 VMS Positions For speed </= 3.5 kn Mos. 1-10 ~60 vessels, >60% of Catch
Habitat Protection is Part of the Fisheries Law - Activities Habitat Protection Essential Fish Habitat National Fish Habitat Action Plan Coral Conservation Fish Passage Habitat Restoration Community Based Restoration Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Coastal Wetlands Planning and Protection Act Invasive Species Under the Community Based Restoration Program and the Open Rivers Initiative, 1500 miles of blocked streams have been opened from 1996 until today. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): Stewardship of Living Marine Resources for the 21st Century 44
Closed Fishery areas to trawling
Failing the high seas: A global evaluation of regional fisheries management organizations Sarika Cullis-Suzuki and Daniel Pauly, Marine Policy 2010 USA Memberships CCAMLR Commission for the Conserv. of Antarctic Marine Living Resources CCBSP Conv. on the Conserv. & Mgmt. of the Pollock Resources in the Centr. Bering Sea IATTC Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission ICCAT International Commission for the Conserv. of AtlanticTunas IPHC International Pacific Halibut Commission IWC International Whaling Commission NAFO Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization NASCO North Atlantic Salmon Conserv. Organization NPAFC North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission 3 PSC Pacific Salmon Commission WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission