Dear Sierra Club Chapters, Sections, Groups, Committees, and Members:
The following proposed Sierra Club Policy is being forwarded to you for
your information and comment. Please pass this proposed policy on to
interested
members in your community.
The proposed policy is being circulated to as many Sierra Club (SC)
entities
as possible, through this e-mail to Club Conservation leaders; and where
possible the
information is being published in local newsletters. *The deadline for
comments is June 17.
Thank you for your interest and consideration of this policy.
Please send comments to John Swengle by email or snail mail at the
addresses shown in the following text by the deadline of June 17, 2002.
John Swengle
287 Edwardo Ave
Ft Myers, FL 33905
[log in to unmask]
941-693-3854
If you wish to attain more technical information about sustainable
Fisheries please contact either John or Vivian Newman of the National
Marine Wildlife and Habitat Committee ([log in to unmask]; 207-594-7534); or
Paul Wilson of the Wild Planet Strategy Team ([log in to unmask], or
1-800-582-3421 [work]).
***
BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Massachusetts Chapter adopted detailed fisheries management
recommendations and policies in 1998, formed largely by the Cape Cod Group,
in a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service to address depleted
New England marine fish stocks.
The collapse of the groundfish and scallop stocks in New England as a
consequence of overfishing by the commercial industry has wreaked havoc on
the biological diversity in our coastal oceans. It has created economic
hardships for fishermen and their associated communities, and has caused
public distrust in the ability of our governmental stewards, the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the New England Fishery Management
Council (NEFMC), to carry out their responsibilities to protect our public
trust biological resources in the ocean. It is not the intent of the Sierra
Club to rehash who is responsible for getting us into our current
predicament, but to encourage all parties (commercial and recreational
fishermen, consumers, environmental groups, governmental regulators, and
the general public) to move forward towards a policy to recover depleted
fisheries stocks and develop a sustainable fishery management policy for
the future in order to prevent a repeat of the current situation.
State of the Industry
We currently face a situation in which we have too many vessels chasing too
few fish (overcapitalized industry). Current NMFS efforts to buy back
vessels and NEFMC endeavors to reduce fishing mortality under amendment 7
to the New England multi species groundfish fishery management plan are
welcome first steps. However, there is a need to move toward addressing
issues of controlling open access, developing management measures to limit
fishing
effort, and to address allocation of living marine resources between the
commercial and recreational fishing interests.
The draft policy below was further developed by individuals on the National
Marine Wildlife and Habitat Committee (an entity of the Wild Planet
Strategy Team under the Conservation Governance Committee). The draft
policy was circulated on various listserves maintained by the Marine
Committee as well
as to some coastal RCCs (Regional Conservation Committees) and Ecoregion
Task Forces. On March 21, 2001, the Atlantic Coast Ecoregion Task
Force (ACE) approved the draft policy, on March 25, 2001, the Gulf Coast
RCC
approved the draft policy, and on April 6, 2001, the Northeast RCC approved
the draft policy.
***
DRAFT POLICY ON SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
Fish are a vital ecological, economic, and food resource, but many species
are in decline because of habitat loss, pollution, over fishing, and
bycatch1. Fisheries management is hampered by incomplete knowledge of fish
life cycles, complex ecosystem relationships, stock size, and natural
population fluctuations. Current commercial and recreational fishery
practices have changed the biological composition of marine ecosystems,
both directly and indirectly. Long term ecological health and
sustainability of
aquatic biodiversity must take precedence over short term economic
considerations.
All parties, commercial and recreational fishers, consumers, environmental
groups, governmental regulators, and the general public, must move towards
a policy of recovering depleted fisheries stocks and developing a
sustainable
fishery management regime.
The Sierra Club therefore urges the state and federal agencies responsible
for fisheries management to:
1. Adopt the precautionary principle2 to protect the biodiversity and
integrity of the coastal and ocean ecosystems;
2. Invest in coordinated and expanded research on habitat, fish mortality,
climate change, threats posed by biotoxins, bacteria, and viruses, and
development of less destructive fishing gear and techniques;
3. Designate and utilize reserves, time and area closures, and
restrictions on fishing effort for protection of recruitment, breeding and
nursery areas for fish;
4. Develop better coordination of fisheries management across
jurisdictional boundaries;
5. Establish programs and policies that effectively reduce habitat
degradation by physical disruption and land based pollution sources;
6. Eliminate government subsidies that support unsustainable
fishing operations;
7. Provide financial aid only for retiring fishing vessels and gear, and
for retraining displaced fishermen for new employment opportunities;
8. Provide greater opportunity for non-commercial fishing constituents,
representatives of environmental and consumer groups, and private citizens
interested in our public fisheries resources to participate in fishery
commissions, councils, and advisory panels that recommend or set fisheries
public policy.
Definitions:
1. Bycatch - Bycatch is the indisciminate catching of fish and other marine
life other than tose a fishing vessel intends to capture. This includes
fish that are not the target species, sex, size, or quality. It also
includes many other fish and marine life that have no economic value, but
are ecologically important, such as starfish, sponges, and skates.
Primarily, bycatch results from fishing practices and gear that are not
selective. In addition to visible mortality, fish and other sea life are
sometimes killed or injured when passing through or escaping fishing gear,
and through ghost fishing from abandoned or lost gear.
2. Precautionary Principle - Precaution involves acting in advance to avoid
or minimize negative impacts, which implies, in environmental management,
that in the face of scientific uncertainity on cause and effects
relationships accompanying the potential impacts that the benefit of the
doubt is given to the conservation of natural resources and the maintenance
of biodiversity.
Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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