As the new home of WashPIRG's environmental work, Environment Washington can be contacted regarding this news release.
Seattle—Representative
Nick Rahall (D-WV), Ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Resources Committee,
Representative Sam Farr, Co-Chair of the House Oceans Caucus, and 12 Members
of Congress today introduced legislation that would help eliminate long-standing
financial conflicts of interest, unbalanced representation, and poor conservation
decisions in the fisheries management system. This is the first piece of legislation
that would enact policy proposals made by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
and the Pew Oceans Commission.
According to the U.S. Commission
on Ocean Policy (USCOP), social, economic, and political factors have led the
Fishery Management Councils (FMCs)—the bodies in charge of managing regional
fisheries—to downplay the best available scientific information, resulting
in overfishing and the slow recovery of overfished stocks.
"This is what happens
when the fox is left to guard the henhouse. And in this case, the foxes are
government-appointed," stated WashPIRG Executive Director Robert Pregulman
.
Sixty percent of the appointed
members of the FMCS have a direct financial stake in the fisheries they regulate.
This results in short-term interests being served at the expense of the health
and rebuilding of fisheries and ocean ecosystems, according to WashPIRG and
the USCOP. Current law mandates that the FMCS have balanced representation from
commercial and recreational fishermen, but it does not designate that the public
interest be represented on these councils.
Last week, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service appointed new members
to its eight regional FMCS, but no members from the conservation community were
appointed. With this year's appointments, 58 out of 71 council positions are
held by either commercial or recreational fishermen, many of whom profit from
fishing-related businesses in their regions. The Pacific Fishery Management
Council had one open seat. The incumbent, who represents recreational fishermen
was re-appointed. Since 1986, the Pacific Council has been dominated by commercial
and recreation fishermen.
The Rahall-Farr legislation
amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which governs
federally managed ocean fish. The bill seeks to broaden participation on the
fishery management councils to include members of the public, to significantly
reduce financial conflicts of interest of those on the councils, and to ensure
that political and economic influences do not override conservation decisions
on the health of the fish populations.
As designated by the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, eight regional fishery management councils manage more than 900 fish stocks
in U.S. ocean waters. Council members simultaneously decide which scientific
information to put into practice to conserve fish populations and how to allocate
these natural resources to fishermen for economic gain. Current law mandates
that these councils share a balanced representation between commercial and recreational
fishermen, but it does not designate that other interests, such as the public's
interest, be represented on the council.
WashPIRG lauded Representatives
Rahall and Farr and their fellow cosponsors for the introduction of this landmark
bill, saying: "This is just the kind of action we need to protect and conserve
our precious oceans."
