Protect the Future of U.S. Fisheries
The U.S. is home to one of the healthiest fisheries in the world, and it's all because of a critical piece of legislation called the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
The MSA has been working for 40 years to rebuild America's fisheries, but now it's under threat from a surprising source: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Right now, the NOAA Fisheries Service is finalizing a rule, referred to as National Standard 1, that will weaken key pieces of the MSA that keep our fisheries healthy.
It's NOAA's responsibility to enforce the MSA, but the new rules they are proposing threaten to increase overfishing and put entire fish species at risk. This could have a devastating impact on ecosystems and on the fishermen who rely on these fisheries to make a living.
Tell NOAA to strengthen, not weaken, our nation's fishery conservation and management standards.
NOAA's plans are dangerously short-sighted, and we need you to make sure they never get implemented. We need stronger management standards to protect our ocean, and the industries and fishermen who rely on it, for generations to come.
Tell President Obama to encourage NOAA to modify or withdraw its proposal. The future of America's fisheries depends on it.
It's not too late to make your voice heard, but time is running out for our fisheries. Tell President Obama to make fisheries a priority today!
Dear President Obama:
In the next few weeks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) plans to finalize a rule to modify National Standard 1 that if enacted, would weaken implementation of key parts of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the primary law governing management of federal fisheries in the United States.
It's NOAA's responsibility to enforce the MSA, but the newly proposed rules threaten to increase overfishing and put entire fish species at risk. This could have a devastating impact on marine ecosystems, the fishermen and seafood dependent businesses that rely on these fisheries to make a living, and consumers who seek out U.S. sustainable fisheries over imports.
Please tell NOAA Fisheries to strengthen, not weaken, our nation's fishery conservation and management standards.
NOAA Fisheries' proposal threatens seafood sustainability by:
- Increasing the risk of overfishing. Currently, if the catch on a fish stock exceeds safe levels in one year, managers are required to take corrective action immediately. This proposal allows managers to average a high year's catch with two other years, delay taking action and hope fishermen don't catch too much in the following year. Furthermore, managers can raise fishing quotas by carrying over uncaught fish from a previous year without determining if the depressed catch was due to an underestimated population size.
- Allowing for extended periods of overfishing. When scientific information indicates that catch reductions are necessary, managers can phase in reductions more slowly than currently allowed.
- Excluding important fish species from management: Under the proposal's new criteria for determining when regional fishery council management is needed, short-term political or economic factors, the existence of weaker state management, or industry self-regulation could trump scientific considerations and block appropriate conservation measures.
- Removing oversight of NOAA's Secretary of Commerce: The MSA requires the Secretary of Commerce to review all stock rebuilding plans to determine if they are making progress. Under the new rule, the Secretary is only required to determine if the plan is being implemented as intended regardless of whether the fish stock is improving.
NOAA Fisheries' plans are dangerously short-sighted. We need stronger management standards to protect our ocean, and the industries, fishermen and seafood consumers who rely on it, for generations to come.
Please encourage NOAA Fisheries to modify or withdraw its proposal to alter National Standard 1.
[Your comments]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.