Oversight on management issues at the National Marine Fisheries Services [sic] : : hearing before the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, and Fisheries of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, May 9, 2002.
Ensuring a healthy supply of fish & other marine species in the waters beyond each state's jurisdiction is a Federal responsibility carried out by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) & 8 fishery management councils. This report assesses NMFS' compliance with three provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which require it to: use the best available scientific information for fishery management; take into account the economic importance of fishery resources to fishing communities as it adopts measures to manage fishery resources; & identify essential fish habitat, the adverse impacts on that habitat, & the actions needed to conserve & enhance that habitat. Charts & tables.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.
NMFS has a difficult and complex task in managing U.S. marine fisheries. Despite some successes, too many stocks continue to decline. Over the past decade, several problems have been identified that have contributed to the current dissatisfaction with how marine fisheries are managed. This dissatisfaction is evident from the large number of lawsuits filed by the fishing industry and environmental organizations. One central problem is overfishing. Overfishing issues have been discussed in a series of NRC reports, and these reports identify overcapitalization, and technological and gear improvements as some of the causes. The reports recommend ways to stem these problems and to advance the practice of fishery science at NMFS. This report reiterates some of these recommendations, and makes new recommendations to enhance the use of data and science for fisheries management.
