To address this, Congress amended the nation’s federal fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, in 1996. Collectively known as the Sustainable Fisheries Act, these amendments require overfished stocks to be rebuilt to healthy levels in as short as time as possible, which should not exceed 10 years unless necessary due to the biology of the stock, environmental conditions or international agreement. Since 1996, the requirements have been applied to more than 60 stocks and in virtually every region of the country. This report demonstrates that the SFA has been an overall success.
Rebuilt fish populations are essential to healthy marine ecosystems and coastal economies. In fact, depleted fish populations are the number one threat to ocean health, and highly depleted fish populations are more vulnerable to other threats, such as climate change, ocean acidification and invasive species. Meanwhile, robust fish populations can ensure that ocean ecosystems stay strong and resilient into the future. They also provide stability to the fishing industry, create jobs, increase recreational fishing opportunities and allow us to continue enjoying fresh, local seafood into the future.
In addition to ending overfishing and rebuilding fish populations, ocean ecosystem health depends on protecting and restoring important habitats, minimizing the amount of unwanted species that are caught in fishing nets (bycatch), and ensuring an adequate food supply for marine life, including marine mammals.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international non-profit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, their lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. For more information, visit www.nrdc.org.
