Stop Fisheries Managers From Cutting Crucial Habitat Protections
- by: The Pew Charitable Trusts
- recipient: NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard
Important areas in New England's offshore waters, protected from destructive fishing gear for decades, are under threat. These places are essential for a variety of marine animals, including some of the region's most iconic species such as cod and whales.
Right now, New England fisheries managers are considering plans that would expand the range of damaging forms of fishing by dramatically reducing the overall size of protected areas. In the worst case scenario, 70 percent of currently closed territory would be opened up to bottom trawling and dredging.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) must prevent this from happening. Recent studies show that cod in the Gulf of Maine are only at 3 percent of a healthy population: an all-time low. Even if fishing is reduced dramatically, cod will still need safe places to grow and reproduce in order to recover.
Now is not the time to roll back protections that depleted fish species, marine mammals, and seabirds need.
Take Action: Tell NOAA Fisheries to improve protection of ocean habitat in New England waters!
Right now, New England fisheries managers are considering plans that would expand the range of damaging forms of fishing by dramatically reducing the overall size of protected areas. In the worst case scenario, 70 percent of currently closed territory would be opened up to bottom trawling and dredging.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) must prevent this from happening. Recent studies show that cod in the Gulf of Maine are only at 3 percent of a healthy population: an all-time low. Even if fishing is reduced dramatically, cod will still need safe places to grow and reproduce in order to recover.
Now is not the time to roll back protections that depleted fish species, marine mammals, and seabirds need.
Take Action: Tell NOAA Fisheries to improve protection of ocean habitat in New England waters!
Dear Regional Administrator Bullard,
I urge you to follow through with your agency's stated commitments to habitat protection when finalizing New England's Omnibus Habitat Amendment. After ten years in the making, it is a complex document with many alternatives. Unfortunately, short-term economic interests have influenced the decision making, and most of the options presented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) would significantly weaken habitat protections in New England waters.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act is also clear about what makes essential fish habitat - areas in the ocean where fish eat, grow and spawn. Habitat regulations must protect these areas, and minimize adverse impacts from fishing. Now, more than ever, it is important to take this responsibility seriously. Many of the groundfish species in New England are overfished, including the iconic cod. Warming waters are also impacting the ocean food web on which all marine animals depend. Protecting habitat areas can give the region's marine resources a chance to recover and thrive in the future.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) own "Habitat Blueprint" calls for "increased protection and restoration of habitats," and the agency's strategy for climate change adaptation identifies habitat protection as a top goal for helping fish and ocean wildlife.
As a whole, the amendment does not go far enough to adequately protect habitat. One fundamental flaw is the lack of alternatives to improve spawning protections for fish, and the current draft offers only the weak suggestion that this will be handled in other agency actions. I strongly urge consideration of new alternatives in each region that are significantly larger, and offer greater habitat protection for all critical life stages.
Among the alternatives that are presented for each region, the largest areas should be protected from destructive fishing gear like bottom draggers, and scallop and clam dredges. In the Gulf of Maine, maintaining the current closures is the best choice available, along with the addition of two new areas Down East. On Georges Bank, the alternative with the best protection is a new area that includes important habitat in the Northern Edge, and habitat that protects juvenile groundfish and spawning Atlantic herring. In Southern New England, the largest alternative extends into the Great South Channel, a key corridor for migrating fish and mammals.
In addition to the alternatives presented in the DEIS, NOAA Fisheries should improve ocean habitat in New England by:
* Developing significantly larger areas with enhanced management for each region that will offer greater protection for all critical life stages.
* Protecting areas where fish spawn, using data and analysis conducted by the Closed Area Technical Team.
*Protecting remaining areas that continue to support cold water corals in Eastern Maine.
*Enhancing habitat research by establishing a network of Dedicated Habitat Research Areas (DHRAs), in all the regions, including reference areas protected from all fishing and other local human disturbance.
*Prohibiting midwater trawl gear from the habitat management areas in order to protect fish where they live, not just on the seafloor, and to ensure abundant prey fish on which other marine animals depend.
New England fishing is in a crisis that has already cost taxpayers more than $30 million in direct disaster relief aid this year, due to severe depletion of cod and other groundfish. Tens of millions more have been given to the industry over the past twenty years. As you have correctly observed, the current dire situation is largely due to a historical pattern in which fishery managers choose the highest risk options. Reducing fish habitat protection in the face of severe depletions and warming waters would perpetuate this risky behavior.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI urge you to follow through with your agency's stated commitments to habitat protection when finalizing New England's Omnibus Habitat Amendment. After ten years in the making, it is a complex document with many alternatives. Unfortunately, short-term economic interests have influenced the decision making, and most of the options presented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) would significantly weaken habitat protections in New England waters.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act is also clear about what makes essential fish habitat - areas in the ocean where fish eat, grow and spawn. Habitat regulations must protect these areas, and minimize adverse impacts from fishing. Now, more than ever, it is important to take this responsibility seriously. Many of the groundfish species in New England are overfished, including the iconic cod. Warming waters are also impacting the ocean food web on which all marine animals depend. Protecting habitat areas can give the region's marine resources a chance to recover and thrive in the future.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) own "Habitat Blueprint" calls for "increased protection and restoration of habitats," and the agency's strategy for climate change adaptation identifies habitat protection as a top goal for helping fish and ocean wildlife.
As a whole, the amendment does not go far enough to adequately protect habitat. One fundamental flaw is the lack of alternatives to improve spawning protections for fish, and the current draft offers only the weak suggestion that this will be handled in other agency actions. I strongly urge consideration of new alternatives in each region that are significantly larger, and offer greater habitat protection for all critical life stages.
Among the alternatives that are presented for each region, the largest areas should be protected from destructive fishing gear like bottom draggers, and scallop and clam dredges. In the Gulf of Maine, maintaining the current closures is the best choice available, along with the addition of two new areas Down East. On Georges Bank, the alternative with the best protection is a new area that includes important habitat in the Northern Edge, and habitat that protects juvenile groundfish and spawning Atlantic herring. In Southern New England, the largest alternative extends into the Great South Channel, a key corridor for migrating fish and mammals.
In addition to the alternatives presented in the DEIS, NOAA Fisheries should improve ocean habitat in New England by:
* Developing significantly larger areas with enhanced management for each region that will offer greater protection for all critical life stages.
* Protecting areas where fish spawn, using data and analysis conducted by the Closed Area Technical Team.
*Protecting remaining areas that continue to support cold water corals in Eastern Maine.
*Enhancing habitat research by establishing a network of Dedicated Habitat Research Areas (DHRAs), in all the regions, including reference areas protected from all fishing and other local human disturbance.
*Prohibiting midwater trawl gear from the habitat management areas in order to protect fish where they live, not just on the seafloor, and to ensure abundant prey fish on which other marine animals depend.
New England fishing is in a crisis that has already cost taxpayers more than $30 million in direct disaster relief aid this year, due to severe depletion of cod and other groundfish. Tens of millions more have been given to the industry over the past twenty years. As you have correctly observed, the current dire situation is largely due to a historical pattern in which fishery managers choose the highest risk options. Reducing fish habitat protection in the face of severe depletions and warming waters would perpetuate this risky behavior.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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