Almost all U.S. fisheries would be rated as “best choice” for environmental sustainability and would “reap rewards in the marketplace for that recognition” if they reduced losses from bycatch, says a new research paper. In it, scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium and Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper compare the effects of the government’s regulation of commercial harvest of seafood and the long-term health of fish stocks under the Seafood Watch rating system of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Bycatch is the incidental killing of fish and marine species that were not the targets of commercial operators.
“Bycatch issues emerged as the major limiting factor” that separates fisheries that get the highest rating, “best choice,” from those rated as “good alternative” or “avoid,” said the paper. Most of them scored poorly on bycatch but got passing grades in three other criteria. “If these fisheries reduced bycatch enough to merit a score of at least 2.8 out of 5” they would be rated “best choice,” said the paper. Such improvement is possible, it said, considering the top rating goes to a wide range of fish species and gear types. Some 79 percent of fisheries are “good alternative” and 19 percent are “best choice.”
The paper coincides with a decennial review by Congress of the framework law for fisheries management. The research paper said the Magnuson-Stevenson law has been successful in reducing overfishing and rebuilding targeted stocks. “Current science-based requirements for rebuilding depleted stocks should be preserved and stronger bycatch requirements should be adopted,” said the researchers.
The paper, “Action on bycatch could improve ecological preservation of U.S. fisheries,” is slated to run this weekend in the journal Marine Policy. A copy of the paper was obtained by FERN.