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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 02/04
Courts, Congress, And Constituencies: Managing Fisheries By Default
Mary A. Gade, Terry D. Garcia, Jonathan B. Howes, Theodore M. Schad, Susan Shipman
July 2002
Summary
In 1976, the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act established the first federal system to govern fishing in the then newly-declared 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This management system was uniquely participatory, composed of representatives of states, recreational and commercial fishers, and the federal government. It was organized into eight regional councils that were charged with developing fishery management plans (FMPs), in coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and subject to NMFS review and approval. The councils were established to meet the goals of conserving fishery resources and promoting the U.S. commercial and recreational fishing industry. Under a set of statutory standards, the councils were tasked to make the major management decisions, such as the size of the allowable catch, the length of the fishing season, the allocation of any quotas to states and fishers, and permitting/licensing provisions.
By most measures, this governance system was remarkably successful. The U.S. fishing industry, aided by liberal tax and investment incentives, expanded rapidly. Also, those fisheries in waters located adjacent to U.S. coasts were fully "americanized." By the early 1990s, domestic landings had increased five- fold, and foreign trawlers had virtually disappeared from U.S. coasts.
