Thanks to the decade-long efforts of EDF chief oceans scientist Doug Rader, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is poised to protect these fragile and long-lived coral reefs. This vast expanse of deepwater corals  — covering 25,000 square miles along the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — is among the world's largest.

A diverse undersea world only now being explored

These reefs are home to an amazing array of  new species, some that may prove to be of economic value or hold keys to new drugs. Here forests of snow-white Lophelia pertusa dot seamounts and drape steep canyons. Strange sea critters — starfish, worms, anemones, crabs, sponges, sea spiders — hover about or cling to branches. Rocky crags and deep escarpments provide haven for hundreds of fish species.

"This area is a spectacular new world, complete with bizarre animals and dark, unexplored canyons," said Rader. "Every time scientists visit the reefs they find new species and see places no human has ever seen before."

The first reports of deep sea corals off the Southeast coast occurred more than a century ago, but the huge scale, beauty and diversity were discovered only in recent years. "Amazingly there was little interest in the corals until about 10 years ago," says Dr. Steve Ross, a marine ecologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who has lead nearly a dozen expeditions beginning in 2000. "When we took our first dives, we saw thriving, diverse animal communities and realized this was not just an anomaly," he explains. "Most of the animals we've seen have never been filmed or photographed before."

Working with fishermen and scientists to safeguard the reefs

Since 1998, Rader has worked with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, marine scientists and fishermen to protect the ancient and fragile reefs against both fishing and non-fishing threats. In particular, EDF negotiated "allowable gear zones," where traditional fisheries for deepwater animals (golden crab and royal red shrimp) would be allowed, away from vulnerable tall pinnacles. 

A first for fishery councils in the United States, the plan strikes a novel and unique balance between achieving protection of critical habitat, while allowing fishermen to continue to have access to traditional fishing grounds with gears that do minimal damage. 

"Sometimes saving things that most people can't see takes a long time, but they are worth fighting for," said Rader.

Blog posts from EDF chief oceans scientist

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Fishermen trade organizations and the Environmental Defense Fund praise the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) action today to move forward with the Gulf of Mexico grouper/tilefish multi-species individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, ensuring that it will be implemented in January 2010. There are more than 1200 grouper and tilefish fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, making this one of the largest multi-species IFQ programs in federal waters of the continental U.S.

The following statement can be attributed to Tj Tate, Executive Director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance, which supports commercial IFQ fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico with the goal of protecting the interests of the fishing industry:

"This is one of the most significant decisions by NOAA to save Gulf of Mexico fisheries, fishermen, and coastal fishing communities which depend on them."

"The grouper tilefish IFQ will build on the successful record of the red snapper IFQ, which has already significantly contributed to the recovery of the stressed red snapper species."

"Programs like IFQs should be implemented in the Gulf of Mexico's remaining commercial reef fish as soon as possible."

The following statement can be attributed to Glen Brooks, a grouper fisherman and President of the Gulf Fishermen's Association, which represents 200+ members throughout the Gulf, including fishermen, restaurants and the public:

"This IFQ program can't come quick enough. Full time grouper fishermen have been watching the red snapper IFQ program do so much good for fishing businesses and the stocks, and are itching to get off the sidelines and fish for grouper the same way."

"Tighter regulations are coming for gag grouper, which will reduce the amount we can catch, but the IFQ will help stabilize fishing businesses during this hard time."

The following statement can be attributed to Dave McKinney, Senior Conservation Manager for Environmental Defense Fund, who was also chair of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's advisory panel for the grouper/tilefish multispecies IFQ:

"Catch share programs, such as IFQs, have a 35 year history of managing and recovering depleted fish populations around the world in countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada, as well as right here in the U.S. in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

"NOAA is implementing a conservation-focused program that is welcomed by fishermen, managers and environmentalists alike. Grouper fishermen voted in favor of this IFQ program by more than 80%; the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted in favor by more than 75%; and Environmental Defense Fund has supported this program from day one."
 

(August 20, 2009) The National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) new 2008 annual report on the "individual fishing quota" (IFQ) program for Gulf of Mexico commercially-caught red snapper shows continued success for the fishery two years into the program, and provides additional support for implementing IFQs to rebuild other troubled fisheries.

"The old system made no sense – vessels depended on racing to fill our catch limit, no matter the effect on fish we accidentally caught and wasted, or the empty plates of fish-lovers during the long closed seasons," said David Krebs, commercial fisherman and owner of Ariel Seafoods, Inc. in Destin, Florida.

"Finally, fishermen have a chance to be real stewards of the resource and much better opportunities to run a productive business and provide a high-quality product to consumers year-round," Krebs said.

IFQs, one type of catch share management, work by allotting a portion of the catch limit to each fisherman as a secure and transferable fishing privilege. IFQs provide fishermen with a long-term stake in the health of the fishery and powerful incentives for conservation. In turn, fishermen comply with strict monitoring and enforcement rules and help pay for management. The long season closures and other destructive rules of the past are eliminated. This means that fishermen can chose when to fish, avoiding bad weather and timing their trips with market demand. IFQs also reduce the wasteful practice of throwing dead fish overboard to comply with regulations.

"With the conservation gains seen in the commercial red snapper fishery in just a few years, we are optimistic that rebuilding is getting underway and the payoff might be a rising catch limit in the near future," said Pam Baker, Senior Policy Advisor for Environmental Defense Fund in Austin, Texas. "The Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council is on the right track by considering IFQs and other catch share plans for many of its other commercial and sport fisheries that are in dire need of better management."

The report's conservation highlights include:

• Overfishing is being reversed in the commercial fishery.
• Fishermen have caught less than their allotment by 2.5-4.0 percent in the past two years.
• Fishermen cut their ratio of wasted fish to fish taken to the docks by almost 70 percent. (Before the IFQ, for every fish a fisherman kept, he threw one back dead. Now, fishermen only throw one back for every three to four that they keep.)

The report's economic highlights include:

• Long season closures and extreme market swings have been eliminated.
• With year-round fishing, fishermen bring high quality fish to the dock when consumer demand is high, making their businesses more profitable.
• The price fishermen pay for quota, the long-term privilege to catch red snapper, rose by 37 percent, reflecting optimism for a healthy fishery and a commitment to conservation.

"From a conservationist's view, the commercial red snapper IFQ program is an excellent model for improving management of fisheries suffering from overfishing and economic hardship," Baker said.

The NMFS report concludes that the commercial red snapper fishery is on the right track, and it identifies a few ways that it can be improved. For example, the mislabeling of fish needs to be stopped, and better ways are needed to count dead fish that some vessels continue to throw overboard, especially off of the Florida peninsula coast.

The report can be accessed online: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/pdfs/2008RedSnapperIFQAnnualReport1.pdf
 

President-elect Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress have a unique opportunity to restore America's abundant oceans, which offer a sustainable source of food, jobs and diverse wildlife.

Overfishing puts seafood and economy at risk

Most of the world's fish populations have declined precipitously for decades, and a quarter are in ruins. One billion people worldwide depend on seafood for a significant part of their diet. Recent scientific studies predict the collapse of global fisheries in our lifetimes.

In the U.S., barely one quarter of our fisheries are known to be sustainable. Thousands of fishermen have lost their jobs, and signs of ecosystem collapse are on the rise, as nets bring up jellyfish rather than highly-desired seafood.

Solution: Catch share programs have been proven to work

The good news is that a management program called "catch shares" can reverse this trend and lead to abundance. An authoritative study shows that well-designed catch shares make fish more abundant and fisheries more profitable — for generations to come.

With a straightforward change in policy, President-elect Obama and the U.S. Congress can achieve these benefits quickly and with relatively little cost. By encouraging catch shares, they can comply with conservation goals, increase profitability, and foster an industry that provides jobs and food in an uncertain world.

Two key recommendations

To unleash economic and ecosystem renewal in the oceans:

• President-elect Obama should ensure that all federal fishery management plans are evaluated for catch shares by 2012 and that at least 50 percent of federal fishery management plans feature catch share management by 2016.
• The U.S. Congress should ease bottlenecks to achieve the President's goal by passing legislation to require that catch shares be considered in all fishery management plans by 2012.

See the full list of recommendations.

Who developed these recommendations?

The report Oceans of Abundance [PDF] was developed by an independent, bipartisan working group of 23 current and former federal and state elected officials, cabinet officers, scientists and administrators. former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and former Congressman James Greenwood co-chaired the working group. (See full list of members.)

The working group was convened by Environmental Defense Fund and Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

The purpose of the group is to present policymakers with coherent, achievable methods — based on the most current scientific consensus — to reverse the economic and environmental decline of U.S. fisheries, and the communities that depend on them.

Learn more

• Full report: Oceans of Abundance [PDF]
• List of recommendations
• List of working group members

(Washington DC- September 18, 2008) New research published this week in the journal Science provides a clear road map for federal and regional fisheries managers to reverse years of declining fish stocks by implementing catch shares, according to a leading national environmental group.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) praised the new study, Can Catch Shares Prevent Fisheries Collapse?, authored by scientists from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Hawaii.

“This study shows that the next President can fix the overfishing problem by implementing catch shares,” said David Festa, vice president and director of the oceans program at EDF. “We can turn a dire situation into an enormous opportunity to promote better food security, create jobs and revive ecosystems.”

Catch share programs replace complex rules dictating how fishing will be practiced, with a method to hold fishermen directly accountable for meeting a vital conservation target: scientifically determined catch limits. Fishermen, individually or in cooperatives, are granted a percentage share of the total allowable catch. They can also be granted exclusive access to particular fishing zones. (This system is commonly referred to as territorial use rights for fishing.) As long as fishermen do not exceed their share, they have greater flexibility to fish when weather and market conditions are best. Their shares grow in value as the overall fishery improves, providing them a greater financial stake in sound resource management.

"The trend around the world has been to fish the oceans until the fish are gone,” continued Festa. “The scientific data presented today shows we can turn this pattern on its head. Anyone who cares about saving fisheries and fishing jobs will find this study highly motivating.”

EDF scientists, economists and fishery experts are deployed in over a dozen of the most iconic fisheries around the country. EDF has projects with five universities and EDF staff members have published articles and reports on catch share design and implementation. EDF helps managers and fishermen design catch share systems that save fisheries and meet the needs of their communities.

Currently there are multiple proposals to implement catch share systems around the country for both federal and state fisheries, including Pacific groundfish and grouper in the Gulf of Mexico.

The most recent success was EDF’s work with fishermen and managers to design a catch share system for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, which went into effect in January of 2007. With the new management effort, the 2007 commercial snapper season was open year-round for the first time since 1990. Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico now earn 25 percent more for their fish and wasteful bycatch has dropped at least 70 percent.

A comprehensive EDF report released last year illustrated that catch share systems dramatically increase safety for fishermen, increase revenues per boat and significantly improve the results of conservation efforts such as bycatch reduction.

Global fisheries peaked in 1988 and have been steadily declining ever since. An estimated one billion people worldwide rely on the ocean for at least part of their essential food needs. Ocean fishing and its related industries also employ 200 million people.

For more information on catch shares go to www.edf.org/CatchSharesScience.

Not any more. The fish that fueled New England's economy are only a fraction of what they were, and that’s true of many fisheries around the world (see Fisheries in Decline).

New study shows catch shares prevent collapse

But now there is reason for hope. A study just released in the journal Science shows how overfishing can be turned around through an innovative management system called catch shares.

Our Oceans team has long advocated well-designed "catch share" programs as a smart way to manage and recover ailing fisheries. Catch share programs allow fishermen to own shares, or quotas, of the overall scientifically determined catch so they have a direct financial stake in the fishery. They can sell these shares, or buy them from other fishermen. As the fishery recovers, shares grow in value, giving fishermen a vested interest in the health of the ocean.

The study, "Can Catch Shares Prevent Fisheries Collapse?" (full text | abstract), examined more than 11,000 fisheries (a fishery is a population of fish caught commercially) from around the world between 1950 and 2003. It confirms that catch share systems for fisheries can help solve the fishery crisis.  Among its striking findings:

• Fisheries managed with catch share programs dramatically outperformed fisheries without them: they were only half as likely to have collapsed by 2003.
• If catch share systems been in place globally in 1970, only about 9 percent of the world's fisheries would have collapsed by 2003, rather than 27 percent.

Conventional fishery management has failed

Most of the world's fisheries are governed by systems with perverse incentives that actually encourage overfishing.  A combination of decades of poor management and overfishing has had devastating results.

Many fishermen work harder than ever to catch fewer and fewer fish, putting their safety at risk and suffering economic hardship. Global fisheries peaked in 1988 and have been steadily declining ever since.

Restoring our fisheries is critical. About one billion people worldwide rely on fish for at least part of their essential food needs. And the ocean fishing industry employs 200 million people worldwide.

Catch shares are a better way: More results

Our 2007 groundbreaking report showed that well-designed catch share programs (see key findings):

• dramatically reduce habitat damage and bycatch (capture of unwanted species that are discarded as waste),
• improve fishing safety and
• increase profits, among other benefits.

Just a fraction of fisheries in the U.S. are managed by catch shares. A recent success was our work with fishermen and managers to design a catch share system for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the catch share program there, the commercial snapper season in 2007 was open year-round for the first time since 1990. Gulf fishermen now earn 25 percent more for their fish and wasteful discarding of fish dropped at least 70 percent.

Additional resources

• Press release: New Study Offers Viable Solution to Overfishing (9/18/2008)
• Our landmark report: Sustaining America's Fisheries and Fishing Communities (March 2007) - An evaluation of catch share programs: Well-designed systems protect the environment, increase profits and improve safety.
• Catch share programs in action: Restoring ailing fisheries. 

Our regional work:

• Main page: Overview of regional work
• At a Glance: Gulf of Mexico
• Pacific: New Life for a West Coast Fishery (From the September 2008 Solutions newsletter [PDF])

Rockfish catches plunge

The West Coast catch of rockfish, a type of groundfish often marketed as red snapper, plunged by 70 percent during the last two decades. In 2000, the federal government declared the fishery a disaster and closed much of the area to trawling.

"The problem is not the fishermen," says Johanna Thomas, our Pacific fisheries projects director. "Fishermen have done everything that fishery managers have asked them to do."

Regulators have historically responded to overfishing by shortening the season. But such regulations set up a "race for fish," which leads to dangerous fishing conditions, overinvestment in boats and gear, market gluts and excessive bycatch (the capture of unwanted species that are dumped overboard).

Catch shares work

With catch shares, each trawler is simply assigned a percentage of the scientifically determined total allowable annual catch. Captains can go out whenever they want and also have the option to instantly trade their shares with other boats if the need arises.

For example, if a fisherman takes more than his share, he can buy available shares from someone else, still keeping the total catch within the limits. As the fishery recovers, each share becomes more valuable, giving fishermen a long-term financial stake in the health of the system.

"It is a sophisticated approach because it rewards fishermen for conservation," says Thomas. A catch share program we helped develop for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico has reduced bycatch by 50 percent and fishermen report a 30 percent increase in dockside fish prices.

Catch shares have proven successful in dozens of fisheries worldwide. Our goal is to make them the standard for reviving ailing U.S. fisheries.

"Without Environmental Defense Fund, I don't think the fishing community would have learned about the science and economics of the fishery," says Brian Mose, a trawl fisherman in British Columbia. Canada introduced a catch share system for groundfish that has led to healthier fish stocks, better prices and less waste.

An observer in every boat is key

One critical aspect of the Pacific plan is its call for full monitoring. It will put official observers, backed up by video cameras, on each of the boats. Monitoring allows regulators to eliminate the guesswork that has long plagued fisheries management.

Before the final vote on the plan in November, our team will work with conservation and fishing allies to protect these strong environmental measures.

"It's been a long, hard process," said Donald Hansen, the council's chairman. "But when it's over, we'll have a cleaner way of fishing."

From the September 2008 Solutions newsletter [PDF]