Oceans of Abundance

Will jellyfish replace our favorite kinds of seafood? That appears to be the way we're headed — but a 2008 report, Oceans of Abundance [PDF], from leading U.S. policy makers and fisheries experts, says this does not have to be.

President 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.

Catch share programs a proven solution

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 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 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.

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.

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.