Background 



The Fishery Conservation and Management 

 Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-265) is potentially the 

 most significant institutional change in the 

 history of U.S. fisheries management. The law 

 extends the limits of U.S. jurisdiction out to 

 200 miles and incorporates some advanced 

 ideas about ways to manage marine fisheries 

 in the United States. Implementation of this 

 law will require a level of understanding 

 about the infrastructure of the fishing indus- 

 try that has never before been attempted by 

 the U.S. Government. Eventually it will re- 

 quire a thorough description of the entire cy- 

 cle from spawning fish to fish on the dinner 

 table. In the past, each section of the fishing 

 industry — i.e., fishing, processing, retailing, 

 etc. — was concerned only with its own aspects 

 of the cycle. There has been little correlation of 

 information and no indepth analysis of the in- 

 terdependence and the interrelatedness of the 

 various segments of the industry. A better un- 

 derstanding of the fishing industry as a whole 

 will be necessary in order to implement the 

 management theories put forth in the new 

 law. 



Management, according to the law, means 

 the use of "rules, regulations, conditions, 

 methods, and other measures (A) which are 

 required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and 

 which are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or 

 maintaining, any fishery resource and the 

 marine environment; and (B) which are 

 designed to assure that: 



(i) a supply of food and other products 

 may be taken and that recreational 

 benefits may be obtained, on a con- 

 tinuing basis; 

 (ii) irreversible or long-term adverse 

 effects on fishery resources and the 

 marine environment are avoided; 

 and 

 (iii) there will be a multiplicity of options 

 available with respect to future uses 

 of these resources. "52 



Public Law 94-265 implies that proper 

 management of U.S. fisheries will result in 



conservation of fish stocks, which means a 

 reduction in overfishing of some species, in- 

 creased fishing of underutilized species, and 

 enhancement of stocks which are currently 

 overutilized or depleted. 



International pressures now exist to take 

 the last available ton of some popular species 

 from the ocean each year. For example, in its 

 latest report to Congress under the terms of 

 the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctu- 

 aries Act of 1972, NOAA concludes that about 

 10 to 15 major finfish and shellfish stocks 

 have been overfished, primarily by foreign 

 fleets; other stocks are in danger of being 

 overfished, and numerous others are "inten- 

 sively exploited. "53 



In this study, OTA examined many ele- 

 ments of fisheries management that are con- 

 tained in Public Law 94-265 — elements that 

 many people believe have been neglected in 

 the past — and that seem to be of great impor- 

 tance in effectively managing fishery 

 resources in the future. The major elements of 

 fishery management which were examined by 

 OTA are: 



• development of and use of the concept of 

 optimum yield; 



• establishment and operation of fishery 

 management councils; 



• preparation of preliminary management 

 plans for foreign fisheries; 



• preparation of final management plans 

 for domestic fisheries; and 



• evaluation of management effectiveness. 



This section describes the status of these 

 management elements, discusses some of the 

 planning which is needed for future manage- 

 ment, and describes specific information 

 which will be needed for adequate manage- 

 ment. The information needs were determined 

 by special studies commissioned by OTA. 

 These studies are referenced throughout this 

 report as working papers and are being 

 published separately. 



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