1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Loggerhead escaping out a 

 turtle excluder device, Gulf 

 of Mexico. 



under strict quota management, such as halibut or king and Tanner crabs. The bycatch of 

 juvenile red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fisheries restricts the speed at which the 

 snapper stock can be rebuilt. Tuna and swordfish fisheries often catch marlins and sailfish, 

 prized targets for recreational anglers. There are many other examples. 



Mitigation of bycatch problems is complex. The problem is partly biological and 

 partly technological. Some technological innovations can work to reduce bycatch, such as 

 the use of turtle excluder devices to minimize impacts on sea turtles in the shrimp fisheries 

 of (he Ckilf of Mexico or fish excluder devices to reduce bycatch of groundfish in the 

 northern shrimp fishery of the Northeast Region. Research by NMFS, industry, and academia 

 continues to develop fishing gears that are more species-selective. In some cases, however, 

 new technologies cannot resolve the problem adequately and it may be necessary to use 

 closed-area and closed-season controls on fishing. In the Northeast Region, for instance, 

 scalloping is prohibited in some areas to aid in the rebuilding ol Atlantic cod and yellowtail 

 flounder. Time-area closures are also being used to reduce salmon bycatch in Alaska ground- 

 fish fisheries. Time-area closures may require continuous adjustments when the dynamics 

 and abundance of the species of concern change in time and space and therefore require 

 routine scientific monitoring. 



Habitat 



The requirement to identify essential fish habitat (EFH) was one of the most sub- 

 stantive changes in the 1996 reauthorization of the MSFCMA. With the EFH and related 

 provisions, the amended Act gives heightened consideration to fish habitat in resource 

 management decisions, and provides significant new tools to assist resource managers to 

 conserve the habitats of marine, estuarine, and anadromous fish and shellfish resources. 



EFH is identified as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breed- 

 ing, feeding or growth to maturity." The MSFCMA requires that fishery management 

 plans identify and describe EFH for all life stages of each species Federally managed within 

 the U.S. EEZ, using the best scientific information available. Within areas identified as 

 EFH, fishery management councils must minimize to the extent practicable adverse effects 

 on the habitat caused by fishing practices. They must also identify adverse impacts from 

 nonfishing activities and consider conservation and enhancement measures to mitigate 

 those impacts. Federal agencies that authorize, fund, or undertake actions that may ad- 



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