67 



programs which facilitate community involvement in the management of economi- 

 cally significant marine resources, including examining new economically viable al- 

 ternatives to fishing for fishing communities. 



37) Develop linkages between the northeast fisheries recovery effort and the Sus- 

 tainable Communities Project in Northern New England. Consider the prospects for 

 using the fishing crisis as a catalyst to advance holistic community sustainable de- 

 velopment initiatives. 



38) Develop set of indicators of sustainability for the fishery, the marine eco- 

 system which supports them, the communities, and the region. 



39) Establish program director to co-ordinate a long term foundation initiative. 



40) Strengthen role of fishermen's wives organizations and develop regional link- 

 ages to foster communication and collaboration. 



42) Develop informal forums of environmentalists, managers, scientists and fish- 

 ing groups to explore avenues for collaboration and break down mistrust and antag- 

 onism. 



Long Term 



Management 



1) Develop appropriate economic and social incentives for harvesters and proc- 

 essors. Explore and test co-management approaches which share management re- 

 sponsibility among government, councils, fisnermen and fishing communities. Exam- 

 ine collective decision- making processes employed in agriculture for applicability to 

 the northeastern fisheries. Support fishermen s initiatives to develop institutional 

 capacity to engage in management and to increase their accountability for stock 

 health. 



2) Incorporate fisheries and habitat management as key priorities in local and re- 

 gional economic development programs. 



3) Assess the broad array of limited entry fishery models currently in use in the 

 U.S. and internationally. Examine the successes and failures of those systems and 

 the factors which contributed to their current status. Assess the applicability of 

 those systems or components of those systems to the northeastern fishery. Develop 

 and test experimental limited entry programs in the northeast to assess their effec- 

 tiveness. Involve fishermen, conservationists and regulators in the development of 

 the pilot programs. 



4) Support efforts to diversify fishing pressures from "over-utilized" species to a 

 broader range of species, by experimenting with the development of carefully con- 

 trolled model fisheries. Avoid shifting fishing pressure onto already stressed "non- 

 targeted species". Model fisheries could include mackerel, herring and red crab. In- 

 corporate the principle of sustainability of the fishery resource and precautionary 

 management for botn targeted and non-targeted species as the core guiding prin- 

 ciple backed up by strong enforceable management programs. 



5) Develop support programs, including new seed funding sources, for pilot aqua- 

 culture and mareculture business development. Examine and test opportunities for 

 applying harvester skills and resources to aquaculture production. 



6) Support efforts to economically restructure the harvesting sector to sustain the 

 economic viability of those sectors which are economically and ecologically viable 

 over the long term, including its owner operator character of the industry during 

 the rebuilding period and improve the capacity of the offshore fleet to adapt to 

 changes in resource productivity and availability. 



7) Support efforts to establish and develop linkages between Canadian and U.S. 

 environmental and community advocates to explore the common themes of fisheries 

 management and resource conservation around the Gulf of Maine, and to foster 

 communication and collaborative management between U.S. and Canadian fisheries 

 managers. 



8) Develop a coordinated long term ecological and economic strategy for the Gulf 

 of Maine and Georges Bank. 



9) Define ecosystem management and support efforts to increase available re- 

 sources and focus of managers and scientific community and fishermen on broader 

 ecosystem issues. 



10) Support efforts to rebuild the natural linkages between the small-boat-owner- 

 operator fisheries and the environmental community. 



11) Support initiatives to import successful examples from other domestic and 

 international fisheries to educate the fishermen, council members, and community 

 leaders. 



Education and Public Awareness 



1) Support programs to integrate fisheries issues into grade school and secondary 

 school curricula in northeastern coastal communities. 



