Pacific Fishery Management Council has a plan for 
the anchovy which allows a moderate expansion of 
the commercial fishery. 
The different approaches taken by State govern- 
ments cause the consternation of recreational and 
commercial fishing people alike. Under the Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, the Federal Gov- 
erment has a role in attempting to bring about more 
uniform regulations on the taking of individual spe- 
cies. 
Differences in State regulations abound. For in- 
stance, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and South 
Carolina regard the striped bass (rockfish) as a game 
fish and prohibit its catch in nets. North Carolina 
encourages a major commercial fishery for striped 
bass. South Carolina restricts recreational catches to 
10 per day; North Carolina has no limit. For the 
same species on the West Coast, California has a 
limit of three per day for recreational anglers, and 
Oregon, five. 
Conflicts _arise_between_recreational..and—commer- 
cial fishing interests. An exam ccurs in Narragan- 
set Bay, R.I., where some._anglers complain about 
the size of the commercial _menhaden catch, saying 
it deprives striped bass and bluefish of food_and 
there S € les. 
In a case such as described above, one Federal role 
is to provide accurate information about the size of 
menhaden stocks and the amount that might be 
caught without damage to other stocks. State officials 
decide what limits to set with the Federal Govern- 
ment seeing that the State decision does not have any 
adverse implications from a national standpoint. 
According to some fishery scientists, compounding 
the problems of recreational vs. commercial fishing 
interests is inadequate information about many spe- 
cies on which better decisions need to be made. (This 
same situation holds true for implementation of the 
200-mile law, but the practicalities require the Re- 
gional Councils to make the best judgments they can 
with available data.) There appear to be problems 
with the statistics involved. Commercial data are 
generally considered underestimates of actual land- 
ings, according to at least one account, whereas recre- 
ational data are said to be high. For instance, the 
head of the Sport Fishing Institute developed figures 
for recreational catches in 1970 that came to one-half 
of those of another researcher (Deuel),namely 0.8 bil- 
lion pounds vs. 1.58 billion pounds.*7 
The Federal Government’s multiple activities in 
support of marine recreational fishing appear to be 
another area calling for an objective, overall exami- 
nation of what disparate agencies and departments 
are doing, with an eye to spotting the duplicative or 
conflicting programs and those which could be trans- 
ferred to State or local governments. It is also an 
area where the Federal-State relationship has ele- 
ments of conflict. 
The presence of the Regional Councils to imple- 
ment the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 
with a legislative mandate to enhance and protect 
recreational, as well as commercial fishing interests, 
is seen as a hopeful new tool for bringing about 
greater Federal coordination and smoother cooper- 
ation between Federal and State officials. 
‘Ibid, p. 126. 
Increasing Fishery Productivity 
In addition to the management and conservation 
efforts that were set into motion by the Fishery Con- 
servation and Management Act of 1976, there are 
several other activities which could increase the do- 
mestic share of the world’s commercial landings and 
revitalize the fishing industry. These activities in- 
clude: 
© restoration of depleted stocks; 
e reduction of foreign competition; 
® possible development of underused species; 
® increased efficiency with improved techniques and 
technology—harvesting, product handling, process- 
ing, storage, and marketing; and 
@ development of aquaculture. 
Restoration of Depleted Stocks 
Although extended jurisdiction has the effect of 
significantly reducing foreign competition for fishery 
stocks in U.S. waters, the principal intent of this 
legislation is, as its title suggests, management and 
conservation. Because management is, to a large de- 
gree, planning for the future, a large part of the 
management effort is concerned with the enhance- 
ment of stocks that are now or are soon to be de- 
pleted. 
Besides aquaculture and the development of new 
genetic stocks, the various techniques used to en- 
hance a particular stock include: 
© limiting harvests—as manifested by optimum yield 
levels which are recommended by the Regional 
Fishery Management Councils; 
e supplementing stocks—improving the health and 
viability of particular stocks by adding individuals; 
and 
e maintaining or improving environmental quality 
near fishery habitats—improving the water quality 
in areas vital to marine fisheries such as estuaries, 
rivers, and coastal areas, and the construction of 
artificial reefs. 
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