Market Mechanism Can Save Fish But Can They Save Climate?

The Maryland Blue Crab, which is the most iconic creature of the Chesapeake, has decreased in population from 276 million in 1990 to 131 million in 2008. This dramatic decrease has caused a cumulative loss to both Maryland and Virginia of 640 million dollars. In an attempt to restore the blue crab population, Maryland and Virginia instituted a public policy to place restrictions on the crabbing of the Chesapeake. This is an example of a command and control policy because public authorities established direct controls on individual actions. This created harsh economic hardships for many crabbers, causing the Secretary of Commerce to decide that the blue crab fishery had undergone a commercial failure as it is defined under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary authority for fishery management in the United States and it created regional fishery management councils that attempt to establish limits on total catches and regulations. This failure

The changes needed for sustainable fishing are too big and do not fit with America’s view of the economic system. Unfortunately, without these changes, the fish population will continue to decline. So, you can see that sustainable fishing in new England is not possible. Although New England and the US cannot have sustainable fishing because of their capitalistic values, as shown throughout history their values may

"Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." Fishery

Black sea bass is an important recreational and commercial species along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. The market for black sea bass is for human consumption and is primarily sold fresh or frozen. In May of this year, NOAA scientists declared the southern stock of black sea bass successfully rebuilt. The catch limit for this popular fish will more than double this fall. The rebuilding plan was required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which requires that overfishing end immediately, that overfished stocks be rebuilt, and that stocks be subject to annual catch limits. The fish are also larger on average and are showing up in places where they haven’t

The influence of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulfstream in Southwest Florida Waters make the temperature just right for literally hundreds of different kinds of fish. In 2011, “Florida’s recreational anglers caught roughly 121 million marine fish, 74 million of which were released.” These statistics support the notion that fishing may be one of the most loved hobbies. Since fishing efforts have been drastically increasing over the years, dozens of species are threatened with extinction and many more are experiencing serious population declines. In order to ensure that a fish’s populations will remain sustainable for future generations, anglers need regulations that will sustain the existence of a fish population.

Establishing and maintaining Freshwater Protected Areas (FPAs) is a great tool that is used by many fisheries. “They should be used in High-Risk, High-Value locations so that it may make the biggest ecological impact” (Garman et al. 2013). Another way to mitigate the issue, although it is still in the experimental phase, would be Electrofishing. This technique electrocutes fish in a stretch of water using and electrical field, it has not been widely used because of its chances of killing non target fish in the areas. “Experimental electrofishing for commercial applications would require a significant financial investment (20K per vessel) and strict oversight by agencies but might be fundable through fishery resources grant (FRG) or similar programs” (Garmin et al. 2003). Local awareness of the issue is another way to mitigate the problem. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources launched a statewide campaign to educate its citizen about the invasive fish and its impact on native species and what anglers can do to help. For instance, it started the DNR program which stands for “Do Not Release”. This asks anglers to remove and kill any blue or flathead catfish that are caught. It also implemented a fine on anyone who is caught transporting these fish to different bodies of water, which can be between $1000 to $2500. There is also a group called the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (SFGIT) that is made up of jurisdictional managers and fishery stakeholders who are trying to put policies into place to help reduce the problem

The availability of seafood in Canadian and Argentinean waters is also dependent on the total allowable catch allocated to Clearwater in a given area. Although the totals allowable catch in these areas and Clearwater 's enterprise allocations have been largely stable, fishery regulators have the right to make changes in the total allowable catch based on their assessment of the resource from time to time. Any reduction of total allowable catches in the areas from which Clearwater sources seafood, or the reduction of stocks due to changes in the environment or the health of certain species, may have a material adverse effect on Clearwater 's financial condition and results of operations.

Obviously mismanagement is a factor overfishing itself, and is the result of the limit for cod placed by the federal government. As well, the the advancement in geotechnology, like radars, sonars and satellite navigation systems helped find large fish bodies, all rapidly collected with trawlers. Another undiscussed matter, is climate change; over the years it has played a significant change in driving away fish populations because of dropping temperatures and changing of salinity. One idea discussed by the article is the monitoring of cod numbers, as well as monitoring the seal population. The article states to limit seal population to keep the fish alive; the textbook states “They contend that the greater number of seals ate larger quantities of caplin, a small fish that is a major food source of groundfish,” (pg 285). I find that bringing back the sealing industry could help maintain cod numbers, functioning as a way to bring back 2 banned commercial

Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (1976): This act manages, protects, restore and controls the fish

One contribution made to help saving the oceans is how Oceana has protected over 1 million square miles that they have conserved (Oceana). This will eliminate fishing space for fishermen to use while the fish are protected and can continue to reproduce (Oceana). Oceana is also dedicated to restoring the oceans and creating science-based fishery management and by doing this, they can make a science-based catch limits and protect marine life habitats to help oceans recover (Oceana). A catch limit will be very helpful in contributing to stop this issue. By campaigning for a catch limit, it will help fishermen in their business while at the same time, help the fish keep safe and able to keep up with the reproduction

Nature’s Price Tag” discusses the misconceptions we have about preserving “natures service,” as a burden on the economic growth, and how we shouldn't let the economy drive the direction of our climate. Doing something now, will prevent a lot of future damages and generations to come, will be better off. The barrier that often stops addressing climate change in the denial industry of it all. As mention in class, the denial of climate change means that they simply don't have to do anything about it because nature will either run its course or the changes isn't anything to be alarm about. Goulder and Juniper presented clear ideas of how to lets nature dictates the economy, as it will proved for us in the long haul.

One of the main problems in the U.S. is Unsustainable fishing. The seas and other bodies of water, as well as its inhabitants, are being threatened by numerous factors. Overfishing can lead to damage in the environment, extinction of species, increase in pollution, and a total collapse of fish stock. In 2012, the U.S. Government decided to enforce the fishing policy by giving all fisheries a catch limit. Juliet Eilperin, from Washington Post, stated, “Five years ago, Bush signed a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which dates to the mid-1970s and governs all fishing in the U.S. waters. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers joined environmental groups, some fishing interests and scientists to insert language in the law requiring each fishery to have annual catch limits in place by the end of 2011 to end overfishing”. This was the beginning of a great debate that many people began to be engaged in. After this article was published many people started to realize the dangers of overfishing and what we are doing to our own

Digest of federal resource laws of interest to the U.S. fish and wildlife service. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FISHCON.HTML

Privatization would address these issues on a broad scale with standard regulations that would not take into consideration underlying conflict experienced by the poorer users of the common resource (Ostrom et al., 1999). Instead, management of these resources should be site-specific, where some fishery communities would benefit from self-organized monitoring and implementation (Ostrom et al., 1999). For instance, the government intervention for northern cod in Canadian waters had a disproportionate impact on local fishers, who established local rules, yet government intrusion caused a collapse to the fishery market and outside fishers didn’t suffer the consequences as heavily as the locals, causing higher poverty rates and unemployment (Ostrom,

Driftnet fishing is illegal in some places, but is still done for the large amount of fish it provides. In some countries where fish make up a large part of the populations diet, people are still allowed to driftnet fish. In recognition of Japan’s traditional reliance on salmon fishing, the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission (INPFC) reduced and restricted the areas that Japanese salmon driftnet vessels could fish gradually (History of Driftnet Fisheries in Operation 6). Other countries are not so fortunate, but the damage being done to the populations of fish could result in the extinction of the species. Ireland also has an inshore salmon driftnet fleet that fishes illegally and threatens the existence of the salmon stocks in both Ireland and Scotland (History of Driftnet Fisheries in Operation 9). Bans and laws against driftnet fishing can hurt populations of people because of their dependence on fishing, but if the populations of fish are wiped out because of driftnet fishing, it will harm humans more than the laws.