Solomons, Md. (September 21, 2010) In an era when fisheries management is rife with controversy, new research led by a team of University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science fisheries scientists shows that a new, stakeholder-driven process can improve the way we manage fisheries targeted by both commercial and recreational interests.
In the September issue of the journal Fisheries, the team documents how this innovative process resulted in more content stakeholders while implementing more conservative harvest measures for the king mackerel fishery in the Southeast United States.
The "FishSmart" program works with a wide diversity of fishery stakeholders to develop a set of protective harvest measures agreeable to recreational anglers, conservation organizations, commercial fishermen and managers. Unlike the traditional fisheries management process in which the views of stakeholders are considered after harvest limits have been proposed, the FishSmart process involves the stakeholders from the outset to come to consensus on a shared vision of a "successful fishery" for the target species.
"By developing recommendations for the king mackerel fishery in the southeast Atlantic, our research shows that this process can work in our nation's more contentiously managed fisheries," said lead researcher Dr. Thomas Miller of the UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. "As one of the top ten marine recreational species in the nation, king mackerel is heavily targeted by both commercial and recreational interests. There is a lot at stake when developing management plans for this important species."
Over an eight-month period, the stakeholders used a model developed in collaboration with the research team to weigh how alternative management regulations would impact the fishery. The stakeholders recommended three specific approaches involving changes in size and bag limits to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
'/>"/>
| Contact: Christopher Conner cconner@umces.edu 443-496-0095 University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. DFG approves 12 new collaborative research centers
2. Tufts wins NCRR grant for Collaborative Cluster in Genome Structure and Developmental Patterning
3. DFG approves funding for 17 new collaborative research centers
4. New collaborative center to provide education, research on temperate rainforests
5. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev signs collaborative contract with Bayer CropScience
6. Texas Medical Center researchers win collaborative grants
7. From sheet metal elements to host cells: DFG launches 10 new collaborative research centers
8. Dunn Foundation gives Rice $3M for collaborative research grants
9. Scientists uncover process enabling toxoplasmosis parasite to survive homelessness
10. New study shows that oilsands mining and processing are polluting the Athabasca River
11. Newly identified RNA sequence is key in microRNA processing
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |