Wednesday, September 16, 2009

SAFMC meeting in Charleston


The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council is meeting all this week in Charleston. The federal government is moving towards ecosystem management for the oceans, and some hotly debated topics include catch-shares and ocean closures to fisherman. The Wednesday afternoon Public Comment hearing was conducted in a courteous manner although many fisherman spoke passionately about why they did not want to se ocean closures enacted. SAFMC is under strict orders via the Magnusen Act to 'stop overfishing' and they have a limited timeframe to do so. The future health of the oceans may well be on the line, so this matter is rightly scheduled for more debate and research over the coming months.

Photo By Jeff Dennis: An avid angler listens carefully during the SAFMC public comment meeting

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.