Editor's View: Pacific Sardine Closure Shows Management Works, but Oceana and Pew Won’t Accept That
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Editor's View] by John sAckton - April 14, 2015
Yesterday the Pacific Fisheries Management Council closed the directed West Coast sardine fishery for the first time in 30 years. The move was widely expected, as fishery managers adopted a precautionary plan to shut the fishery during cyclical periods of low abundance.
This year’s stock estimates, which have been revised downward based on likely recruitment failure in 2014, range from 97,000 to 133,000 metric tons, significantly below the 150,000 ton spawning stock threshold set by the council.
Sardines are a cyclical fish, with population boom and bust that is closely related to water temperature. A period of several years of colder water off California has led to poor recruitment, and a stock collapse. Although waters in southern areas have warmed in the past two years, there has not yet been a response in increased sardine populations.
“While this is a sad day for all those dependent on a healthy sardine fishery, it is actually a good thing that this Council is addressing the problem directly,..
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