New Rules on Commercial Fishing Aim to End Overfishing in U.S. Waters

In the United States, recreational and commercial fishing is a huge business. In fact according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishing in the U.S. accounted for $185 billion in sales in 2006 and supported nearly 2 million jobs (source: news.yahoo.com). Still there has been growing concern among ocean conservationist about overfishing in some 40 species due to the commercial fishing industry. Today those conservationists are praising former President Bush as he passed tougher rules aimed at ending overfishing just before he left the White House.

Under the new rules, which passed on January 15^th, the nation's eight regional fishery councils will be forced to come up with plans to end overfishing by 2010. This will mean putting a limit the amount of certain species caught per year. The new rules are also said to provide strong accountability measures for enforcing the "bag" limits that the fisheries come up with (source: news.yahoo.com). Like with any new rules there are always those that will oppose.

No surprise in this case that it is the commercial fisherman who are the ones opposing. They do after all make a living from their catch. According to John Sackton, the editor and publisher of seafood.com, it is the Massachusetts cod and haddock fisherman who have been the most vocal. This is also of no surprise as both cod and haddock are on the list of species that are classified as "overfished." Sackton says there is a complete rebellion in parts of New England that in his opinion "will not succeed (source: news.yahoo.com)."

Most ocean conservationists agree that the new rules that have been passed by the Bush administration are a good road map for the Obama administration to follow. It is the hopes of many that President Obama finishes what former President Bush started (source: news.yahoo.com).

The conservationists are quick to point out that there is only one fish on the endangered species list in the smalltooth sawfish that lives off the coastal waters of Florida (source: news.yahoo.com). But those on the overfished list could be in danger of becoming endangered and then it is often too late to save a species. With the new rules now in effect hopefully the 40 species that are on the overfished list will make a strong comeback.

Fishing for fun is a wonderful pastime and I'm sure a great way to make a living on the commercial end. But we do need to be mindful that there are only so many fish out there and if we want future generations to enjoy what we have than certain limits are not necessarily a bad thing.