Oceana Applauds Action to Help Ensure Long-term Productivity of Commercial Fisheries
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a plan late last night to protect more than 23,000 square miles of known deep sea coral from North Carolina to Florida from destructive fishing gear. Five years in the making, yesterday’s vote will restrict the footprint of bottom trawls - one of the most nonselective fishing gears currently in use, capable of destroying thousand-year-old coral reefs and moving 18-ton rocks - and help to restore the long-term productivity of commercially valuable fish that take refuge in these rare corals.
“This landmark decision is a win for the oceans and those in the southeast who rely on it for their livelihoods,” said Dave Allison, senior campaign director at Oceana. “The crushing of these ancient coral reefs would be a serious loss to the ocean ecosystem and could threaten the survival of golden crab and wreckfish fishermen that catch other species on these deep reefs.”
These protections resulted from collaboration and negotiation among fishing, scientific and environmental representatives that worked tirelessly with the Council to reach an agreement. The Council’s decision will now be sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for its stamp of approval and implementation. Oceana anticipates the new regulation will take effect by the end of 2009.
"The history of fishing has too frequently been blind to expansion into deep waters as nearshore areas become exhausted,” said Margot Stiles, marine scientist at Oceana. “The Council showed exceptional leadership by protecting the reefs NOAA has called ‘America’s largest deep sea coral ecosystem’ before they are harmed, while allowing room for fishing to continue."
Deep sea corals off the southeast coast include hundreds of pinnacles up to 500 feet tall. These corals provide homes for a variety of marine species, including sponges with unusual chemistry currently in testing to develop drugs for the treatment of cancer, heart disease and for other medical needs.
Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans. Our teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners based in North America, Europe and South America. For more information, please visit www.Oceana.org.
Contacts:
Oceana
Dustin Cranor, 202-341-2267
dcranor@oceana.org
or
Dave
Allison, 202-422-9049
dallison@oceana.org
or
Margot
Stiles, 202-378-0255
mstiles@oceana.org