Adaptive Resource Management in the New England Groundfish Fishery: Implications for Public Participation and Impact Assessment

Abstract

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is responsible for preparing and evaluating fishery management plans (FMPs) for the coastal states of the Northeast. Perhaps the most extensive and contentious of these FMPs is the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which collectively manages 15 species of groundfish found in New England waters. Though the objectives of the Multispecies FMP are explicitly defined, the council regularly reviews and revises the FMP to ensure its management provisions remain consistent with those objectives. One approach employed by the NEFMC for modifying the Multispecies FMP is the framework adjustment. Intended to provide a "real-time" response to the evolving dynamics of the groundfish fishery, the framework adjustment process has been criticized for not including robust public participation and impact assessment components. The merits and shortcomings of the framework adjustment process are considered, as well as research implications of relevance to other resource management concerns.