Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Research Articles

In Memoriam: William T. Hogarth

March 7, 1939 – November 5, 2022 William Hogarth in front of the Florida Institute of Oceanography's research vessel named in his honor (2017). William T. “Bill” Hogarth, 83, of Treasure Island, Florida, passed away after a short illness on November 5, 2022. Bill was born in the small southeastern Virginia town of Jarratt. Raised by his mother and sisters, Hogarth brought a bit of Jarratt along with him throughout his illustrious career as a scientist and manager of the nation's fisheries and in later life as an academic. His almost unintelligible southern Virginia accent was often the source of amusement and bewilderment to his friends and acquaintances, once described as the voice of Foghorn Leghorn. But Hogarth was an amazingly effective communicator with a keen sense of what was politically possible, while maintaining empathy for commercial and recreational fishers and their communities as management measures were enacted to eliminate overfishing from our nation's waters. Hogarth completed undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond (BS, 1963) and obtained his MS degree there in 1965. He began his PhD program at North Carolina State University in 1966 under the supervision of the legendary William Hassler. Together, they studied the populations of Striped Bass Morone saxatilis in the mid-Atlantic region, leading to more effective management of this iconic species. His studies on Wahoo Acanthocybium solandri and Mahi Mahi Coryphaena hippurus while at North Carolina State University ignited a lifelong interest in tunas (Scombridae) and other pelagic species that would play an important part in his later career. In 1972, Hogarth began a 12-year stint at Carolina Power and Light managing studies of the Brunswick nuclear power plant and its effects on biota. Striped bass was a species of special concern given and Hogarth's expertise was invaluable in efforts to minimize impacts. In 1986, the governor of North Carolina asked Bill to lead the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. There, he directed all scientific, management, and law enforcement activities related to fisheries and participated in regional and federal collaborations on a number of key management plans. Most importantly, it was then that Hogarth met and eventually married his wife, Mary. When the governor left office, Bill stepped down from the directorship and began his long affiliation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). During his career at NMFS, Bill steadily rose in the ranks from recreational fisheries coordinator, to acting chief of the Highly Migratory Species Division in Silver Spring, Maryland, then on assignment as acting regional administrator in Long Beach, California, and a similar position in St. Petersburg, Florida. He returned to Silver Spring as acting assistant administrator (AA) for fisheries in 2001, and later was appointed the permanent AA for fisheries, a position he held until his retirement from federal service in 2007. Hogarth's accomplishments at NMFS were prodigious. Working with U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, Hogarth was able to develop and get signed into law revisions to the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The 2007 revisions put teeth into the nation's laws to eliminate overfishing and rebuild depleted stocks. For his accomplishments, Hogarth and his team were awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Medal. Hogarth was also the 2016 recipient of the AFS Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award, among numerous accolades. Hogarth's efforts in managing living marine resources also extended into the international arena, where he was elected to chair both the International Whaling Commission and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Under his chairmanships, both organizations made important strides in conserving species entrusted to them. When Hogarth left federal service in 2007, he became the interim dean of the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida (USF) in St. Petersburg. There he was able to secure funds to rebuild laboratories, recruit faculty, acquired the R/V Weatherbird II, and, perhaps most importantly, led efforts on behalf of the state to study the impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. When a new dean was eventually recruited, Hogarth assumed the duties of director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO), an organization supporting oceanography programs throughout Florida. The president of USF also asked Bill to serve as interim Regional Chancellor for USF–St. Petersburg. Bill had the ability to delegate and empower the people he worked with and to act as their advocate. He was all about providing opportunities for others. Bill was a fun person to work with and always a source of unconventional ideas. He is fondly remembered for enriching the lives of so many of those he befriended and he will be missed. No doubt there is also grieving in the town of Loretto, Kentucky, where Makers Mark bourbon (Bill's favorite) is distilled. In honor of his service, in 2017 the FIO named its new research vessel the R/V William T. Hogarth. Bill's legacy will also continue through the William T. Hogarth Fellowship in Marine Mammals, awarded to a deserving USF graduate student. Donations may be made to the William T. Hogarth Fellowship at https://bit.ly/3uPhy6F.

Less Soak Time Saves Those upon the Line: Capture Times and Hooking Mortality of Sharks Caught on Bottom Longlines

AbstractThe National Marine Fisheries Service is mandated by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to implement effective annual catch limits and accountability measures to prevent overfishing. These requirements compel further research into alternative fishing practices that could reduce mortality of sharks (class Chondrichthyes) and allow fishers to release unwanted sharks to the water alive, while still effectively catching targeted species. We used hook timers and temperature–depth recorders aboard contracted vessels and participants in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Shark Research Fishery to collect hooking time and time‐on‐the‐line data for 10 species of sharks that were commonly encountered in the fishery. A subset of standardized fishing sets compared the most popular circle hook and J‐hook models. Over 60% of sharks were hooked within 4 h of hook soak time. The fastest to bite the hook was the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae and the slowest was the Dusky Shark Carcharhinus obscurus. Shark resilience to time on the longline varied among species, with Sandbar Shark C. plumbeus exhibiting the most resilience and Atlantic Sharpnose Shark the least. Shorter set soak times, approximately 2 h, would still maximize catch, while minimizing at‐vessel mortality. The most frequently used circle hook model did not significantly reduce at‐vessel mortality over large J‐style hooks. The recent circle hook requirement will have little effect for fishers that previously used 12/0 J‐hooks, but it may be beneficial by preventing the use of smaller J‐hooks that are more likely to cause at‐vessel mortality.

Measuring fishery productivity growth in the Northeastern United States 2007–2018

Fishing vessel productivity is an important metric in terms of economic performance, and yields information about the financial impact of policy changes on fishing fleets. In this study, a new method is proposed to measure sector-wide commercial fishery total factor productivity (TFP), and is applied using northeastern United States fishery-level data from 2007 to 2018. Results from the study are linked to changes which occurred after 2006 Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSFCMRA). This is accomplished by employing a translog production possibility frontier to measure total outputs, inputs, and TFP using Törnqvist indices. Quality differences embodied in the capital assets are accounted for, and the TFP measurement is adjusted for fishery stock changes. Results show that for most fisheries, improvements in biomass after the MSFCMRA re-authorization led to improved TFP. However, when biomass growth estimates were separated from overall TPP growth, biomass-adjusted TFP annual growth declined about 2% per year. This highlights the importance of separating biomass growth from output growth so managers understand the impact of their policies on the commercial fishing sector separately from biomass growth.

Evaluating benthic impact of the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery using the Swept Area Seabed Impact (SASI) model

The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act mandates US fisheries minimize adverse effects of fishing on essential fish habitat (EFH). The Gulf of Maine (GoM) American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery is the most valuable US fishery and can deploy more than three million traps annually. To date, the impact of this fishery on benthic EFH has not been addressed quantitatively. To evaluate the impact of the GoM lobster fishery on EFH, we incorporated lobster fishing effort into a model linking habitat susceptibility and recovery to area impacted by fishing gear: the Swept Area Seabed Impact model. Impact to EFH was localized along the coast and highest along midcoast Maine. Upwards of 13% of the benthos is in the process of recovery, but between 99.92% and 99.96% of initially affected habitat fully recovers. These estimates suggest that lobster fishing negligibly contributes to accumulation of EFH damage in the GoM due to the expansive area fished and the small footprint of each trap. Identifying areas of persistent impact is crucial in developing effective fisheries management for critical marine habitats.

Progress on Implementing Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in the United States Through the Use of Ecosystem Models and Analysis

Worldwide fisheries management has been undergoing a paradigm shift from a single-species approach to ecosystem approaches. In the U.S., NOAA has adopted a policy statement and Road Map to guide the development and implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). NOAA’s EBFM policy supports addressing the ecosystem interconnections to help maintain resilient and productive ecosystems, even as they respond to climate, habitat, ecological, and social and economic changes. Managing natural marine resources while taking into account their interactions with their environment and our human interactions with our resources and environment requires the support of ecosystem science, modeling, and analysis. Implementing EBFM will require using existing mandates and approaches that fit regional management structures and cultures. The primary mandate for managing marine fisheries in the U.S. is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Many tenets of the Act align well with the EBFM policy; however, incorporating ecosystem analysis and models into fisheries management processes has faced procedural challenges in many jurisdictions. In this paper, we review example cases where scientists have had success in using ecosystem analysis and modeling to inform management priorities, and identify practices that help bring new ecosystem science information into existing policy processes.

Scientific Considerations Informing Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Reauthorization

Scientific Considerations Informing Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Reauthorization

Fisheries Governance Affecting Conservation Outcomes in the United States and European Union

Fisheries management in the USA, as governed by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), has been decidedly more successful at meeting its conservation goals than has fisheries management in the EU, as governed by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In an effort to explain the different outcomes in these two systems that share many management attributes, we evaluated them against a list of effective governance attributes gleaned from the literature. We also examined the distribution of rights and responsibilities within each system, and the resulting stewardship incentives. Five effective governance attributes are fully realized under the MSA but have historically been absent from the CFP system: adequate regulatory authority, effective enforcement mechanisms, science-based decision-making, conservation-oriented goals and clear objectives, and directives. These governance system gaps, along with uneven distributions of rights, responsibilities, and incentives, may be responsible for the observed difference in conservation outcomes.

Improving Biological Assessments and Consultations for Regional Response Team Preauthorization Plans: An Example with Federal Region 4 Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic

ABSTRACT Immediately following the unprecedented use of dispersants in response to the Deepwater Horizon (a.k.a. MC252) incident, the National Response Team (NRT) issued a memorandum to NRT members and Regional Response Team (RRT) co-chairs recommending review and revision of all dispersant preauthorization plans. During this review process, the Regional Response Team 4 (RRT4) (North Carolina to Mississippi) determined that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultations would likely require further revisions and that the assessment should also be prepared to request consultation in accordance with Section 305(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) (i.e. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)). The RRT4 Science & Technology Committee Biological Assessment Workgroup developed a functional outline that included narrowing the focus of the assessment to evaluate only oil spill scenarios where dispersant is applied under preauthorized protocols and locations. An analysis of oil spill incidents using U.S. Coast Guard Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) data was performed to develop spill scenarios, each with dispersant response scenarios using the NOAA Dispersant Mission Planner (DMP2). The General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME) model was used to quantitatively describe the average concentration of oil within the water column at different time steps. In close coordination with the Services, species and habitats were selected for evaluation based on their likelihood to occur in the proposed preauthorized geographic area, with effects of the action assessed for species groups. The same framework was used in preauthorization planning for in-situ burning. The summation of these steps resulted in a swift and cost-effective biological assessment process that incorporated both response tactics. Initiating or revising biological assessments and consultations to oil spill contingency plans will continue to expand beyond preauthorization for alternative countermeasures under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) Subpart J). The RRT4 efforts contribute to the body of practical practices as national recommendations continue to be developed.

Revisions to the sound exposure guidelines for fish and sea turtles report

Anthropogenic underwater sounds can impact aquatic life. Adherence to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires a risk assessment of the potential effects from underwater noise. Procedures for evaluating the risk to marine mammals (MMPA) are increasingly sophisticated, and quantitative science-based criteria for mammals were published in 2007 by Southall et al. The need for equivalent criteria for fishes and sea turtles (ESA and MSA) led to the creation of our expert working group co-led by Professors Arthur Popper and Richard Fay, pillars in the USA for everything fish. While Professor Tony Hawkins, a pillar in the EU for everything fish, brought his own unique perspectives and broad expertise of fish hearing studies and sound exposure. The results from our working group are described from its inception in 2004 to the 2014 publication of its findings as an ANSI/ASA report. The report determined broad sound exposure guidance based on the best available scientific information for fishes and sea turtles in a series of tables specific to a sound source. It is important to maintain current information and portions of the tables have recently been revised.

Essential Fish Habitat Regulation in the United States: Lessons for High Latitudes?

Commercial fisheries in the United States are managed by eight regional fisheries management councils operating under the authority of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, Department of Commerce) and governed by the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and accompanying federal guidelines. The Act mandates that NMFS identify essential fish habitat (EFH) for fish stocks and minimize, to the extent practicable, adverse effects to EFH through the councils’ fishery management plan development and revisions process. The statute and regulatory guidelines implicitly assume that NMFS and councils have the scientific information necessary to make informed EFH designations for all commercially harvested species, assess the realized or potential threats to EFH, and have the management tools to protect EFH. Further, the interpretation and implementation of several important, but ambiguous, terms in the guidelines are left to NMFS and the councils. Our thesis is that these factors (specifically, insufficient information support and regulatory ambiguities) can and are resulting in inconsistent and potentially sub-optimal fish habitat management throughout the country. As we enter an era of increased climate variability these factors may be having a disproportionally high impact in higher latitudes where change is expected to be more rapid. Here we provide a brief history of essential fish habitat regulations, explain the issues arising from the state of the science and regulatory ambiguities, and conclude with a discussion of the implications and recommendations for United States high latitude EFH management.

At loggerheads over international bycatch: Initial effects of a unilaterally imposed bycatch reduction policy

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) is the primary law that codifies marine fisheries management in United States federal waters. The MSA was amended in 2006 with Section 610, an international provision that directs the Secretary of Commerce to unilaterally identify foreign nations engaged in the incidental capture (bycatch) of protected living marine resources (PLMRs) under specific conditions. In 2013 the United States identified Mexico for bycatch of a PLMR – the North Pacific loggerhead turtle – representing the first time a nation has been identified for bycatch under section 610. This paper evaluates the initial effects of the identification on loggerhead bycatch management efforts in Mexico and provides policy recommendations for improving the law and its implementation. In the wake of the unilateral identification, Mexico downplayed and denied the bycatch problem that their agencies had previously accepted and cancelled a bycatch research partnership between their federal fisheries science agency and U.S. researchers. Moreover, fishers invested in bycatch reduction and monitoring programs ceased to participate, jeopardizing their understanding of the problem and their co-development of bycatch solutions. However, the identification and subsequent consultation process ultimately resulted in Mexico implementing federal loggerhead bycatch regulations that are temporarily comparable with relevant U.S. measures. These regulations establish a temporary fisheries reserve (authorized for two years) that includes monitoring of bycatch, a loggerhead bycatch mortality cap, temporal and spatial restrictions on fishing gear and practices, and a closure of all finfish fisheries during the summer of 2016. As a result, turtle bycatch was likely substantially reduced in 2016, but at the cost of artisanal fishers' entire seasonal income. Policy recommendations are made, highlighting the need to: 1) better assess the socioeconomic, political, and environmental consequences associated with using the threat of trade sanctions to compel nations to reduce their bycatch; and 2) facilitate a more consistent consideration of bycatch data across nations such that the current policy does not create a disincentive for other nations to assess or report PLMR bycatch.

Incorporating Habitat into Ecosystem‐Based Fisheries Management Strategies

Fish habitat earned legal status in 1996 (Sustainable Fisheries Act) when the U.S. Congress added it as “essential fish habitat (EFH)” to the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Ac...

Toward shared understandings of ecosystem-based fisheries management among fishery management councils and stakeholders in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and New England regions

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is often discussed by fisheries managers and stakeholders as a potential goal. EBFM is based on a multi-species approach, which varies significantly from the single species fisheries management (SSFM) approach currently practiced under the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA). EBFM is “holistic” and considers “all factors,” but it is impossible for management to incorporate all factors into EBFM. This study sought to improve understanding of factors contributing to or preventing progress toward EBFM implementation in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), focusing on Council member and stakeholder beliefs, attitudes, and mutual understanding. Objectives included determining mutual understanding between MAFMC and NEFMC members and stakeholders about EBFM and identifying MAFMC and NEFMC member and stakeholder preferences for EBFM definitions, practices, and outcomes, and prioritizing which aspects of EBFM managers and stakeholders find most important. Stakeholders included commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, and Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) members. Over 1000 survey responses about EBFM from council members and stakeholders in the Mid-Atlantic (MA) and New England (NE) regions were analyzed. The Coorientation Model was used to characterize understanding between the Council and fisheries-related stakeholder groups. For the MA and NE regions, most stakeholders agreed on definitions, practices, and possible outcomes for EBFM. Results suggest that most Council members and stakeholders in the MA and NE regions support a change from SSFM to EBFM at an incremental, intermediate, or complete, gradual (5–10 years) pace. The application of the Coorientation Model to EBFM and the fishery management councils provided insights into how an improved understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, and mutual comprehension of Council members and stakeholder groups could potentially facilitate the implementation of EBFM. Council members and stakeholders responded similarly to, and Council members correctly predicted stakeholder responses about, EBFM definitions, practices, and outcomes. These findings suggest that Council member and stakeholder agreement and understanding are not barriers to MAFMC and NEFMC adoption of EBFM.

An Evaluation of Rebuilding Policies for U.S. Fisheries.

Rebuilding depleted fish populations is a priority of modern fisheries management. In the U.S., strong statutory mandates extend to both the goals and process by which stocks are to be rebuilt. However, the National Standard Guidelines that govern the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act may change to increase flexibility in rebuilding requirements. In this study we evaluate performance of the status quo approach to fish stock rebuilding in the United States against 3 alternatives that have been proposed to improve rebuilding outcomes. These alternatives either simplify the analytical requirements of rebuilding analyses or apply ‘best practices’ in fisheries management, thereby avoiding the need for rebuilding analyses altogether. We use a Management Strategy Evaluation framework to evaluate rebuilding options across 6 fish life history types and 5 possible real-world fishery scenarios that include options for stock assessment quality, multiple fleets, and the degree to which the stocks are overfished at the start of the analysis. We show that the status quo rebuilding plan and a harvest control rule that reduces harvest rates at low stock size generally achieve the best rebuilding outcomes across all life-history types and fishery scenarios. Both approaches constrain fishing in the short term, but achieve high catches in the medium and long term as stocks rebuild to productive levels. These results support a growing body of literature that indicates that efforts to end overfishing early pay off in the medium- to long-term with higher cumulative catches than the alternative.

Limited-access Privilege Programs in the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries

The use of limited-access privilege programs (LAPP’s) in fi sheries management offers an incentive for collaborative management while also addressing economic incentives. This paper provides an overview of the development and use of limited access privilege programs by looking at a review of potential benefi ts and the arguments against them. It focuses on examining Introduction A catch share program is a generic term associated with fi shery management strategies that allocate a specifi c percentage of the fi shery catch to individuals, cooperatives, communities, or other entities. It includes more specifi c programs such as Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPP’s). The Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (later renamed Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act and then Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act) created a new national program for the conservation and management of marine fi shery resources. Fishery Management Plans (FMP’s) were to be developed by eight regional fi shery management councils and implemented by NMFS. In 2006, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (hereafter referred to as the Reauthorization Act), urged regional councils to use more LAPP’s in federal fi sheries management (NMFS, 2007). LAPP’s had also been specifi ed as a priority in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan1 and Executive Order 12866, signed by President William J. Clinton in 1993, which established the guiding principles agencies must follow when developing regulations. In 2005, under President George W. Bush, NMFS pledged to double the number of fi sheries managed under LAPP’s (from 8 to 16) by 2010. In 2010, the Obama administration solidifi ed its commitment to catch shares by issuing a Catch Share Policy (NOAA, 2010) to provide guidance and support on the design, implementation, and monitoring of catch share programs. This policy provides a foundation for facilitating the widespread consideration of catch share fi shery management plans (FMP’s) while enabling local fi shermen and communities to be part of the process. This article explains what LAPP’s are, how they work, and what benefi ts and costs can be expected from their implementation. First, a brief history of fi sheries management helps explain how LAPP’s evolved. This is followed by an explanation of the economic incentives behind LAPP’s, in the context of two fi sheries in the U.S. Mid-At1The plan, subtitled The Bush Administration’s Response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, is available online at http://www.cmts. gov/downloads/US_ocean_action_plan.pdf. lantic Region—the Atlantic surfclam/ ocean quahog, Spisula solidissima/ Arctica islandica, fi shery and the tilefi sh (also known as the golden tilefi sh), Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, fi shery. Limited-Access Privilege Programs Prior to 1976, U.S. marine fi sheries were managed in a completely openaccess environment, with few restrictions placed on foreign or domestic fi shermen or their activities. Competition among fi shermen under open-access conditions creates incentives for the industry to expand, over-exploit, and eventually deplete the resource (as described by the popular phrase “tragedy of the commons”), resulting in overcapacity and overfi shing (Anderson and Holliday, 2007). With the passage of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, fi sheries management began to evolve, using various combinations of input and output controls. Input controls were put in place to restrict vessel activity in various manners, by regulating the type and/or amount of gear, or by restricting fi shing areas or fi shing times. Output controls were also established that aimed to limit the amount of catch or harvest in a fi shery, such as limits on a total allowable catch (TAC) or individual trip catch. These too had a downside. A hard TAC (a predetermined catch level that is paired with a within-season closure provision) implemented for a fi shery as a whole often leads to heightened competition to catch as much fi sh as possible before the annual limit is reached; a “derby fi shery” in which there is a “race to fi sh.” Gear restrictions and trip limits the historical context of two specifi c applications in the Mid-Atlantic—the Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, and ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, fi shery, and the tilefi sh, Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, fi shery. Structural components of these programs are presented along with a description of notable changes in these two fi sheries since the implementation of LAPP’s.

Introduction to a Special Section: Spatial Analysis, Mapping, and Management of Marine Fisheries

The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996 mandated that the National Marine Fisheries Service develop guidelines to assist fisheries management councils nationwide in the...

Stock Complexes for Fisheries Management in the Gulf of Mexico

AbstractThe Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006 required that regional fishery management councils implement annual catch limits and accountability measures for all federally managed stocks by 2011. Many managed species are data limited and no formal stock assessment has been done for them. One possible approach to managing unassessed species is to assign them to assemblages that are managed as units. The utility of this approach was evaluated using fishery‐dependent and fishery‐independent data from the Gulf of Mexico. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed several consistent assemblages among the 42 reef fish species managed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Pearson correlation matrices, nodal analyses, and a weighted mean cluster association index integrated results across cluster analyses and provided additional guidance regarding the placement of rare species into groups. Productivity–susceptibility analysis and life history were also considered, as differences in productivity, vulnerability, life history, and other population‐dynamic parameters for the species within complexes might imply different population responses to a similar change in fishing mortality. Identified linkages between species also provide guidance for the impacts of regulations on multispecies fisheries.Received December 31, 2014; accepted February 18, 2015

Forecasting for Recreational Fisheries Management: What's the Catch?

AbstractThe Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 required regional fishery management councils to implement annual catch limits (ACLs) for nearly all stocks under U.S. federal management. Since 2011, the number of stocks requiring ACLs (and monitoring) has increased nearly 10‐fold, with strict accountability measures requiring either in‐season quota closures or shortening of subsequent seasons to avoid ACL overages. Robust forecasts of landings can also provide a projected baseline for evaluation of proposed management alternatives. We compared generalized linear models (GLMs), generalized additive models (GAMs), and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models in terms of fit, accuracy, and ability to forecast landings of four representative fish stocks that support recreational fisheries in the southeastern United States. All models were useful in developing reliable forecasts to inform management. The GAMs provided the best fit to the observed data; however, the modeling approaches of the SARIMA model and GLM provided the best forecasts for most scenarios. The SARIMA model and GLM also provided the best predictions of the seasonal trend in landings, a desirable feature for in‐season quota monitoring. The SARIMA model was more sensitive and the GLM was less sensitive to recent trends, providing a useful “bookend” for forecasts. The time span of input data affected forecast accuracy from all model types considered. This study suggests multiple forecasting models should be investigated and performance metrics carefully selected and evaluated, as no single model is likely to perform best for all stocks of interest.Received December 18, 2014; accepted April 20, 2015

Managing small-scale commercial fisheries for adaptive capacity: insights from dynamic social-ecological drivers of change in Monterey Bay.

Globally, small-scale fisheries are influenced by dynamic climate, governance, and market drivers, which present social and ecological challenges and opportunities. It is difficult to manage fisheries adaptively for fluctuating drivers, except to allow participants to shift effort among multiple fisheries. Adapting to changing conditions allows small-scale fishery participants to survive economic and environmental disturbances and benefit from optimal conditions. This study explores the relative influence of large-scale drivers on shifts in effort and outcomes among three closely linked fisheries in Monterey Bay since the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976. In this region, Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and market squid (Loligo opalescens) fisheries comprise a tightly linked system where shifting focus among fisheries is a key element to adaptive capacity and reduced social and ecological vulnerability. Using a cluster analysis of landings, we identify four modes from 1974 to 2012 that are dominated (i.e., a given species accounting for the plurality of landings) by squid, sardine, anchovy, or lack any dominance, and seven points of transition among these periods. This approach enables us to determine which drivers are associated with each mode and each transition. Overall, we show that market and climate drivers are predominantly attributed to dominance transitions. Model selection of external drivers indicates that governance phases, reflected as perceived abundance, dictate long-term outcomes. Our findings suggest that globally, small-scale fishery managers should consider enabling shifts in effort among fisheries and retaining existing flexibility, as adaptive capacity is a critical determinant for social and ecological resilience.

Further action on bycatch could boost United States fisheries performance

This paper examines the sustainability of United States fisheries managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that provides the framework for federal fisheries management. Sustainability across a broad suite of criteria, including health of the fished stock, bycatch, and effects on the habitat and ecosystem, was measured against the Monterey Bay Aquarium׳s Seafood Watch criteria for ecological sustainability. Seafood Watch ratings and numerical scores for U.S. federally managed fisheries were analyzed to elucidate strengths and weaknesses among federally-managed fisheries. Of U.S. federally managed fisheries assessed by Seafood Watch, only 2% are rated “Avoid”, and strong ratings for stock health for nearly all fisheries indicate that the Magnuson-Stevens Act is fundamentally succeeding at maintaining or rebuilding the abundance of targeted stocks. The majority (79%) of U.S. fisheries earn the intermediate rating of “Good Alternative”, and 19% earn the top rating of “Best Choice”. Given that U.S. fisheries management is considered among the strongest in the world, this analysis assesses why the majority of U.S. fisheries are not rated “Best Choice”. Fisheries for all variety of species, and using a wide range of fishing methods, can merit “Best Choice” status. However, the majority of U.S. fisheries do not achieve this rating due primarily to bycatch concerns. By improving performance with regard to bycatch, most “Good Alternative” U.S. federal fisheries could reach “Best Choice” status and reap rewards in the marketplace for that recognition. Findings suggest that current science-based management should be maintained in the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization, managers should adopt best practices based on fisheries that are already performing well in the U.S., and more specific federal bycatch mitigation requirements should be implemented.