In their letter to the President, the Senators suggest that many of the problems facing New England's fishing community could be resolved by changing the manner in which the Department of Commerce implements the law.
"Fishing is more than just a profession in New England," said the Senators. "Fishing is a culture, a way of life. This way of life is being threatened, however, by excessive regulations and unnecessary litigation. Despite scientific evidence of a rebound in fish stocks, fishermen are suffering under even more burdensome restrictions.
"One clear lesson from the failures of the current approach is that fisheries management should not be delegated to scientists alone. Overfishing definitions (and particularly their fishing mortality targets) are not just numbers, but policy statements that impose restrictions on fisheries managers. Thus, before a final control rule is developed, it should be required to combine the recommendations made by scientists with the advice of community leaders, legal counsel, social scientists, and most important, with the policy choices of the Council."
The letter calls for adjusting the criteria for overfishing definitions and rebuilding targets set out in the National Standard Guidelines. For example, National Standard 1 requires that "overfished stocks" must be rebuilt in the shortest time possible, not to exceed 10 years. Such an interpretation is inconsistent with Congressional intent. The SFA suggests that 10 years is the minimum amount of time a stock can be rebuilt, not the maximum deadline.
A more flexible approach to fisheries management is even more urgent in light of the testimony of the Northeast Fisheries Science enter at the September 11th meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council. The Center revealed that the trawler gear, used to conduct the last eight fall/spring stock abundance surveys, has been calibrated incorrectly since February of 2000.
Earlier this month, Senator Collins wrote to Commerce Secretary Don Evans to ask that the Department of Commerce consider requesting the court to suspend implementation of Amendment 13 until problems with the trawler survey data are resolved.