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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2002
Contact Arnold Donahue or Bill Shields, (202) 347-3190
Courts, Congress, and fishing and conservationist
constituencies are increasingly dominating fisheries management
through litigation and political processes, according to a
new report released by the National Academy of Public Administration.
The study Panel recommends steps to improve the existing U.S.
fisheries management system to increase its capacity to develop
and successfully defend regulatory actions. These include
strengthening the leadership role of the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), improving the system's regulatory and budget
processes, and increasing public outreach and constituent
relations.
"This study clearly points to the need
for stronger NMFS management of the system's regulatory and
budgetary processes," said Mary Gade, Chair of the study
Panel. "NMFS needs to manage fisheries according to Congress's
expressed objectives of preventing overfishing and sustaining
fishery resources. At the same time, Congress and the fisheries'
constituencies must give NMFS the opportunity to succeed."
The study found that the fisheries management
process is highly participatory involving states and commercial
and recreational fishers through eight regional councils overseen
by NMFS and the Secretary of Commerce. However, lack of system
accountability and processes that do not satisfy statutory
requirements have led to increasing fisheries litigation.
Adverse decisions increasingly weaken the system's ability
to manage the fisheries, often further exacerbating differences
among key players in the fishery management system. Gade indicated
that the Panel felt strongly that NMFS must provide leadership
for the system, in cooperation with the Congress and its constituencies.
It also must bridge the differences among contending interests
and political constituencies.
In addition to strengthening NMFS leadership
in most aspects of fisheries management, the Panel recommends
statutory changes in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act to broaden and strengthen interest group
participation in the fishery management councils and the ability
of NMFS to amend council plans. Other recommendations include
increasing resources for socio-economic analyses required
under the National Environmental Policy Act, stock assessment
improvements, and cooperative programs with constituents and
partners. The study also incorporates findings and recommendations
from a companion report, Science and its Role in the National
Marine Fisheries Service, issued by a committee of the National
Academy of Sciences' National Research Council.
While the Panel's findings and recommendations
advocate incremental changes in the current fishery management
system, it also urges broader study of alternative governance
systems as part of ongoing ocean policy and marine activity
reviews.
Gade, Partner at Sonnenschein, Nath &
Rosenthal and former Director of the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, was joined on the Panel by Jonathan Howes,
Special Assistant to the Chancellor and Professor of Planning
and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
Theodore Schad, former Staff Director on the Senate Select
Committee on Water Resources and Executive Director of the
National Water Commission; Terry Garcia, Executive Vice President
of Mission Programs at the National Geographic Society; and
Susan Shipman, Director of the Coastal Resources Division
at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The National Academy of Public Administration
is an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress
to improve governance at all levels: local, regional, state,
national, and international. Since its establishment in 1967,
the Academy has assisted hundreds of clients, including federal
agencies, congressional committees, state and local governments,
civic organizations, and institutions overseas through problem
solving, objective research, rigorous analysis, information
sharing, developing strategies for change, and connecting
people and ideas.
To obtain a copy of Courts, Congress,
and Constituencies: Managing Fisheries by Default, contact
Bill Shields at
(202) 347-3190, ext. 3014, or visit the Academy's web site
at www.napawash.org.
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