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IMPLEMENTING
 
ANNUALCATCH LIMITS:
A Blueprint or EndingOverfshing in U.S. Fisheries
Mane Fsh Consevaton Netwok · April 2009
 
Mission Statement
Te Marine Fis Conservation Network advocates nationalpolicies to acieve ealty oceans and productive series.Te Marine Fis Conservation Network (Network) is telargest national coalition solely dedicated to promotingte long-term sustainability o marine s. Wit almost 200members—including environmental organizations,commercial and recreational sing associations, aquariums,and marine science groups—te Network uses its distinctvoice and te best available science to educate policymakers,te sing industry, and te public about te need or soundconservation and better management practices.
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE · Suite 210 · Washinton, DC 20003tel: 202.543.5509 · toll ree: 866.823.8552 · a: 202.543.5774network@conservesh.or · www.conservesh.or
Te Marine Fis Conservation Network is supported by manyindividuals, businesses, and oundations. Tis report and ourwork in general is made possible via te generous support oTe Pew Caritable Trusts, Rockeeller Broters Fund, Curtis andEdit Munson Foundation, Ocean Foundation, Marisla Foundation,Oak Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Sandler FamilySupporting Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation,Norcross Wildlie Foundation, and Patagonia Inc.
CREDITS:Lead autor: Kennet Stump, Marine Fis Conservation Network Policy Director. Teautor grateully acknowledges te tecnical advice and reviews o tis report byTe Ocean Conservancy, Pew Environmental Group, Natural Resources DeenseCouncil, and te National Coalition or Marine Conservation.PhOTO CREDITS:All potos are rom te National Oceanic and Atmosperic Administration Library
 
A Blueprint for ending overfishing in u.s. fisheries 3
Ending overshing was the highest priority o the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act o 2006 (MSRA), signed into law in January 2007. Although overshing was prohibited inthe 1996 amendments to the national sher-ies law, and maximum sustainable yield(MSY) was designated as a limit shing level,shery managers continued to set shing lim-its above those recommended by scientistsand allowed overshing to continue in toomany sheries. To achieve the objective o ending overshing in the MSRA, Congressstrengthened the role o science in the shery management process and required shery managers to establish science-based annualcatch limits (ACLs) and accountability mea-sures (AMs) or all U.S. sheries with a dead-line or implementation o 2010 or all stockscurrently subject to overshing and 2011 orall others.
Endin Oveshin:
 Top Priority o te ReautorizedMagnuson-Stevens Act o 2006
E
National Standard 1: FMPs must includeconservation and manaement measures thatshall prevent overshin hile achievin, on acontinuin basis, the optimum yield (OY) romeach shery (16 U.S.C. § 1801(a)(1))
E
FMPs must speciy objective and measurablecriteria or identiyin hen the shery tohich the plan applies is overshed and tocontain measures to prevent overshin orend overshin and rebuild the shery (
Id.
§1853(a)(10))
E
Councils must establish and maintain a Scienceand Statistical Committee (SSC) (
Id 
. § 1852()(1)(A))
E
Councils’ SSCs must mae recommendations oracceptable bioloical catch (ABC), preventinovershin, and other related manaementadvice (
Id 
. § 1852()(1)(B))
Chanes to the National Standard 1reulatory uidelines to implement ACLs
 
The new sheries law requires the councils’science advisors, the Scientic and StatisticalCommittees (SSCs), to make recommenda-tions or “acceptable biological catch” (ABC)which managers may not exceed when they speciy each year’s ACLs. The ACLs must beset at a level such that overshing does notoccur in the shery, and must be accompa-nied by AMs. In February 2007, the NationalMarine Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiatedrulemaking to revise the 1998 NationalStandard Guidelines or National Standard 1(prevent overshing, achieve optimum yield)to assist shery management councils in theimplementation o the new ACL require-ments. The revised NS1 guidelines, pub-lished in January 2009, arm that ACLs arerequired or all stocks in a shery and that
Bo 1 
›
 Statutory requirements o the MSRA Related to the Prevention o Overshin
E
Councils must establish annual catchlimits that may not exceed shin levelrecommendations o the SSC or the scienticpeer revie process (
Id 
. § 1852(h)(6))
E
FMPs must establish a mechanism orspeciyin annual catch limits suchthat overshin does not occur in ashery, includin measures to ensureaccountability (
Id 
. § 1853(a)(15))
E
Fishery manaers must prepare and implementa rebuildin plan ithin to years o notication to end overshin immediately (
Id 
.§ 1854(e)(3)&(4))
E
Fishery manaers may not allo a period o overshin under a rebuildin plan (
Id 
. §1854(e)(4)(A))
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