For the first time in a century there is no more overfishing in US waters, one of the nation’s top scientists claims.
Steve Murawski, who recently retired as the chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service, refers to statistics and assessments that go back to 1900, adding that “as far as we know, we’ve hit the right levels, which is a milestone.”
The NOAA is the top federal body that regulates fisheries in the USA.
“When you compare the United States with the European Union, with Asian countries, et cetera, we are the only industrialized fishing nation who actually has succeeded in ending overfishing,” he adds.
His statement came after a turbulent period in US fisheries, particularly in New England which has seen a decrease from 1,200 boats in the mid-1990s to just 580 today and a radically changed management system last year which included strict catch limits and a requirement for fishermen to stop fishing all species if they exceeded their quota for just one of them.
Many fishermen and other representatives for the sector still claim that the price to stop overfishing was too high in socioeconomic terms, but Murawski, who is now a professor at the University of South Florida, said that stocks are now much healthier which in turn means that fishermen can look forward to better days ahead.
The US is the only country that has a law which defines overfishing and requires its fishermen to stay away from it.