WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF
WILLIAM T. HOGARTH, PH.D
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC
ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BEFORE THE
RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES AND
OCEANS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 27, 2006
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of
the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to join you today. I am Dr.
William Hogarth, Administrator for Fisheries, at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the Department of Commerce.
NOAA’s mission is to conserve and manage
coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and
environmental needs. Today I
will briefly review the management and recovery of the striped bass stock, and the
history and current status of NOAA’s review and rulemaking process for opening
the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to the harvest of striped bass.
Management
and Recovery of Atlantic Striped Bass
Striped bass management within state
jurisdictions is based on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission)
Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery
Management Plan (Plan). States
along the Atlantic coast adopted the Plan
in 1981. Under The Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act, states are required to
comply with the Plan. The management measures in the Plan have been successful in reducing coast-wide fishing mortality
to a level that has allowed the striped bass stocks to recover. These
state-water measures have included size limits, seasonal closures, recreational
daily bag limits, and annual commercial catch quotas. The recovery of Atlantic striped bass
populations represents a resource management success story.
From an over-fished state in the
mid-1980s, coastal stocks have recovered to high levels of abundance due to the
coordinated actions of all management partners. This success has provided
increased fishing opportunities in coastal states from Maine through North
Carolina. In 1982, the abundance of striped bass stock stood at 4.8 million
fish coast-wide, and today is estimated to be at 65.3 million fish. The recovery of striped bass stocks clearly
demonstrates that cooperative management by coastal states, federal agencies,
and user groups is effective.
NOAA shares
jurisdiction over striped bass with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the
U.S. Department of the Interior. The Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act
is the most important federal statute responsible for the recovery of coastal
migratory stocks of striped bass. The federal
government is responsible under the Striped
Bass Act to manage striped bass in the EEZ in support of the Commission. Federal regulations must be consistent with
the National Standards in the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and they must also be compatible
with the Commission’s Plan.
Proposals and Recommendations for
Atlantic Striped Bass Fishing in the EEZ
Due to the
severe depletion of the striped bass stocks, we implemented a federal ban on
the commercial and recreational harvest and possession of striped bass in the
EEZ in November 1990. This action was
taken to support the efforts of the Commission to recover striped bass along
the East Coast, and the EEZ currently remains closed to the harvest of striped
bass.
In January 1995,
the Commission reported that Atlantic coast striped bass stock had rebuilt to
the level required by the Plan and
was fully restored. Subsequently, in
July 1995, the Commission recommended that NMFS open the EEZ to striped bass fishing,
and NMFS published a proposed rule to do so.
However, five months later the Commission requested that NMFS maintain
the moratorium until at least 1997 and, as a result, the rule was withdrawn and
the EEZ fishery remained closed.
In 2003, the Commission once again recommended
that the EEZ be open to the harvest of striped bass. Proposed management regulations for the EEZ included
a minimum size limit of 28 inches and a provision allowing states to adopt more
restrictive regulations for fishermen and vessels licensed in their states. We conducted nine public scoping hearings in
November and December 2003 to collect information to develop a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS). However, in September
2004, stock assessment information was released that created uncertainty
regarding the status of the stock. Due to this uncertainty, NMFS decided to
hold off the completion and release of a DEIS.
Another assessment was conducted in 2005
that indicated that the striped bass stock was not overfished, and overfishing was
not occurring. Given this new assessment
information, NMFS provided the public an additional opportunity to provide
comments on options to open the EEZ to commercial and recreational striped bass
harvest in April 2006 through a scoping document. A total of four options were
considered in this document and no preferred option was identified. The options
included:
1. Open the entire EEZ, implement a
28-inch minimum size limit, and allow states to adopt more restrictive
regulations for fishermen and vessels licensed in their state (the Commission’s
recommendation).
2. Open the entire EEZ, implement a
28-inch minimum size limit, and allow states to adopt more restrictive
regulations for fishermen and vessels licensed in their state. Implement a
recreational bag limit of two fish per day, require circle hooks for all
commercial and recreational hook and line fishing using bait, and commercial
trip limits and bycatch trip limit options.
3. Open the entire EEZ, implement a
28-inch minimum size limit, allow states to adopt more restrictive regulations
for fishermen and vessels licensed in their state. Allow hook and line gear
only, implement a recreational bag limit of two fish per day, require circle
hooks for all commercial and recreational hook and line fishing using bait, and
implement a commercial trip limit of 30 fish per trip or day, whichever is
greater.
4. Maintain status quo — continue moratorium
in the EEZ.
The comment period for scoping ended on
June 26, 2006, and over 8,000 public comments were received. NMFS is reviewing those comments, and based on this review
and the identification of any new information, we will decide how to move
forward. Should NMFS decide to go
forward with rulemaking, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be
completed identifying a number of alternatives including our preferred
alternative. This document will also provide detailed analyses associated with
those alternatives. Both a DEIS, and
associated proposed rule, would be released for public review and comment
before any changes are made to the current regulations.
Conclusion
NOAA understands the importance of the striped bass fishery to the states and fishermen along the Atlantic coast. We will continue to work closely with our constituents, the states, and the Commission on this important issue to ensure the best management of this important resource.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. I am happy to respond to any questions that
you, or Members of the Committee, may have.