The US Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) has taken the decision, with consultation, to lower catch limits for highly fished species in the waters of the US Virging Islands and Puerto Rico:
The Caribbean Fisheries Management Council, meeting on St. Croix, took a final vote Tuesday on proposed new commercial fishing regulations that would set catch limits on certain targeted species in federal waters.
The proposed regulations — which would cover snappers, groupers, parrotfish and queen conch, species that are considered over-fished in federal Caribbean waters — will be put into final draft form and forwarded to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke for final action.
Under the proposed regulations, total catch of those species in federal waters surrounding the territory could be reduced by 15 percent.
The new regulations are federally mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and are meant to protect fish stocks in federal waters, so that the species are not fished faster than they can reproduce.
Get more information from the Virgin Islands Daily News.
The CFMC is responsible for “conserving, restoring and managing the United States Caribbean fishery resources [in] Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands”. Find out more at caribbeanfmc.com.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) is a law “to provide for the conservation and management of the fisheries” and is the primary piece of legislation governing marine fisheries management in the US. Learn more about the MSA here and here.
Previously on Green Antilles: Saving Caribbean fish and St. Thomas fishermen object to lowering of catch limits.
[Photo: Rex Bennett]
