BoatBanter.com - Ominous day for West Coast Fishing

While the following press release is primarily addressing commercial
fishing, the phrase "large areas cold be declared off limits to
trawling and other activities" may have some repercussions for sports
fishermen:

Media Advisory

Contact: Kathleen Goldstein, Environmental Defense, 202-841-0295

Pacific Fishery Management Council to Address Critical Fishery
Management Issues

What: The Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet to make crucial
decisions on the future of several West Coast fisheries - salmon,
groundfish, coastal pelagic species and highly migratory species.
Large zones could be declared off-limits to trawling and other
activities, and management reform that could result in huge economic
and conservation benefits is on the line.

When: June 12 - 17, 2005

Whe Crowne Plaza Mid Peninsula, 1221 Chess Drive, Foster City,
California 94404, Phone: 800-227-6963

Major Management Decision:
Groundfish Management

The Council will vote on whether to proceed with the analysis of design
options for an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program for the Pacific
groundfish trawl fishery, culminating a two-year design process. On
June 16, the Council will review the recommendations from a stakeholder
advisory committee and, after receiving input from its advisory bodies
and the public, determine whether to proceed by approving a range of
IFQ alternatives for further technical analysis.

This analysis is critical for the Council's development of a
preferred alternative that best meets its conservation, economic social
and management objectives for the fishery. Funding this analysis is
essential to move forward and build on the valuable work that has
already been accomplished.

Environmental Defense calls for the Council to vote to continue the
analysis for the groundfish IFQ program, because it will bring economic
stability and ecological restoration to the fishery. The design
alternatives that are before the Council include many that
Environmental Defense has long advocated:

100 percent observer coverage on board fishing vessels and at dockside;

Accumulation limits so that no entity can acquire an excessive share of
the quota;

Bycatch caps for each kind of gear and transferable individual bycatch
quotas (to reward clean fishing techniques);

A range of initial allocation provisions that recognize the
contribution to and dependence upon the fishery by harvesters,
processors and coastal communities; and

Freely transferable, divisible shares to facilitate investment in the
fishery by crew and other new entrants.

These components will provide economic and community benefits while
facilitating the recovery of the groundfish species and seafloor
habitats, resulting in greater economic, social and regulatory
stability.

For more information and the meeting agenda, please go to
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2005/pfmc0605.html.

The following spokespeople are available for comment:
Johanna Thomas, Deputy Program Director, Oceans, Environmental Defense
Rod Fujita, Marine Ecologist, Environmental Defense

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Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization,
represents more than 400,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense
has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector
partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious
environmental problems.

www.environmentadefense.org
www.oceansalive.org