From today's New York Times Science section:

Rules Altered on Depletion of Fish Stocks

By CORNELIA DEAN

The Fisheries Service has proposed fishing guideline revisions that it
says will speed the restoration of depleted fish stocks. But in some
cases, other fisheries experts say, the proposals could have the
opposite effect.

The service, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, posted the proposed revisions yesterday in the Federal
Register. They relate to provisions of a law that sets standards for
the eight regional councils that manage fishing in national waters.

At a news conference, Dr. Rebecca Lent, deputy director of the
fisheries agency, said that among other things, the new proposals
would clarify existing guidelines, focus more closely on ending
overfishing and manage stocks more realistically.

One of the most contentious changes involves the timetable that
fishery managers are supposed to meet in restoring depleted stocks. As
the law now stands, managers must act to restore stocks within 10
years, unless doing so is biologically impossible. Under the new
rules, managers have the amount of time it would take stocks to
rebound if there were no fishing, plus the time it takes the species,
on average, to reach spawning age.

In many cases, Dr. Lent said, the new guideline would tighten
managers' deadlines. In practice, restoring depleted stocks usually
involves limits on fishing.

But Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, a fisheries expert and professor of
natural resources at the University of New Hampshire, said this change
could end up stretching the time managers have to restore some stocks.
If that happens, he said, "you're taking a biological risk."

The proposed changes, Dr. Lent said, also call for managing fish in
stock assemblages: "stocks that live together, have the same life
histories and are caught with the same fishing gear." She said this
was a more realistic approach, given that so much is unknown about
many of the fish species the service manages.

But under the new proposals, said Dr. Rosenberg, a former deputy
director of the fisheries agency, "we could end up seriously
overfishing some minor stocks." As major stocks are depleted, he said,
minor stocks assume greater economic importance in fishing, and "a
species might be minor to a commercial fishery but still play a key
role in an ecosystem; we are only worrying about the things we like to
eat right now."

The public has until Aug. 22 to comment on the proposed rules. The
proposals and other information are posted on the agency's Web site,
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter.