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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report and the committee were supported by a grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. This paper is funded in part by a contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies.
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COMMITTEE ON ECOSYSTEM EFFECTS OF FISHING: PHASE 1—EFFECTS OF BOTTOM TRAWLING ON SEAFLOOR HABITATS
JOHN STEELE, Chair,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
DAYTON LEE ALVERSON,
Natural Resource Consultants, Seattle, Washington
PETER AUSTER,
University of Connecticut, Groton
JEREMY COLLIE,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
JOSEPH T. DEALTERIS,
University of Rhode Island, Kingston
LINDA DEEGAN,
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
ELVA ESCOBAR-BRIONES,
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Cuidad Universitaria
STEPHEN J. HALL,
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland
GORDON H. KRUSE,
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
CAROLINE POMEROY,
University of California, Santa Cruz
KATHRYN M. SCANLON,
U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
PRISCILLA WEEKS,
University of Houston, Clear Lake, Texas
Staff
SUSAN ROBERTS, Study Director
JODI BACHIM, Senior Project Assistant
ABBY SCHNEIDER, NRC Fellow
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
NANCY RABALAIS, Chair,
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin
ARTHUR BAGGEROER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JAMES COLEMAN,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
LARRY B. CROWDER,
Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina
G. BRENT DALRYMPLE,
Oregon State University (ret.), Corvallis
RICHARD B. DERISO,
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, California
EARL DOYLE,
Shell Oil (ret.), Sugar Land, Texas
ROBERT DUCE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
WAYNE R. GEYER,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
D. JAY GRIMES,
University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs
MIRIAM KASTNER,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
CINDY LEE,
State University of New York, Stony Brook
RALPH S. LEWIS,
Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey, Hartford
BONNIE MCCAY,
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
JULIAN P. MCCREARY, JR.,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
JACQUELINE MICHEL,
Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina
RAM MOHAN,
Blasland, Bouck & Lee, Inc., Annapolis, Maryland
SCOTT NIXON,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
JON G. SUTINEN,
University of Rhode Island, Kingston
NANCY TARGETT,
University of Delaware, Lewes
PAUL TOBIN,
Xtria, LLC, Chantilly, Virginia
Staff
MORGAN GOPNIK, Director
SUSAN ROBERTS, Senior Program Officer
DAN WALKER, Senior Program Officer
JOANNE BINTZ, Program Officer
JENNIFER MERRILL, Program Officer
TERRY SCHAEFER, Program Officer
JOHN DANDELSKI, Research Associate
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Officer
SHIREL SMITH, Administrative Associate
JODI BACHIM, Senior Project Assistant
NANCY CAPUTO, Senior Project Assistant
DENISE GREENE, Senior Project Assistant
DARLA KOENIG, Senior Project Assistant
JULIE PULLEY, Project Assistant
ALISON SCHRUM, Project Assistant
Preface
The Ocean Studies Board has provided advice to Congress and the National Marine Fisheries Service on a broad range of topics relevant to marine fisheries. Sustaining Marine Fisheries dealt broadly with the ecological issues (National Research Council, 1999) while other reports have focused on the science of fisheries management: Review of Northeast Fishery Stock Assessments (National Research Council, 1998), Improving Fish Stock Assessments (National Research Council, 1999), and Improving the Collection, Management and Use of Marine Fisheries Data (National Research Council, 2001). Several reports have reviewed management methods including Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean Ecosystems (National Research Council, 2001) and Sharing the Fish: Toward a National Policy on Individual Fishing Quotas (National Research Council, 2000). An emergent theme in nearly all these reports is the desire to reconcile conflicting demands for protecting marine environments, sustaining fishery yields, and responding to the social and economic interests of the fishery and fishing communities. Such reconciliation must integrate scientific and technical information with the diversity of human priorities. This plurality was a central feature of our workshop meetings in Boston, Galveston, and Anchorage with representatives of the fishing industry, environmental groups and members of state and federal agencies.
Our report has benefited significantly from the presentations and discussions at these meetings. The committee would first like to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations: Frank Almeida, Bill Amaru, Pam Baker, Mike Barnette, Francine Bennis, Eloise Brown, Ralph Brown, Arnie Carr, Anthony Chatwin, Jim Churchill, Felicia Coleman, Cathy Coon, Chris Dorsett, Ben Enticknap, Benny Gallaway, John Gauvin, Caroline Gibson, David Goethel, Don Gordon, Alonzo Hamilton, David Harrington, Bill Hayes, Jon Heifetz, Tom Hill, Teressa Kandianis, Rick Leard, Gary Loverich, Trevor McCabe, Linda Mercer, Chris Oliver, Mike Payne, Mark Powell, Jeff Rester, Andy Rosenberg, Brian Rothschild, Pete Sheridan, Michael Sissenwine, Nils Stolpe, Les Watling, Dave Witherell, and Chris Zeman. These talks helped set the stage for fruitful discussions in the closed sessions that followed.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in their review of this report:
ARNE CARR, Massachusetts Department of Fisheries, Pocasset
FELICIA COLEMAN, Florida State University, Tallahassee
CAROLINE GIBSON, Pacific Marine Conservation Council, Friday Harbor, Washington
DANIEL HUPPERT, University of Washington, Seattle
BRIAN ROTHSCHILD, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
MICHAEL SINCLAIR, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by NANCY MARCUS, Florida State University, Tallahassee, appointed by the Divison on Earth and Life Studies, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
The committee is also grateful to Andrea Dunn for compiling information about the regional fisheries that comprises Table 4.2. Jim Lester also provided important material for this report. The committee wishes to thank the staff at the Ocean Studies Board for their efforts in support of this study: Jodi Bachim, Senior Project Assistant and Abby Schneider, National Research Council Fellow. The committee is especially grateful to the Study Director Dr. Susan Roberts who not only had the task of integrating the individual contributions from committee members into a coherent report, but also guided the report through the extensive process of review and revision.
John Steele
Chair