MOBILE, Ala. — For years, millions of people
have traveled to summer retreats along the Gulf of Mexico, with many ultimately
putting down permanent sandy roots on the coast.
One of the problems the population boom has created is overfishing in Gulf
waters, which has endangered marine ecosystems and fisheries that are the source
of multimillion-dollar recreation and fishing industries.
Officials say efforts to rebuild the populations are under way, but many
environmentalists accuse the government of lax enforcement of regulations meant
to protect against overfishing.
Chris Dorsett of Austin, Texas, director of Gulf of Mexico Fish Conservation for
The Ocean Conservancy, said fishery managers in the Gulf and elsewhere have
ignored the law and allowed unsustainable fishing for many important fish.
"It's time to follow the science and put Gulf fisheries on the road to
ecological and economic recovery," he said. "Had they managed our red snapper
fishery responsibly our catch levels could be almost three times higher than
current levels. We can and must be better stewards of our coastal ecosystem."
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, federal
officials have a mandate to protect fisheries from overfishing, which is defined
as the harvesting of fish quicker than they reproduce.
Four species in the Gulf of Mexico are still described as being overfished --
greater amberjack, red grouper, red snapper and vermilion snapper. The goal is
to end overfishing for red grouper this year, red snapper by 2009 or 2010 and
vermilion snapper by 2007.
Susan Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration, said it takes time to rebuild fish stocks now that an estimated
153 million residents live on the nation's coastlines.
"It's not going to happen overnight," she said. "They did become depleted in
several decades of overfishing. It wasn't until about the year 2000 that the
rebuilding plan based on the 1996 law became effective."
A study in a recent issue of the journal Science says damage to marine
ecosystems has accelerated over the past 150-300 years with population growth,
luxury resorts and homes and expanded industry.
In areas where conservation efforts started in the last century, signs of
recovery are apparent, according to the study, which was partly supported by the
Lenfest Oceans Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
National Geographic's July issue takes an in-depth look at threats to the
coasts, illustrating its report with a ghostly two-page photo of Hurricane
Katrina's destructive blow to the west end of Dauphin Island off the Alabama
coast. Katrina also damaged shrimping grounds and oyster beds in its path.
According to the report, the Southeast's coast is the healthiest in the nation
despite agricultural runoff and a population growth of 160 percent from 1980 to
2000. The Northeast coast, with its dense population, is in the poorest health,
according to the magazine, which relies on data from the Environmental
Protection Agency.
In a June report to Congress on the 2005 fisheries, the NOAA said it has made
progress in rebuilding overfished stocks and ending overfishing with help from
its regional councils.
The work continues: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council -- one of
eight regional councils -- is considering additional red snapper regulatory
actions, such as commercial and individual fishing quotas and reductions in
total allowable catch and bycatch.
Nationwide, the NOAA says 54 stocks of specific species and complexes are
overfished and 45 stocks and complexes are subject to overfishing. A complex is
a grouping of different species that are similar.
Scientists at the Lenfest Oceans Program say most fish resources are in poor
shape 10 years after passage of amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which
also requires ailing fish stocks be rebuilt as quickly as possible.
But the mandate that overfishing be immediately halted as part of a rebuilding
plan has not been met, said Andrew A. Rosenberg at the University of New
Hampshire's Ocean Process and Analysis Laboratory.
"Congress could strengthen accountability in the law," he said.