The Marine Conservation Alliance works to ensure that there is seafood to feed the world. And that means, sometimes, we must err on the side of caution.
The Precautionary Principle is an approach to fisheries management that essentially says: let’s leave more fish in the ocean than maybe we could. Sometimes science suggests that fishery quotas could be increased, but managers use precaution and keep them lower than they could be to ensure long-term sustainability.
Wise use of the Precautionary Principle is a big part of why the North Pacific fisheries are among the most successful on Earth. The MCA supports this approach when utilized through rational and risk-based decision-making tools. Good management means examining potential consequences, calculating probability, and avoiding fishery closures whenever possible.
- In response to proposed rule to modify Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standard 1, 3, and 7 guidelines, Marine Conservation Alliance submitted a comment letter to the National Marine Fisheries Science Center. You can read the full comment letter by clicking here.
- Marine Conservation Alliance partnered with Nossaman LLP to write the article “Finding Win-Win Outcomes for Conservation and Utilization,” that was published in Westlaw Journal Environmental in May 2014. You can read the full article by clicking here.
- Merrick Burden, former Executive Director of MCA, gave the following PowerPoint presentation on the topic of Risk and Uncertainty in Fisheries Management. To view the presentation, click here.
- On behalf of the Freezer Longline Coalition, the Fishing Vessel Owners Association, the Marine Conservation Alliance, and the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, MCA submitted a comment letter to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council regarding grenadier stock status and management in the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and the Aleutian Islands. Read the letter by clicking here.