Habitat protection, ecological issues, and implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Act

Fishery scientists and managers and the general public are becoming increas ingly aware of, and concerned about, the direct, indirect, and cumulative i mpacts of habitat change on commercial and recreational fisheries, and the effects of these fisheries in an ecosystem context. This set of concerns is coupled with declines in some fish stocks due to mismanagement, such as ov erfishing, failure to account for bycatch, or gear damage to habitats, and/ or changing environmental conditions. At the same time, there are examples of management decisions and habitat restoration efforts that have led to th e recovery of depleted stocks and habitats. All of this is happening in the context of new concerns about marine biodiversity, marine reserves, and ap plication of the Endangered Species Act to marine species (e.g., salmonids with extensive riverine, and ocean habitat needs). The Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA), passed by Congress in September 1996, and signed by President Clinton 11 October 1996, is a wake-up call that man dates, as federal policy, that fishery management move toward better incorp oration of information on fish habitats and use of ecosystem approaches in management decisions. Currently, fishery managers in the National Marine Fi sheries Service and the eight regional councils are in the process of adapt ing to these new directions. Habitat-oriented and ecosystem-based approache s offer potential solutions to some of the management problems, but they ar e not panaceas. Ecosystem approaches carry institutional requirements that demand major changes in research and training and require support from the user communities and the public. Ecologically sustainable fisheries are und oubtedly much different fisheries from many of those now observed. Actions to implement the SFA portend significant progress toward more sustainable f isheries and healthier ecosystems. However, major gaps exist in understandi ng how to manage the transition from current fishery practices to ecologica lly sustainable ones, and significant increases in human and fiscal resourc es are necessary to overcome these gaps.