US to Regulate All Fisheries

U.S. tightens fishing policy, setting 2012 catch limits for all managed species

In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock to Caribbean queen conch.

Although the policy has attracted scant attention outside the community of those who fish in America and the officials who regulate them, it marks an important shift in a pursuit that has helped define the country since its founding. Catch limits are intended to protect the 528 species in federally managed fisheries.

Unlike most recent environmental policy debates, which have divided neatly along party lines, this one is about a policy that was forged under President George W. Bush and finalized with President Obama’s backing.

Indeed, fishing regulations are one of the best uses for governmental regulations.  Fish are a resource that are inherently difficult to manage.  Unlike crops, where the individual who owns the land knows how much was planted, and about what to expect, fish grow in largely common/government owned areas.  They are also inherently hard to quantify, and the temptation for fisherman, both commercial and recreational, to over fish is strong, as the immediate impact of overfishing is hard to observe, and easy to overlook.