The May 2013 Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference in Washington, D.C. mostly addressed critical issues that affect every person who eats seafood, drops a line in the water on a weekend getaway or makes money from fish. Fish policy is serious business, and here are key conference takeaways from The Pew Charitable Trusts for the record.

…More

Peter Baker, director of U.S. oceans, Northeast, spoke recently to fisheries experts from around the country about ways to improve the way we manage populations of forage fish—the small prey species with an important role in the ocean food web.

…More

Most fisheries in the United States are regulated one species at a time. But regional councils and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are moving toward a strategy that takes into account the marine ecosystem as a whole—one called ecosystem-based fishery management. Managing the nation’s forage fish—small, schooling prey species—in a more precautionary way can be a useful tool in this transition.

…More