Resources

Fact Sheets

Annual Catch Limits

• End Overfishing Catch Limit Proposal (PDF)

  A proposal to end overfishing in the United States: National Marine Fisheries Service's proposed rule takes strides in fisheries management, but loopholes remain.

ACL Letters

• Letter from 86 Groups
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Marine Fish Conservation Network
• National Coalition for Marine Conservation
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Oceana
• Pew Environment Group

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• Main Reasons Why the Administration's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Proposal Should Be Withdrawn (PDF)
  
  Our oceans are under assault from global warming, pollution and industrial scale fishing, yet the Administration has proposed weakening the one law that protects entire ecosystems.

• Administration's Proposed Environmental Review Procedures are Inconsistent with the Law (PDF)
  
  This fact sheet details how the Administration's NEPA proposal attempts to undercut the Nation's bedrock environmental law.

• NEPA - An Ocean Conservation Success Story (PDF)

  NEPA has made it possible to protect thousands of square miles of coral formations, reduce mortality of endangered sea turtles and begin the rebuilding of depleted populations of commercially valuable fish.

• The New NEPA Proposal: Will This Help Our Oceans? (PDF)
  
  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed a convoluted new process for determining
  how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the nation's preeminent environmental law, will
  apply to the management of ocean fi sheries. The proposal short-circuits the NEPA process by limiting
  the scope of environmental reviews and significantly narrowing opportunities for public participation. This flyer illustrates the proposed process.

NEPA Letters

• Group letters asking the fisheries service to withdraw proposal to weaken environmental review:

  • 8 House Republicans
  • 72 House Democrats
  • 160 National Groups
  • 79 Scientists
  • 15 Partnership Project
  
  
  

• Organizational letters asking the fisheries service to withdraw proposal to weaken environmental review:

  • Association of Zoos and Aquariums
  • Center for Biological Diversity & Turtle Island Restoration Network
  • Defenders of Wildlife
  • Environment America
  • Environmental Defense Fund
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Marine Fish Conservation Network
  • Marine Mammal Commission
  • The Ocean Conservancy & Oceana
  • Pew Environment Group

Other Resources

• The Bush Ocean Legacy (PDF)

  President Bush has several significant ocean conservation accomplishments, from protecting the largest marine reserve in the world to signing a new federal fisheries law to end overfishing. During its final year, his Administration must ensure that the Bush ocean legacy is enhanced by strong regulations for ending overfishing and promoting thorough environmental reviews.

• Ocean Conservation and the End of Overfishing (PDF)

  A new booklet providing background information about the state of U.S. and global fisheries, and the upcoming NMFS rulemakings on overfishing and environmental review.
  
  

• Conflicted Councils: How the Nation's Regional Fishery Management Councils Threaten President Bush’s Commitment to Strengthen Fisheries Management (PDF)

  The president, Congress and the public have all done their parts to protect ocean fish. Now, it is time for the regional fishery management councils, often led by individuals with financial conflicts of interest, to end decades of mismanagement and do their part to create a legacy of ending overfishing and safeguarding our oceans for long-term health.

• Setting Annual Catch Limits for U.S. Fisheries: An Expert Working Group Report, 2007 (PDF)
  Lenfest Ocean Program

  The Expert Working Group developed a straightforward process for establishing catch limits and accountability measures, which included setting a sufficiently precautionary measure to ensure that overfishing does not occur.