Over the summer, the BCCA fisheries policy working group has been developing our response to NOAA's call for comments on the revision of the National Standards guidelines. Comments are due on September 12. You can submit comments here.
It's critical that fisheries stakeholders weigh in on these guidelines revisions: Current fisheries management undermines ecosystem and community health, violates NOAA’s emergent commitment to equity and environmental justice, and favors short-term economics at the expense of resource and fishery dependent communities.
We have a chance to push for changes that will center the needs of community-scale fishermen and fishery-dependent communities. The guidelines in question refer to standards 4,8, and 9, which deal with allocations, fishing communities, and bycatch. These issues are complicated and intertwined - and revising the guidelines for their implementation through an equity and environmental justice lens is a critical step forward.
In addition to our letter, we've rounded up some further resources to help stakeholders pull some comments together for the 9/12 deadline.
BCCA comment letter (in draft til 9/12)
Fishing Communities Coalition comment letter (in PDF below)
Comments