Oceana Lawsuit targets Overfishing. Protects ocean fishery: Whales, Dolphins and Seals
Let’s really talk about Oceana protecting our ocean fish. Firstly, whales need food. Dolphins need food. Seals need food.
However, protecting these marine mammals requires more than protecting the animals themselves. Regulators must also protect the smaller fish that sustain them.
That issue moved into federal court in December 2011.
Oceana filed a lawsuit challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service over how it protects and manages important West Coast ocean forage fish. The environmental organization argued that federal fishery managers allowed too much fishing while failing to adequately protect the broader ocean ecosystem.
Small Fish Play a Huge Role
Pacific sardines and anchovies may be small. Nevertheless, their ecological importance is enormous.
Oceana is protecting ocean forage fish that sit near the foundation of the marine food web. Whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, salmon, seabirds and larger fish depend on them for food.
Therefore, removing too many forage fish can create consequences far beyond a single commercial fishery.
Oceana had already warned that declining prey populations could leave marine predators struggling to find enough food. Its research highlighted signs of predators becoming underfed as prey populations declined in some marine ecosystems.
Oceana Challenges Federal Fishery Management
On December 13, 2011, Oceana filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Earthjustice represented the organization.
Specifically, the lawsuit challenged federal approval of Amendment 13 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan.
That management plan covered species including sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring and krill.
However, Oceana argued that the federal government failed to properly prevent overfishing. Furthermore, the organization claimed regulators failed to consider the ecological role these species play when establishing fishing limits.
Catch Limits Affect the Entire Ocean
Fishery management often focuses on how many fish commercial fleets can sustainably harvest.
Yet that calculation tells only part of the story.
Managers must also consider how many fish need to remain in the ocean.
For example, a sardine caught by a fishing vessel cannot become food for a whale, salmon, dolphin or sea lion.
Consequently, an ecosystem-based approach must consider predators as well as fishing fleets.
Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece emphasized that principle at the time. Fishery managers, she argued, must consider not only how much fish humans can harvest but also how much prey marine wildlife needs.
Congress Had Already Strengthened Fisheries Law
The legal dispute also centered on changes Congress made to federal fisheries policy.
Congress reauthorized the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 2006. Those revisions strengthened requirements designed to prevent overfishing and encourage science-based fishery management.
Moreover, federal guidance emphasized the ecological importance of forage species.
Oceana argued that Amendment 13 failed to meet those requirements.
Protecting Anchovies and Sardines Protects Predators
The issue did not disappear after 2011.
Years later, Oceana continued challenging federal management of anchovies. The organization argued that catch limits needed to reflect updated population information and the needs of predators.
Anchovies support numerous species, including humpback whales, dolphins, sea lions, Chinook salmon, pelicans and sharks.
Therefore, protecting forage fish represents much more than protecting one category of seafood.
It protects the structure of the ecosystem.
Science Must Drive Fishing Policy
Oceana’s lawsuit sought several major changes.
The organization wanted federal managers to leave enough forage fish in the ocean for predators. It also pushed for stronger protections against overfishing, greater reliance on scientific data and environmental reviews that accounted for the ecosystem-wide consequences of removing large quantities of prey fish.
Those ideas remain central to modern sustainable fisheries management.
Healthy oceans require healthy food webs.
The Green Living Guy Take
You cannot protect whales while removing their food.
You cannot protect dolphins while ignoring anchovies.
And you cannot build sustainable fisheries by looking only at how many fish humans can catch.
Instead, regulators need to consider the complete ecosystem.
That means leaving enough sardines, anchovies and other forage fish in the ocean to feed wildlife while still supporting responsible commercial fishing.
Ultimately, sustainable fishing isn’t simply about today’s catch.
It’s about making sure there are enough fish—and healthy enough oceans—for tomorrow.
Sources
- Oceana — Oceana Sues to Protect Prey of Whales, Dolphins and Seals
https://usa.oceana.org/press-releases/oceana-sues-protect-prey-whales-dolphins-and-seals/ - Oceana — Hungry Oceans: What Happens When the Prey Is Gone?
https://oceana.org/reports/hungry-oceans-what-happens-when-prey-gone-0/ - Oceana — Oceana Sues Feds for Failure to Prevent Overfishing of Ocean’s Tiny Fish
https://usa.oceana.org/press-releases/oceana-sues-feds-failure-prevent-overfishing-oceans-tiny-fish/
OCEANA | Protecting the World’s Oceans, 99 Pacific Street, Suite 155-C | Monterey, CA 93940, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, December 13, 2011
