Is overfishing or habitat destruction the key culprit in fishery depletion?
Beth Baker Many of the world’s fisheries will continue to decline, unless better management decisions are made soon, according to speakers at a recent conference in Washington, DC, called “Can America Save its Fisheries?” Several speakers said that, while scientists often know what needs to be done to improve a fishery, policy makers lack the will to curb overfishing and to make other tough decisions. Scientists, federal and state fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishing representatives, anthropologists, environmentalists, and Native American groups were represented at the conference, which was aimed at finding common ground and at educating the media and Congress about the need for federal funding of fishery programs. Panelists at the conference, called by National Sea Grant College Program, described an alarming depletion in fisheries worldwide. In the United States, 40% of fish stocks are overexploited, said Michael Sissenwine, chief scientist of the National Marine Fis
