"While some have attributed discrepancies in the assessments to the ocean environment, we must understand it is plausible that the sources of environmental change are actually induced by management practices intended to protect fish," Dr. Brian Rothschild stressed.
" "Noteworthy, is the closing of the dogfish shark fishery in New England and the mid-Atlantic in order to protect the larger female dogfish," Rothschild said. "The closure has resulted in a biomass of dogfish sharks that appears to exceed by more than 10 times the next most abundant fish species.
"This significant management-induced, shark-dominated ecosystem could very well prevent other stocks from increasing in abundance," he added.
"Clearly we have been addressing the wrong questions," he pointed out. "There is no need to rush to snap judgments that irreversibly affect the economic integrity of the fishing industry." "
Comments