July 18, 2024
Agency critics slam federal oversight of bycatch
GAO outlined numerous ways in which NMFS has failed to tackle bycatch issues adequately and blamed a lack of observer coverage overall.Photo by NOAA Fisheries
The agency that oversees the performances of federal agencies gave a sobering assessment of those tasked with monitoring bycatch in US fisheries.
That oversight falls to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), also called NOAA Fisheries, which agreed with the troubling performance outlined in a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In a June report to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee titled “Efforts to Reduce and Monitor Unintentional Catch and Harm Need Better…
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Laine Welch has covered the Alaska fish beat for print and radio since 1988. She has also worked “behind the counter” at retail and wholesale seafood companies in Kodiak and Cape Cod. Click here to send her an email.
You can read more from Laine at alaskafish.news.
