Fishable Waters, Edible Fish

living, it becomes quite clear that if the underlying environment is not healthy, your economic prospects aren’t going to be healthy either.

It was with that understanding that I drove down to the University of Florida’s Whitney Lab in Marineland one evening seven or eight years ago. I didn’t know exactly what a Waterkeeper was but I knew that the existing environmental eff orts, some of which I had been a part of, had not been very eff ective in protecting our river. Th at fi rst organizational meeting was not overly encouraging. As we all know, when you put recreational fi sherman, commercial fi sherman and an environmentalist together in a room there is a certain initial tension, and in that little room it was tense.

Fortunately though there were a few folks in that little room who saw the big picture and understood what needed to be done. Th e birthing process was painful, but successful. St. Johns Riverkeeper emerged. Over the years we’ve managed to stay focused on our mission: clean and healthy waters in the St. Johns River.

And it’s that vision that brings me back to the question, “Are those river shrimp?” Our job is to turn back the clock on that question so future generations will reap the benefi ts of a healthy St. Johns River. W

Fishable Waters,

Edible Fish

By Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations, and California Coastkeeper Linda Sheehan

»IN CONGRESS’ fi nal hours in 2006, it reauthorized the nation’s primary fi shery statute — the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act. Th is law asserts U.S. jurisdiction over a vast body of water stretching from 3 to 200 miles off shore and establishes federal fi shery management authority. Th is action was hailed by the Bush administration, members of Congress, fi shing groups and the

two national ocean commissions as a major step forward. Th e law ensures a more scientifi c approach to fi sheries management in the ocean and sets a fi rm deadline to end over fi shing. Despite the hoopla, however, serious problems remain in the eff ort to ensure an ample supply of fi sh in ocean waters. Laws, after all, are just words unless there is the political will and funds available to implement and enforce them. Th e MagnusonStevens Act, which is a 20-year old law, already had a prohibition on over fi shing that was not adequately enforced. Congress and the administration fail to spend the money needed for fi sh population research and enforcement, making it diffi cult, if not impossible, to establish seasons and quotas for sustainable fi shing. And a huge gap in federal protection remains: no law takes a comprehensive approach to making sure there are not only enough fi sh, but that the fi sh are also safe to eat. If we are to have fi shable waters and edible fi sh, we will need to invoke the Magnuson-Stevens and Clean Water Acts, plus state laws that regulate polluted runoff , a major source of fi sh contamination that the Clean Water Act virtually ignores. A close collaboration of Waterkeepers and fi shermen in this eff ort will preserve this nation’s great fi shing heritage and access to a healthy bounty from our waters. W