Fisheries scientist Brian Rothschild Wednesday cited the Obama administration's refusal to appoint the consensus choice of industry and state political leaders to a third term representing North Carolina on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council as the most recent sign the council system is broken.
In April, Rothschild testified to a congressional subcommittee that the way the system operates, it "disenfranchises" the fishing industry, which is subject to council regulation and policies. Such a system cannot earn the respect of those it governs, he argued to the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife of the House Natural Resources Committee.
To fix the problem, Rothschild recommends that councilors be elected directly by fishing communities; he also urged making the council full-time and cutting its size down from about 18 members to five or six.
Created by the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1976, the eight regional councils on three coasts are comprised of representatives of the ocean states in each region, working part-time to debate problems and make policy recommendations for the regional administrators and national administrator.
Rothschild argues that the science and knowledge base of fisheries management have expanded rapidly, overwhelming the part-time resources of the council.
Meanwhile, the council appointees are twice insulated from stakeholders — as illustrated by the decision under the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce not to give a third, three-year term to Rita Merritt in North Carolina.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires only that the governor send the Secretary of Commerce a preferred choice with two alternatives, and Merritt was the preferred choice of North Carolina's governor and other officials.
Authority without accountability breeds bad government, argues Rothschild, who advises from his post at the University of Massachusetts' School of Marine Science and Technology.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
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