Decline of Fisheries Resources in New England: Evaluating the Impact of Overfishing, Contamination, and Habitat Degradation.

摘要

This book emerged from one of several issue papers sponsored by the Technical Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts Bays Program, one of the National Estuary Programs funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. When we started this project, the crisis in New England groundfish populations was not nearly as much in the public consciousness as it is now. There was a fair amount of conjecture within the fishing industry, due in part to uncertainty that exists in stock assessment, concern about pollution and habitat impacts, and anecdotal descriptions of improved fish catch that seemed at odds with agency predictions as to the root cause of the problem. We thought it useful to put together a volume that examined the scientific evidence for effects of three major factors overfishing, pollution, and habitat degradation on northeast finfish, lobsters, and shellfish populations. This approach omits the socio-economic drivers which influence fisheries management decisions and the industry's perception of the ecosystem. We acknowledge the importance of these factors in the broader scope of the issue, however without a sound scientific knowledge, achieving sustainability in fisheries will falter.