NMFS bans development of new commercial forage fisheries on West Coast

sandlanceFederal officials finalized rules Monday for a on catching forage fish, the small fish that larger species, seabirds and marine mammals depend on for food. The ban on new commercial fisheries will protect little schooling fish that play a critical role in the marine food web but that are not actively fished or managed, the National Marine Fisheries Service said. It marks the first action under a new approach to fisheries management that considers how one species affects others in the ecosystem. The ban does not affect existing fisheries for forage fish, such as sardines and anchovies. It covers species including Pacific sand lance, silversides and certain varieties of herring, smelt and squid. Read the article, click here 19:39

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