The federal government is on the verge of closing most waters off the West Coast to many kinds of fishing for decades--and not a moment too soon. People are still sorting through the economic and social effects of the decision by the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council to suspend fishing for several kinds of rockfish off the Pacific Coast.
With stunning suddenness, the myth of ocean abundance has dissolved into the cold reality of scarcity. Where we once faced the challenge of building up fishing fleets, we now face the challenge of trimming them. If we do not succeed in reducing fleets to sizes that diminishing fish populations can support, we will surely face more closures and economic dislocation.
No one who depended on, managed, enjoyed or profited from these fisheries should be surprised. The signs were clear five years ago. Then, tighter and tighter fishing restrictions aimed at protecting declining rockfish populations reduced the economic value of the West Coast commercial fishery from $100 million in 1997 to $50 million in 1998.
In January 2000, the Commerce secretary declared the fishery a disaster, but Congress provided little relief. Two years ago, the Pacific Fishery Management Council called for halving the West Coast fleet that has fished for groundfish, which consumers purchase as red snapper.
What a shift. In the 1970s and 1980s, government agencies, investors and fishermen dreamed confidently of expanding fisheries, not just on the Pacific Coast but elsewhere off U.S. coasts and beyond.
Investment tax laws, government loan guarantees, the expulsion of foreign fishing fleets and wildly optimistic estimates of potential catches fed an enormous boom in fishing boat construction. More than half of the 30,500 vessels built between 1950 and 2000 were built from 1973 to 1984.
It was too much of a good thing. Soon, many fishermen found their grounds crowded and their catches declining. To make ends meet, some rushed to increase catches by using more gear and bigger vessels and by fishing longer.
This race for the fish magnified small problems, such as damage to sensitive habitats and the discard of fish that were too small or the wrong species to sell. Quite often, catches declined, sometimes precipitously.
Many fishermen began seeking better grounds.
