An Environmental Success Story for Fishing on America's West Coast
2020-01-02
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1A rare environmental success story is taking place on the West Coast of the United States.
2The numbers of groundfish have greatly increased in recent years.
3The term groundfish describes a number of fish species that live near the bottom of the Pacific.
4Shems Jud is the regional director for the Environmental Defense Fund's ocean program.
5"It's really a conservation home run," he said, adding, "It's the biggest environmental story that no one knows about."
6On January first, regulators will reopen a large area to bottom trawling: a form of fishing that uses nets to catch fish near the bottom of the ocean.
7The change will take effect in an area off the coast of the states of Oregon and California.
8The move even comes with the approval of environmental groups that were once the trawling industry's biggest enemies.
9In the 1980s, bottom trawling was very successful, with 500 boats in California, Oregon and Washington.
10They caught about 91 million kilograms of groundfish each year.
11But bottom trawlers overfished.
12Many species of rockfish, slow-growing creatures with spiny fins, were the hardest hit.
13In the late 1990s, scientists began to worry about decreasing fish numbers.
14By 2005, trawlers brought in just one fourth of their yearly catch during the 1980s.
15Today 75 boats are involved in trawling, said Brad Pettinger.
16He is the former director of the Oregon Trawl Commission.
17"We really wiped out the industry for a number of years," Pettinger said.
18In 2011, trawlers received limits, known as quotas, defining how much of each species they could catch.
19If they went over the limit, they had to buy permission to use the quota of other fishermen.
20Fishermen quickly learned to avoid areas with many banned species, and began trying to catch fewer banned fish.
21Studies soon showed groundfish numbers increasing - in some cases, 50 years faster than predicted.
22Accidental trawling of overfished species fell by 80 percent.
23As the quota system's success became clear, environmentalists and trawlers began to talk.
24Then, regulators reconsidered the trawling rules.
25Both sides wanted their voices to be heard in the process.
26Seth Atkinson is a lawyer with the nonprofit group Natural Resources Defense Council.
27"All we could do on our end is make a good-faith offer, and I really credit the guys in the industry for taking that up," he said.
28"These were tough compromises."
29Last year, regulators approved a plan to reopen the Rockfish Conservation Area to fishing.
30They also banned future trawling in very deep waters.
31The plan also noted that some places important to fish reproduction were barred to fisherman, including a large area near Southern California.
32Trawlers could harvest as much as 54 million kilograms of fish a year.
33But there is currently only demand for about half that much.
34Many Americans have grown up without ever tasting groundfish.
35These fish have been replaced in stores by farmed fish or foreign species like tilapia.
36A trade association called Positively Groundfish is trying to increase public interest with food festivals and trade shows.
37They talk about the industry's new sustainability.
38They give fish away, too.
39Jana Hennig is the association's executive director.
40She said, "People are so surprised to hear...that you can manage a fishery so well that it actually bounces back to abundance."
41I'm John Russell.
1A rare environmental success story is taking place on the West Coast of the United States. 2The numbers of groundfish have greatly increased in recent years. The term groundfish describes a number of fish species that live near the bottom of the Pacific. 3Shems Jud is the regional director for the Environmental Defense Fund's ocean program. "It's really a conservation home run," he said, adding, "It's the biggest environmental story that no one knows about." 4Bottom trawling 5On January first, regulators will reopen a large area to bottom trawling: a form of fishing that uses nets to catch fish near the bottom of the ocean. The change will take effect in an area off the coast of the states of Oregon and California. The move even comes with the approval of environmental groups that were once the trawling industry's biggest enemies. 6In the 1980s, bottom trawling was very successful, with 500 boats in California, Oregon and Washington. They caught about 91 million kilograms of groundfish each year. 7But bottom trawlers overfished. Many species of rockfish, slow-growing creatures with spiny fins, were the hardest hit. 8In the late 1990s, scientists began to worry about decreasing fish numbers. By 2005, trawlers brought in just one fourth of their yearly catch during the 1980s. 9Today 75 boats are involved in trawling, said Brad Pettinger. He is the former director of the Oregon Trawl Commission. "We really wiped out the industry for a number of years," Pettinger said. 10Quotas and changing fishing practices 11In 2011, trawlers received limits, known as quotas, defining how much of each species they could catch. If they went over the limit, they had to buy permission to use the quota of other fishermen. 12Fishermen quickly learned to avoid areas with many banned species, and began trying to catch fewer banned fish. 13Studies soon showed groundfish numbers increasing - in some cases, 50 years faster than predicted. Accidental trawling of overfished species fell by 80 percent. 14As the quota system's success became clear, environmentalists and trawlers began to talk. Then, regulators reconsidered the trawling rules. Both sides wanted their voices to be heard in the process. 15Seth Atkinson is a lawyer with the nonprofit group Natural Resources Defense Council. "All we could do on our end is make a good-faith offer, and I really credit the guys in the industry for taking that up," he said. "These were tough compromises." 16Last year, regulators approved a plan to reopen the Rockfish Conservation Area to fishing. They also banned future trawling in very deep waters. The plan also noted that some places important to fish reproduction were barred to fisherman, including a large area near Southern California. 17Not a lot of demand 18Trawlers could harvest as much as 54 million kilograms of fish a year. But there is currently only demand for about half that much. Many Americans have grown up without ever tasting groundfish. These fish have been replaced in stores by farmed fish or foreign species like tilapia. 19A trade association called Positively Groundfish is trying to increase public interest with food festivals and trade shows. They talk about the industry's new sustainability. They give fish away, too. 20Jana Hennig is the association's executive director. She said, "People are so surprised to hear...that you can manage a fishery so well that it actually bounces back to abundance." 21I'm John Russell. 22Gillian Flaccus reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 23________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25species -- n. biology : a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants : a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus 26conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources 27regulator - n. an official who works for the part of the government that controls a public activity (such as banking or insurance) by making and enforcing rules 28manage -- v. to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.) 29bounce back -- phrasal verb : to return quickly to a normal condition after a difficult situation or event 30abundance - n. a large amount of something : an abundant amount of something 31sustainability - n. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources 32We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.