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Puget Sound

Establish a Comprehensive Conservation Program for Marine Fish Through the Use of Marine Protected Areas

Category:  Submerged, Intertidal

Cost:  Unknown

Description:  Implementing policies that establish marine protected areas to rebuild healthy fish populations, re-establish ecosystem diversity and restore sustainable fishing opportunities. Carry out these policies with the cooperation of fisheries co-managers with the Puget Sound basin. These policies response to previous 'failed' management approaches. For example, groundfish abundance has declined greatly in the past 20 years where the decline has accelerated in the last 10 years. Currently harvests of ground fish are now at lowest levels since the 1930s. 

Current policies address a precautionary approach to management of non-tribal fisheries; reliance on natural production to meet conservation objectives, a marine fish policy framework with our co-managers and to provide an over arching conservation framework and objectives for all existing and future MPAs. Work is being done to 1) explicitly definite MPA objectives, 2) develop science-based site selection criteria, 3) develop co-manager MPA agreements and 4) understand the relationship between MPAs and tribal usual and accustomed fishing grounds.

Outcome:  Established 4 new marine protected areas in the Puget Sound basin to preserve and enhance marine fish stocks.

Contact:  Mary Lou Mills, Department of Fish and Wildlife

Citation: Information not provided.