2016 was a banner year for marine conservation, including the addition of nearly 450,000 square miles to the U.S. marine national monument system and the passage of a new rule in December to combat seafood fraud in imports.
Yet a new review in the Journal of Marine Policy makes the case that, in some instances, fishing restrictions in the U.S. can lead to unintended consequences by creating a spike in negative impacts elsewhere. The paper’s authors – fishery experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), California Sea Grant and the New England Fishery Management Council – compiled evidence that when U.S. fishery production drops, nations with poor environmental track records can end up increasing their catch to meet consumer demand…