Strange Bedfellows; Fishermen Advocating for EBFM on the East Coast

In the fisheries management community, most seem to agree that Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management is the future. Unfortunately, instead of figuring out how to take that first step, we spend too much time focused on why not to. One of the more common reasons discussed is that EBFM is difficult for fishermen and the general public to understand. As a recreational fishing community leader and organizer, in my opinion nothing could be farther from the truth.  Prior to making even their first fishing trip, every single person who has ever wet a line started learning about the interdependency of predator and prey. For over a decade up and down the East Coast, fishermen from different sectors who are normally at odds with each other have joined to form coalitions with the sole purpose of increasing conservation of forage species.  Fishermen naturally understand the need to conserve forage species like menhaden and herring in order to sustain more healthy populations of target species like bluefin tuna and striped bass.  This presentation will review examples of these efforts and suggest views of how recreational and small boat commercial fishermen could actually be a key in taking the first substantive steps toward EBFM.