Waterside Chat with Meredith Moore of The Ocean Conservancy
I get smarter every time I talk with Meredith.
Meredith Moore is director of the Fish Conservation Program at The Ocean Conservancy, where she combines a science background and a desire to find pragmatic solutions that work for people and for the environment.
Some highlights from the conversation:
Why the magic of working in fisheries is that instead of saying “no”, it’s “yes, with some boundaries”.
The tension involved in the relationship between fishermen and scientists, since fishermen are experts in finding exactly where the fish are and catching as many as possible, while science is trying to find exactly how many fish there actually are.
Why the Magnuson Stevens Act is fundamentally optimistic, since it looks at a wild ecosystem and saying “we can get this right.”
How if we can get the balance right, the MSA can help us live somewhat gently on top of the ecosystem but still benefit from it. Fisheries are the only large-scale wild ecosystem we have a food source!
Why the current council system may not be perfect, but it gives a voice to people who are invested in the industry.
And as always, much much more!
ABOUT WATERSIDE CHATS
The Network’s Waterside Chat online discussion series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. In each edition, I talk with guests about current ocean policy and fisheries management topics and what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
A version of this article first appeared in the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s “From the Waterfront” blog.