Managing Gulf Fisheries for the Long Term: Waterside Chat with Eric Brazer

Eric Brazer joined host Tom Sadler for a Waterside Chat on April 26th, 2023. Eric is the deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance, a member of the Network’s Policy Council, and a voice on behalf of science-based management of Gulf Red Snapper and other species. Among many other things, Eric and Tom discussed:

• How despite years of fisheries conservation successes, the Gulf is telling us it's in trouble. Populations of fish such as gag grouper have declined to their lowest level on record, prompting huge cuts in fishing quotas.
• The need for ecosystem management rather than managing individual species in isolation.
• The need for fisheries managers to have experience in fisheries management or on the water. The Gulf management council has more people named "Bob" serving on it right now than it does actual commercial fishermen.
• How the Shareholder Alliance’s Quota Bank that helps reduce red snapper discards in the eastern Gulf by holding participants to a high standard of accountability in a market-based system.
• The Alliance's policy work to support good science and data, to educate regional and federal regulators, and to play an active role in shaping our commercial fishing regulations.
• Their work with the Gulf Wild brand program, supporting a seafood traceability program built by fishermen for fishermen.
• How the Alliance fosters the next generation of conservation-minded fishermen.
• The complex effects of climate change on Gulf fish populations.

More about the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance: https://shareholdersalliance.org/
More about the Gulf Wild program: https://gulfwild.com/
The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.
Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats: https://conservefish.org/join-our-email-list/