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  3. In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next sev

In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next sev

游客2023-11-03  21
问题     In an effort to sustain commercial and recreational fishing for the next several decades, the United States this year will become the first country to impose catch limits for every species it manages, from Alaskan pollock(鳕鱼)to Caribbean queen conch(海螺). Although the policy has attracted scant attention outside the community of those who fish in America and the officials who regulate them, it marks an important shift in a pursuit that has helped define the country since its founding.
    Catch limits are intended to protect the 528 species in federally managed fisheries. Unlike most recent environmental policy debates, which have divided neatly along party lines, this one is about a policy that was forged under President George W. Bush and finalized with President Obama’s backing. "It’s something that’s arguably first in the world," said Eric Schwaab, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s assistant administrator for fisheries. " It’s a huge accomplishment for the country. "     Five years ago, Bush signed a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which dates to the mid-1970s and governs all fishing in U. S. waters. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers joined environmental groups, some fishing interests and scientists to insert language in the law requiring each fishery to have annual catch limits in place by the end of 2011 to end overfishing.
    Although NOAA didn’t meet the law’s Dec. 31 deadline—it has finalized 40 of the 46 fishery management plans that cover all federally managed stocks—officials said they are confident that they will have annual catch limits in place by the time the 2012 fishing year begins for all species.(The timing varies depending on the fish, with some seasons starting May 1 or later.)Some fish, such as mahi-mahi(海豚鱼)and the prize game fish wahoo(刺鲅)in the southeast Atlantic, will have catch limits for the first time.
    Until recently the nation’s regional management councils, which write the rules for the 528 fish stocks under the federal government’s jurisdiction, regularly flouted scientific advice and authorized more fishing than could be sustained, according to scientists. Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, said the law’s ban on overfishing forced fishery managers to impose limits that some commercial and recreational fishers had resisted for years. " This simple but enormously powerful provision had eluded lawmakers for years and is probably the most important conservation statute ever enacted into America’s fisheries law," Reichert said.
And unlike many environmental regulations, which are written and enforced by Washington officials, the fishing limits were established by regional councils representing a mix of local interests.
    "Because the final decisions were left on the local level, you have a higher assurance of success," said James L. Connaughton, who helped prepare the reauthorization bill while chairing the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "If it had been imposed in Washington, we’d still be stuck in 10 years of litigation. "
    But the changes have not come without a fight, and an array of critics are seeking to undo them. Some commercial and recreational operators, along with their congressional allies, argue that regulators lack the scientific data to justify the restrictions. And they suggest that the ambitious goals the law prescribes, including a mandate to rebuild any depleted fish stock within a decade, are arbitrary and rigid. [br] It can be inferred from the passage that______.
选项 A、U. S. is an innovator in fishery regulation by setting a universal catch limit
B、the Magnuson-Stevens Act is invalid for the time being
C、U. S. has precedents in the process of formulating fishery limits
D、the regional management councils were ignoring the sustainability of fishery before
答案 D
解析 推理题。由第五段第一句可知，地方管理委员会直至近期还经常无视科学建议，为超出可供持续捕捞数量的捕鱼行为大开绿灯，故[D]为正确答案。由第二段第一句可知，美国将为528种鱼类设置捕捞限制，同时由第四段可知，目前根据鱼类的种类不同，限补数量尚未逐一确定，故排除[A]“美国是设定通用的渔业捕捞规定的改革者”；由第三段第一句可知，布什总统签署了自20世纪70年代中期以来一直掌管美国所有水域渔业活动的《麦格努森-史蒂文森法案》的重新授权，故排除[B]；由第二段第三句可知，美国实行渔业限捕措施开创了世纪之先河，因此可推断美国在此做法上没有先例，故排除[C]。
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