Vol. 2, No. 3 Contents
Headline Back Issues
Summer 1998
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Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance By Suzy Fried
Regulators, researchers, fishermen, conservation organizations, recreators, and other interest groups often disagree on how to manage marine resources for ecological and economic health. But a new organization, the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA) is working to create a collaborative local management system to restore and sustain "an enduring Northwest Atlantic marine system which supports a healthy, diverse abundance of marine life and commercial, recreational, and aesthetic uses." For nearly three years, NAMA kept a low profile as it painstakingly sorted out its goals and organizational structure. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the group was helping to facilitate meetings and discussions on various fishery issues, according to Coordinating Director Craig Pendleton, a Saco, Maine fisherman. Last spring, the group began to publicize its work. NAMA emerged from discussions that began when Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) attorney Peter Shelley asked Dee Hock, founder and CEO of VISA USA and VISA International, and now an organizational reform consultant, to help the various interests in the Gulf find ways to collaborate to restore declining fish stocks and otherwise enhance the Northwest Atlantic marine system. In 1991, CLF successfully sued the US Department of Commerce and National Marine Fisheries Service to stop over-fishing of groundfish, resulting in the closure of Georges Bank in 1994. But Shelley, CLF's lead attorney on that case, said he was concerned that the measure would simply be part of a cycle in which the fishery was closed when stocks declined, and opened when stocks recovered, only to be fished out again. Local management based on conscience and common sense seemed a better approach. According to Pendleton, while NAMA acknowledges that government plays a role in managing marine resources, "If a bunch of people agree that you shouldn't be fishing on spawning fish in state waters, you don't need a law. You just agree and you don't do it." A form of self-management is already at work in the Gulf. Maine's lobster zone councils have the authority to make rules on certain lobstering practices according to local tradition and needs. Even so, Shelley said, those councils, created by the Maine legislature, are "an extension of government, while the NAMA initiative is coming from self-government and self-management." Seeking organized chaos "Management by combat doesn't work," he maintains. When the credit card industry was suffering from institutional problems, Hock guided the banks in forming regional, national, and international communities based on these principles. Hock calls his approach "chaordic" organization combining chaos and order. Assistance from several foundation grants enables his not-for-profit Chaordic Alliance to work on NAMA at no charge. Pendleton said when he and other fishermen were first approached to meet with Hock and other groups they were reluctant, but, "At that point we were just so sick of fighting with each other. I really think that first meeting was out of sheer frustration. There had to be a better way." Still, they were skeptical. "We thought at first, We're going to listen to some banker. What does he know?' But every issue we brought up, he could relate to Visa. It was a very interesting meeting. And when we got him off to the side, [we found out] he was retired and he was a farmer. He got dirty. He was a nice guy." Local perspective emphasized The group proposes that Gulf of Maine communities form local alliances including recreational and commercial fishermen, scientists, government representatives, conservationists, and others who would collaborate to form wider and wider regional associations that address management issues. The alliances would provide more opportunities for individuals to participate in decision-making. Pendleton said NAMA hopes by next May to launch five such alliances in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The group wants to involve Canadian representatives as well. "We can't manage without including them," said Pendleton, but, "The difference in [fishery] management styles has caused us quite an inability to get together." NAMA members can continue to participate in other fisheries management groups or organizations, said Shelley. But Pendleton said fishermen may find NAMA more to their liking. Pendleton, who formerly served as president of the Maine Fishermen's Cooperative Association, said that organization was less effective than he would have liked. "We'd hear only our side of story. Usually there were only a handful of people at the meetings." Pendleton now works full-time in NAMA's Saco, Maine office. He's hired someone to run his boat, and gets out on the water only occasionally. Instead, he spends his time on projects such as a grant application he recently wrote seeking funds for a NAMA boat-brokering program in which fishing boats could be used as platforms for scientific projects. Pendleton's own boat is already involved in this sort of partnership, which he said helps facilitate trust between fishermen and scientists to the benefit of both. According to Pendleton, NAMA affords fishermen more opportunity to speak than fishery management councils. "A lot of the guys have good ideas and are not listened to. Being able to come and speak openly and frequently - we've had some people who have found just that appealing." And interest in NAMA is growing, he said, noting that 50 people attended the group's January recruitment meeting. For more information contact Craig Pendleton at NAMA's Saco, Maine office at (207) 284-5374. |
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Gulf of Maine - A new community-based approach to managing marine resources has hooked some conflict-weary fishermen in the Gulf.