Congressional Bills Would Alter National MSA to Benefit Recreational Fisheries in Gulf of Mexico
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - August 22, 2017
Two companion bills in the House and Senate, both currently in committee, would alter the Magnuson-Stevens Act in how it addresses recreational and commercial fisheries management.
Both bills call for a review of the red snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and alter the section in the MSA dealing with Gulf red snapper. Then each bill changes sections of the law that apply to all U.S. fisheries on fundamental management principals in MSA, like how regional councils will allocate access to marine resources, adopt annual catch limits requirements, and put data-poor fisheries under a less strict management than more strict.
Both versions of The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017 (S.1520 and H.2023) are an attempt to codify what is becoming a standard argument for the recreational sector: “We are different from commercial fishermen, so the fish we target should be managed differently.”
The strength of the MSA, adopted in 1976 and amended at regular intervals to address changing aspects of the nation’s fisheries, is that within its founding principles...
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