WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens act, and some local fishermen are concerned about some elements of the law.
Critics cite the removal of some conservation provisions as a flaw in the proposal’s current form.
“What we really need in order to rebuild our fish stocks and have healthy fisheries is to have the science and the monitoring that can support that,” said Claire Fitzgerald, a policy analyst for the Fishing Community Coalition, an organization that represents more than 1,000 independent fishermen.
“This is an opportunity to take steps to meaningfully strengthen that law and not to introduce components that could potentially weaken it,” Fitzgerald added.
The Magnuson-Stevens act is the primary federal fishery management law and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
