May 14, 2013 — The following was released by the office of Congressman William Keating:
Washington, DC – Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Bill Keating and New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell held a joint public meeting of the Federal Fishing Advisory Board and the Mayor’s Ocean and Fishery Council to discuss the upcoming reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Key stakeholders in Massachusetts’ marine and fishing communities discussed opportunities to improve upon existing discrepancies in federal fisheries management. The joint meeting followed the third Managing our Nation’s Fisheries Conference, convened by the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils in Washington, DC last week.
“Yesterday’s meeting was a good first step in seeking out ideas from our fishing community as Congress begins work on reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act this year,” said Rep. Keating. “It is critical that the industry and all stakeholders have an opportunity to raise their priorities with the Mayor and myself directly. The Federal Fishing Advisory Board and the Mayor’s Ocean and Fishery Council were established for just this purpose – to bring real transparency and a sense of accountability to issues central to fishery management.”
"I was pleased to hold the meeting with Congressman Keating on Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization,” said Mayor Mitchell. “The fishing industry is critical to New Bedford, and it is important that we be proactive with our ideas about how to reform the law."
“I’ve been involved in the reauthorization process three or four times and this is the first time that I know of that there has been a concerted effort to include industry’s input into the reauthorization process,” said Jim Kendall of New Bedford Seafood Consulting. “It was good to see two recognizable bodies working together to address the industry’s concerns.”
The joint meeting was attended by Representative Tony Cabral, Representative Chris Markey, NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard, fishermen, representatives of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology, and industry stakeholders.