May 7, 2014 — The Magnuson Stevens Act is critically important to the economy of our state and our coastal communities across the nation. As chair of the Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee, I am working to protect Alaska interests as we fulfill our responsibility to reauthorize this national legislation.
The late Sen. Ted Stevens had a great idea 40 years ago: kick unregulated foreign fishing fleets out of our waters and give those jobs to American fishermen. And while we’re doing that, let’s apply science to ensure the resource lasts forever.
Working with his bipartisan ally, Sen. Warren Magnuson of Washington state, they later created the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, better known today as MSA.
The wise vision behind this law created a powerful economic engine for Alaska. Fishing had always been part of our history, but MSA increased Alaska’s catch by almost 5 billion pounds and doubled the nation’s production of seafood.
Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Kodiak were instantly propelled to the top of the leader board among the nation’s top fishing ports. And MSA did this with rules and tools that ensured our fisheries were sustainable. No Alaska species is overfished.
Now it’s time for MSA to be reauthorized — a process that happens every few years. This doesn’t mean the law goes away or ceases to apply, but rather it’s a periodic opportunity to renew the bill and make changes as needed.
From Alaska’s perspective, things are going pretty well. A few tweaks will be helpful, but not much more is needed for Alaska.
But MSA is national legislation. It covers fisheries around the country where problems do exist. The last time it was reauthorized, our successful, sustainable management practices were “exported” to the rest of the country, and not a moment too soon.
Read the full opinion piece at the Juneau Empire