A congressional subcommittee has called for the first public airing before federal lawmakers of the Obama administration's nationwide push for the kind of "catch share" fisheries management that's due for a May 1 launch in New England.
The hearing next Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, will feature at least two West Coast groups that have been critical of the push for catch shares, the Times has confirmed.
Representing the administration will be new National Marine Fisheries Service head Eric Schwaab.
The oversight hearing will be the third in the last two weeks on fisheries issues, and it comes as scrutiny of catch shares remains high in the wake of the "United We Fish" rally in Washington last month.