WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — May 29, 2015 — Today, in the pages of the Asbury Park Press, op-eds representing both the commercial and recreational fishing communities came out in support of reforms to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the federal law that governs U.S. fisheries management. The op-eds, by Greg DiDomenico of the Garden State Seafood Association, and Jim Donofrio of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, both call for additional flexibility in the rebuilding of fish stocks and the revision of other burdensome regulations on fishing communities. Importantly, both perspectives agree that reforms to the MSA are essential to serving our nation’s fisheries, both commercial and recreational.
The House of Representatives is currently scheduled next week to consider a reauthorization and revision of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, H.R. 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” authored by Congressman Don Young (R-AK). H.R. 1335 recently gained the support of a diverse group of over 150 fishermen, businesses, and organizations, who wrote to the House Natural Resources Committee urging the passage of the bill.
Read the op-ed from Greg DiDomenico of the Garden State Seafood Association here
Read the op-ed from Jim Donofrio of the Recreational Fishing Alliance here