text: Magnuson-Stevens Act Archives - Page 3 of 42 - Saving Seafood
  October 26, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
  Leaders of the nation's eight Regional Fishery Management Councils concluded their second biannual meeting in 2021 last week by videoconference. The Council Coordination Committee meeting provides the Councils and heads of the National Marine Fisheries Service an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to all of the Councils. The three-day meeting was open to the public and hosted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Among the issues discussed were proposed changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the need to more fully address environmental justice for underserved fishing communities.
  Please view the full press release and a comprehensive summary of the meeting by visiting the U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils website at: http://www.fisherycouncils.org/ccc-meetings/october-2021.
  A sea of choices confronts Biden admin in ocean protection
  October 5, 2021 — When it comes to meeting its aggressive conservation pledge, the Biden administration appears to have a head start on protecting the United States' oceans — after all, on paper, the nation is already more than two-thirds of the way to the goal.
  But as the administration puts together a tracking mechanism for its pledge to conserve 30 percent of the nation's lands and waters by 2030, environmental activists warn that frequently cited statistics provide a misleading picture of ocean conservation.
  At the same time, advocates for the fishing industry question counter the nation is much closer to the final objective — if not already there. They argue that conservation shouldn't always mean activities like fishing are banned and say their industry has shown itself willing to help protect vulnerable species.
  Managed waters
  Opponents of new marine monuments, however, argue that managed waters are sufficient to meet the conservation goals.
  "If it's not conserved unless it's in a marine sanctuary that excludes fishing — which is a fairly radical and extreme point of view — then I think you get into a very different set of calculations about how you get to 30 percent," said Roger Mann, a marine sciences professor at the College of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
  Mann pointed to language in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the nation's primary fisheries law, that calls for "conservation and management" of the oceans.
  "If you're conserving sustainable resources … then all of the area that is managed under Magnuson is already a conservation area," argued Mann, who previously served on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
  "The councils can all sit there and scratch their heads and say, 'We're not 30×30. We're 100 percent by 2021. What's the problem?'" he said.
  Former Garden State Seafood Association Executive Director Greg DiDomenico said he is optimistic that the Biden administration will adhere to its vow for scientific integrity, but remains staunchly opposed to the idea of new monuments.
  "What we expect from 30×30, ultimately, is that it be conducted under rigorous science and an open, transparent policy," said DiDomenico, who is now with Lund's Fisheries.
  DiDomenico pointed to the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument during former President Obama's tenure, which closed the area to commercial fishing.
  Former President Trump reversed that closure in 2020, and the New England Fishery Management Council subsequently implemented protections for deep-sea corals in more than 80 percent of the monument (E&E News PM, June 5, 2020).
  "The proof is in the pudding," DiDomenico said, pointing to what is formally known as the Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment.
  He added that: "No one is running from this. We've been here before."
  Western Pacific Fishery Council Advisors to Evaluate Seabird Conservation Measures
  September 10, 2021 — Scientists will meet Sept. 14 to 16, 2021, to provide advice and comments to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council on domestic seabird conservation measures, Hawai'i area-based management efforts, proposed changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other topics. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. The full agenda, background documents and instructions for connecting to the meeting and providing oral public comments are available at https://www.wpcouncil.org/event/141st-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting. Among the agenda items are the following:
  Potential Revisions for Seabird Conservation Measures
  The Council is evaluating using tori lines, or bird scaring lines, as part of a suite of mitigation measures that help the Hawai'i longline fishery avoid hooking seabirds. Two field trials to develop and test tori lines in the deep-set longline fishery were conducted in 2019-2021 under a cooperative research project between the Council, Hawaii Longline Association and National Marine Fisheries Service. The studies show that tori lines are significantly more effective in preventing longline gear interactions with black-footed and Laysan albatrosses than an existing method of using blue-dyed bait. The SSC will review results from the latest study completed during summer 2021 and may provide advice to the Council on the management action to modify the current conservation measures.
  Report on Recently Opened Hawai'i Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas
  The Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) will present an interim report of data from fishermen who fished in the four reopened areas—Kaua'i (BRFA C), Penguin Bank (BRFA F), Maui (BRFA J) and Hawai'i (BRFA L). The Hawai'i Board of Land and Natural Resources recommended that DAR monitor the fishery performance in these areas and report back in January 2022. The SSC may provide recommendations to improve the preliminary analysis to support DAR in their report and comment on the utility (or lack thereof) of retaining the BRFAs.
  Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization Amendments
  Two comprehensive bills were recently introduced in the Congress that would amend the MSA. The SSC may comment on several provisions that would affect the committee. These include coordinating with NOAA on multi-year research priorities that should address climate change impacts on fisheries and on forage fish populations and distribution, and the requirement to have an audio/video recording or written transcript of the SSC meeting. The SSC may also provide advice on individual provisions on fish stock status, maintaining the abundance and diversity of forage fish and criteria for determining whether a stock is depleted.
  The SSC will also hear a review of impacts from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument expansion and may discuss alternative area-based management actions.
  Recommendations made by the SSC on these and other matters will be considered by the Council when it meets Sept. 21-23, 2021, virtually with host sites at Tedi of Samoa Building, Suite 208B, Fagatogo Village, American Samoa; BRI Building, Suite 205, Kopa Di Oru St., Garapan, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); and Cliff Pointe, 304 W. O'Brien Dr., Hagatña, Guam. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agendas and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/meetings-calendars. Host sites are subject to local and federal safety and health guidelines regarding COVID-19; check the Council website for updates.
  Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization: "Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act" Introduced
  July 28, 2021 — Last Friday the long-awaited "Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act", a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), was introduced by Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Ed Case (D-HI). Huffman is chair of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee, within the House Natural Resources Committee.
  July 27, 2021 — A key Democrat in the U.S. House introduced a bill Monday to renew the Magnuson Stevens Act. Magnuson Stevens is the primary law that covers fishing in federal waters. Past bills have languished in Congress, in part because many in the industry were generally happy with the law as it is.
  July 27, 2021 — Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii) introduced the Sustaining America's Fisheries for the Future Act, a bill to amend and reauthorize the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, on Monday, July 26.
  Some of the most significant updates include mandating assessments for fisheries' climate readiness at the council level, changing the term "overfished" to "depleted," streamlining access to disaster relief funds, increasing funds to support seafood marketing and working waterfronts, and improving flexibility on rebuilding timelines for certain stocks.
  "We're not just reauthorizing a really important law. We're trying to reset a really important process," Huffman told National Fisherman. "Through our stakeholder-driven, science-based approach, we have crafted legislation that rises to the challenges of the 21st century and includes critical updates to this landmark law," he added in a release with the legislation on Monday.
  Huffman, who serves as chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, conducted a yearlong tour consisting of eight listening sessions at fishing ports on every coast of the country. He and Case, a subcommittee member, introduced a discussion draft of the reauthorization in December.
  The revamped bill incorporates more changes following feedback on the draft. Huffman, Case and their staffs took additional input from stakeholders and industry leaders in the intervening months to ensure that the bill meets the needs of the industry while also propelling fishery management into the modern era and allowing flexibility for each region to manage fisheries based on local needs.
  July 26, 2021 — A long-awaited overhaul of the nation's primary fishing law would require NOAA to devise plans for "climate ready fisheries" to deal with shifting stocks, under a bill expected to be introduced later today.