Marin Voice: Huffman’s interest in fisheries act is commendable
A once-in-a-decade opportunity for everyone to weigh in on the management of our fisheries has been put into motion.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary federal law that governs all management of marine fisheries in federal waters of the United States. The act governs both commercial and recreational fishing sectors. First enacted by bi-partisan legislation in 1976, it has been reauthorized and amended by Congress in 1996 and 2006. The intent was to update and reauthorize the MSA every 10 years. Obviously, a reauthorization in 2016 did not occur and the MSA has remained essentially unchanged since 2006.
U.S. Representative Jared Huffman has set a goal to have the MSA reauthorized in the spring of 2020. To that end, he is holding a series of roundtable meetings throughout the country to gather input from all stakeholders as to how they feel the MSA can be updated and improved. I attended, as an audience member, the roundtable that was held in San Francisco on Oct. 7.
Congressman Huffman presided over a panel of 11 people who represented organizations concerned with commercial and recreational fishing. Congressman Huffman set the tone by stating that he was there to listen and gather information and opinions from all parties. He also stressed that he will try to garner bi-partisan support for the reauthorization process. He took extensive notes and asked questions for clarification. No conclusions or rebuttals were offered. It was truly an information-gathering atmosphere.
Each panelist voiced their requests as to what the reauthorized MSA should contain or amend. All panelists agreed that the current MSA should be revised, rather than completely scrapped and re-written from scratch. This is because the MSA has fostered many successes, most notably facilitating the rebuilding of several highly distressed ground fish populations to now viable stocks. The impacts of climate change and the advances in science were also universal topics.
Other issues brought up were the need for more government funding for mandated programs, and the impact of foreign-caught fish imported into the U.S. Follow up questions were asked by Rep. Huffman and then members of the audience, of which I was one, were allowed to ask questions.
As a life-long recreational fisherman, I commented that it was important that the needs of recreational fishermen be given equal weight in the MSA to those of the commercial fishermen. Everyone is angling for the same fish in the same waters. Studies have shown that recreational fishing contributes at least as much to the economy as commercial fishing. The two sectors deserve equal consideration in the MSA. However, with equal consideration comes equal responsibility for adhering to the rules and regulations contained in the MSA.
The reauthorization of the MSA does not impact just commercial and recreational fishermen. It impacts everyone who derives benefit from the fisheries, especially consumers of ocean seafood as well as people who fish the inland waters such as the Delta. Many of the fish species, such as salmon and steelhead, spend most of their lives in the ocean waters regulated by the MSA.
A good source of information on the MSA can be found on the website of the Marin Fish Conservation Network at conservefish.org.
As I stated in the beginning, this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for everyone to make their voices heard regarding our fisheries. Rep. Huffman is to be applauded for his efforts to listen to all stakeholders in order to update an already successful Act to serve as the model for fisheries management for the next 10 years. Please contact Rep. Huffman and take advantage of the opportunity to let your opinions be known and listened to.
Richard Slusher, of Greenbrae, has been active in local, state and regional environmental causes, particularly fisheries, for the past 30 years.
By: Richard Slusher
Source: Marin Independent Journal
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