Partisan Politics Threaten To Sink Reform Of Federal Fisheries Law

A major effort to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act for the first time in 16 years is moving through the House, but its prospects in the Senate don’t look good.

WASHINGTON — A divided Congress and the unexpected death of an Alaska congressman appear to have derailed federal legislation meant to improve oversight and management of U.S. fisheries, especially in the face of climate change.

The House Natural Resources Committee passed a Democratic-sponsored bill last week to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for the first time since 2006.

While it’s possible the bill will receive a vote on the House floor before the end of the year, its chances of being taken up in the Senate, much less receiving the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster, is unlikely — at least in this Congress.

The bill, known as the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, was co-authored by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman of California and Ed Case of Hawaii, and is the culmination of more than two years of work, including a series of community listening sessions that began in 2019.

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By:  Nick Grube
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat

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