Page updated on 11/29/07
 

Moving Magnuson in 2006
 

      The reauthorization of the most significant piece of federal legislation that impacts federally managed fisheries in Maine and across the nation is moving forward. The Magnuson –Stevens Act (MSA), originally enacted in 1976, was most recently amended through the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) in 1996. The Act establishes a national framework for conserving and managing marine fisheries within a 200-mile wide zone contiguous to the United States through eight Regional Fishery Management Councils.
     Since the last reauthorization of the Act expired six years ago there has been an ongoing debate on how to best amend the MSA to reflect the current status of fisheries conservation and management in the US. Creating regional flexibility, sustaining fish and fishermen, and improving science have all been important goals identified in the advancement of this bill.
     On December 15, 2005, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2005.  Maine’s Senator Olympia Snowe, as Chair of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries and Coast Guard and Co-Sponsor of the bill, has been pivotal in keeping Maine’s interests at the forefront during this evolving process.
    Attendees joined this panel for a discussion of how provisions in the Senate bill will impact New England fishermen and what steps to expect next in 2006 as the Congressional reauthorization process for MSA continues.

     Host:  Mary Beth Tooley, East Coast Pelagic Assn.