The press communiqué reveals that the MSRA pays an unprecedented level of attention to international fisheries. The overarching approach is a call for the Secretary of Commerce to work multilaterally through various forums, such as Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs), to address illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMRs).
The National Marine Fisheries Service has made available a list of protected living marine resources for purposes of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, as amended by the international provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Click here to see this list. Please note that this list will be updated periodically as needed. In order to fulfill the requirement of new provisions of the MSRA the National Marine Fisheries Service is preparing the second biennial report to Congress, which will identify nations whose fishing vessels are engaged in IUU fishing or fishing practices that result in bycatch of protected living marine resources.
NMFS held six public hearings to discuss and collect comments on the issues described in the proposed rule for developing identification and certification procedures to address illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and bycatch of protected living marine resources (PLMRs) pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act).
