The rally is said to be led by the Recreational Fishing Alliance, the rally is designed to show support for an amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act legislation through the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, is among 25 co-sponsors of the bill.
Experts said that the amendment is designed to correct the “unintended negative impacts of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal fisheries law which was revised in January of 2007.” Due to these changes the National Marine Fisheries Service has enacted emergency closures of recreational fishing for certain species, including the recent controversial closure of the sea bass fishery along the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states.
Jim Donofrio, RFA executive director, opined that the closures keep coming and it’s good to see the collective fishing communities and industries, both recreational and commercial, calling for scientific-based Magnuson reform. Besides, the proposed bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Act to require fishery management plans, amendments or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable.
