May 1, 2015 — The Seafood Coalition* has joined with other fishing groups and the National Restaurant Association in opposition to proposed changes that would exempt red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico from management under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Coalition members wrote in a letter (attached) to Senators Rubio and Booker and Congressmen Bishop and Grijalva (respectively Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard and the House Natural Resources Committee) “we as members of the Seafood Coalition realize that our future in the fisheries is dependent on an open and equitable management process focused on sustainability that will allow all of our citizens, both those who fish and those who don’t, reasonable access to fishery resources that are managed for everyone. This level of management is provided by the M-SFCMA and is responsible for the constant improvement in the health of our fish stocks. We oppose this or any other departure from the Act that will hold management of any fishery captive to political pressure brought by special interests and that could grant rights to particular species like red snapper to exclusive user groups.”
Nils Stolpe
Seafood Coalition
*The Seafood Coalition is composed of organizations and companies that represent or participate in commercial fishing and seafood processing as well as organizations that include many of the major suppliers of seafood directly to the American consumer. The Coalition was formed in 2001 to provide a strong, coordinated voice for the seafood industry in promoting science-based marine resource conservation and management in the U.S. and in international arenas. TheCoalition is a forum for affected commercial fishing and fish processing interests and seafood suppliers to develop and support policies that improve federal marine resource conservation and management practices. In addition, the Coalition’s goal is to foster sustainable development and to strengthen fishing communities along with enhancing the supply of healthy and nutritious seafood for consumers.
Read the letter from the Seafood Coalition