February 28, 2018 — A bill supported by recreational anglers but opposed by commercial harvesters and environmental groups was approved by the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Wednesday by a voice vote.
The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act (S. 1520), legislation its supporters have termed “the Modern Fish Act,” will now go to the Senate floor. Some of the same provisions are contained in H.R. 200, a measure sponsored by representative Don Young, an Alaska Republican, which is expected to receive a vote soon on the House floor.
“[T]his is the commerce committee at its best,” said senator Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who introduced S. 1520, noting after the vote the bipartisan support his bill enjoyed. Seven Republicans and six Democrats cosponsored the legislation.
“Saltwater anglers are conservationists and this bill will help provide for healthier marine fisheries and will amend the law in such a way as to enhance saltwater fishing and build our economy,” he said.
The American Sportfishing Association, one of multiple recreational fishing groups to support S. 1520, was quick to applaud the vote, too, saying Wicker’s bill would add “more tools to the management toolbox, improving data collection techniques, and examining some fishery allocations that are based on decades-old decisions.”
However, the Seafood Harvesters of America (SHA) and Garden State Seafood Association are among no less than 30 multiple commercial fishing groups that have expressed their opposition to the bill.
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