Though most people have probably never heard of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, as the law is now called, this piece of legislation forms the linchpin in managing our nation's fisheries. It marked a major turning point in how we oversee marine resources, ensuring that we have seafood on our plates for years to come. It's also a policy that all Americans who love to fish and eat local seafood should applaud.
Passage of Magnuson-Stevens marked a historic recognition that our ocean fish are a valuable national resource, which, with prudent stewardship, will help feed and employ millions of Americans. The law set in place a fishery management system still used today, but unfortunately also helped expand the U.S. fishing fleet to unsustainable levels, resulting in overfishing, or taking species faster than they can reproduce.
Subsequent congressional efforts to strengthen the law, in 1996 and 2006, helped refocus fishery management efforts to end overfishing and promote more sustainable practices. This has included the development of strong, science-based catch limits to aid in rebuilding depleted populations.
Today, the United States has in place one of the most advanced marine resource management programs in the world. We also are on track to have in place catch limits designed to end overfishing on the vast majority of major commercial and recreational fisheries in U.S. waters by the end of the year.
Read the complete story from the Bellingham Herald.