Saving Seafood

NEFMC Chair Dr. John Quinn to Testify on MSA Reauthorization

July 26, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

New England Fishery Management Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard on Tuesday, Aug. 1 at a 10 a.m. hearing on reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The subcommittee is under the wing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. Dr. Quinn, who is Director of Public interest Law Programs at the University of Massachusetts School of Law, will be speaking on behalf of the Council Coordination Committee (CCC). The CCC is comprised of the leadership teams of all eight of the nation’s regional fishery management councils.

“I’m honored to be testifying before the Senate subcommittee on behalf of my fellow Council chairmen, vice chairs, and executive directors,” said Dr. Quinn. “We discussed Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization extensively at our mid-May CCC meeting in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and I look forward to presenting our position during the hearing.”

The MSA is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters. It was first passed in 1976 as the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, extending U.S. jurisdiction out to 200 nautical miles and establishing the regional fishery management council system. The act underwent two major reauthorizations – the first in 1996 through the Sustainable Fisheries Act and the second in 2007, resulting in the current Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) chairs the 17-member subcommittee that scheduled this Aug. 1 hearing. Chris Oliver, the newly appointed assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, also will be testifying. Live video with opening statements, witness testimony, and questioning will be available at the Senate link below. The hearing will focus on “NOAA and Council Perspectives” related to MSA reauthorization issues.

The subcommittee has scheduled a second hearing for Aug. 23 in Soldotna, AK. This hearing will focus on the MSA’s “fisheries management successes and challenges.”