September 23, 2022 — It has been 16 years since the last comprehensive update of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the overarching federal fisheries law, in 2006. The new effort, called the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, took a major step forward this week.
Also known in Congress as H.R. 4690, the legislation went through a day-long markup session Tuesday in the House Committee on Natural Resources, to consider changes and proposed amendments. The measure is now scheduled for a final committee vote Sept. 29, clearing its way to the full House of Representatives for debate.
The bill is the result of “over three years of work and exhaustive public input,” said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., a prime sponsor of the legislation.
“Everywhere we went, we heard the foundation of Magnuson is sound,” Huffman said as the committee opened its debate in the Capitol Wednesday morning. But the onset of climate change effects on U.S. fisheries is a leading reason why the law is in dire need of updating, he said.