July 10, 2018 — Partisan rancor may be standard operating procedure for most of Washington, D.C., but let’s not allow it to unravel the progress we’ve made for our country’s vital fisheries. As my colleagues and my state know, I’ve been on the front lines for the fight for our fisheries for over 40 years – and I have no intentions of letting up.
After creating an initial framework, former Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) and I collaborated with former Sens. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Warren Magnuson (D-WA) to enact the original Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) in 1976. This act promotes the conservation, management and stewardship of our fishery resources in the federal waters of the United States. Under the law, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils are tasked with the formidable mission of managing fisheries in federal waters along the coasts of the U.S. Without this act, access to commercial fishing wouldn’t exist.
MSA is serious business, and a true testament to how bipartisan efforts can improve policies that impact millions and affect our economy. Ignoring the way traditional fisheries’ management legislation succeeds discards the many years of hard work, collaboration and compromise required to achieve reauthorizations in the past.