House Bill Severely Undercuts Nation’s Progress in Fisheries Management

Flawed bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act goes against 40 years of bipartisanship

Opinion By: Joshua S. Reichert Read time:
Projects: U.S. Ocean Conservation
House Bill Severely Undercuts Nation’s Progress in Fisheries Management

The United States’ status as a global leader in preventing overfishing and in rebuilding depleted populations of ocean fish is in jeopardy from an unexpected source: the U.S. House of Representatives.

Last month, the House passed H.R. 1335 to reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law that governs management of U.S. ocean fish. The law was originally enacted in 1976 and was reauthorized in 1996 and 2006, passing with overwhelming bipartisan support following reasonable compromises made in the long–term interests of U.S. fishermen and the health of fish populations.

But this bill is different.

Read the full opinion piece on thehill.com.

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Joshua Reichert
Joshua S. Reichert Executive Vice President and Strategic Advisor
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