Washington, D.C. – The following statement was issued by Meredith Moore, Director of the Fish Conservation Program at Ocean Conservancy, in response to the introduction of the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-2) and Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-1):

“Climate change is reshaping our ocean and the fisheries it supports, putting marine fish populations, ecosystems, and coastal communities at risk. This ambitious and profoundly necessary legislation offered by Reps. Huffman and Case commits our nation to manage our fisheries sustainably amidst a rapidly changing climate and moves us toward a just and equitable system. It is the right bill at the right moment, and we hope to see it passed into law.”

Key provisions in the newly-introduced legislation include:

• Adapting our management system to the realities of climate change, targeting effort on the most affected stocks and requiring that managers consider climate information when making management decisions about how to keep fishing sustainable for the long-term.
• Restoring and strengthening the foundations of sustainable fishery management by addressing the growing challenge of stocks that fail to rebuild, tackling the challenges of monitoring and managing recreational fishing, focusing more effort on ecosystem considerations like habitat, forage fish and bycatch, and supporting increasingly vulnerable fishing communities.
• Implementing long-overdue improvements to increase representation and inclusion in fishery management, in particular by recognizing subsistence fishing and giving Tribes in the North Pacific rightful representation in the Council process.

###

Meredith Moore is available for interviews upon request.

Notes to the Editor:

• The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) is the premier law that governs federally managed marine fisheries in the United States. The underlying law was first passed in 1976; it was last reauthorized in 2007.
• U.S. fisheries support commercial, recreational (private and for-hire), Tribal and subsistence fishing around the country. Commercial and recreational fishing generated $244 billion in sales and $1.74 million jobs.^[1]
• Huffman conducted a listening tour during the 116^th Congress to engage stakeholders and identify challenges to the management of federal fisheries resources.
• Fact Sheet: Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future
• Press Release: Conservation Groups Applaud Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act

^[1] NOAA Fisheries. 2020. 2017 Fisheries Economics of the United States Report Infographics. Available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/sustainable-fisheries/fisheries-economics-united-states

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.