Proposed Ocean Bill Concerns Anglers — Fishery Management Council Process Could Be Subverted

WASHINGTON, D.C. Congress is considering legislation which would result in new and potentially harmful fishing regulations, say opponents of H.R. 21, also known as Oceans 21.

The proposed law would set new requirements on fishermen and fisheries managers outside of and on top of the established process under the nation’s primary fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

This legislation would establish a comprehensive National Oceans Policy and guiding principles for use and management of U.S. coasts, oceans, Great Lakes and their resources.

While the intention of this legislation is to improve coordination among federal agencies, laws and regulations, H.R. 21 would only result in additional layers of bureaucracy within the management of federal marine fisheries, claim anglers.

For more than 30 years, federally managed species have been regulated through the Magnuson-Stevens Act. As currently written, H.R. 21 would create a separate and likely conflicting bureaucratic regime under which fisheries would have to be regulated.