UPDATE:
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” on June 1, 2015. The vote, 225-152, was largely along party lines.
To find out how Members voted, see the Roll Call of votes.
H.R. 1335 undermines the strong science and conservation measures within the current law and promotes greater uncertainty in the future management of our fisheries. Moving ahead, the Network looks forward to working with the Senate on legislation that builds upon the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s success and strengthens it to meet the new challenges our oceans and fisheries face.
For more, please go to our On Capitol Hill page.
Previously:
The U.S. House of Representatives is now considering legislation that could undermine our hard-won progress toward ensuring healthier oceans and more sustainable fish populations. Tell your member of Congress to oppose H.R. 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” introduced by Rep. Don Young of Alaska.
The bill is expected to go to the House floor on June 1st, so time is short. PLEASE ACT NOW!
Please call your member of Congress to urge him or her to vote against H.R. 1335. You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and provide your zip code to be routed to your Representative’s office. You can make the following points when you talk with Congressional staff:
- I am calling to oppose H.R. 1335, the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing
Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act.” - This bill is the wrong foundation for reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
- I am concerned that H.R. 1335, as introduced by Alaska Representative Don Young, could undermine the scientific and conservation based provisions of our nation’s federal fisheries law that are leading the way toward restoring U.S fisheries and oceans.
- Please vote against H.R. 1335 when it comes to the House floor.
Background
Over the last two decades, the United States has made significant progress toward ensuring the health of U.S. fish populations by adding important conservation improvements to the primary law governing U.S. ocean fisheries. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act now mandates that all management decisions, including fish catch limits, be based on the best available science. Conservation measures have also sharply reduced occurrences of overfishing, the practice of catching fish faster than they can reproduce.
Our coastal communities depend on healthy oceans and abundant fish populations. In the past 15 years, the number of overfished populations in U.S. waters has dropped from 72 to only 26 today. Previously depleted populations, including Gulf of Mexico gag grouper and Gulf of Maine butterfish, have come back to healthy levels. These recovered fisheries now support commercial and recreational fishing industries up and down our coasts.
But H.R. 1335 threatens the law’s strong foundation and proposes to weaken many conservation measures including the mandate to use science-based fishing catch limits. We don’t want to revert back to policies that led fish populations – and the jobs that depend on them – to collapse in the 1980s and ’90s. See the Obama Administration “Statement of Administration Policy” strongly opposing H.R. 1335.
Act Now!
We’ve come too far to go back now! Don’t let Congress take us off course toward achieving healthy oceans and productive fisheries. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 1335 during the week of June 1st, so please call your member of Congress to urge him or her to vote against H.R. 1335. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and provide your zip code to be routed to your Representative’s office.
