Comparison of S. 1520 and H.R. 200
Download the comparison [PDF] • Download the side-by-side review [PDF] • Don’t Get Hooked: H.R. 200 is NOT the Modern Fish Act [Infographic]
In This Report:
- S. 1520 – Modernizing Recreational Fishing Management Act of 2017
- H.R. 200 – Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries
Management Act - Delay the rebuilding of overfished stocks.
- Unreasonably limit fishery managers’ ability to develop innovative means to manage commercial fisheries.
- Lead to confusion regarding the use of certain management measures.
- Inject too much flexibility and ambiguity into the rebuilding timeline for overfished
stocks. - Allow economics to factor into setting catch limits.
- Extend state management into federal waters and exempt the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery from accountability when it exceeds catch limits.
- Broaden the categories of data deemed to be “best available science” to include information provided by sources untrained in scientific survey methods and data gathering.
As a voice for commercial and recreational fishing associations, regional and national conservation groups, aquaria, and marine science organizations, the Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network) is putting forth our insights into various pieces of legislation relevant to the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
S. 1520 – Modernizing Recreational Fishing Management Act of 2017
The Network finds some sections problematic and opposes other sections in S. 1520
The Network disagrees with the underlying premise of S. 1520 that recreational fishing is essentially different than commercial fishing and that the Magnuson-Stevens Act was a law intended to manage commercial fisheries. Both recreational and commercial fisheries are activities that remove fish from wild populations and can harm fisheries if they are not adequately controlled. Given the recreational fishery’s significant impact on the health of many fish populations, S. 1520 could:
H.R. 200: Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act
The Network finds problematic or opposes most sections in H.R. 200
H.R. 200 threatens to weaken science-based annual catch limits and accountability measures, which are crucial gains made during the last Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization. Many of the provisions of H.R. 200 will hinder federal fisheries managers’ ability to rebuild and maintain sustainable fish stocks and will threaten the scientific integrity of the stock assessment process. H.R. 200 contains provisions that would:
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