Getting Fishing Act Together

Officials within several fishing and boating organizations are continuing to pressure Congress to include more provisions that will assist recreational fishermen as legislators continue to explore reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Originally enacted in 1976 and amended several times over the years, the Magnuson-Stevens Act is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in United States federal waters. While much of the act deals with optimizing commercial fishing and efforts to prevent overfishing, members of the recreational fishing community are seeking substantive legislative changes to improve saltwater recreational...