Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to revise and increase catch limits for certain fish populations.

Highlights:

• Extends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to be reauthorized through fiscal year 2022 (Title I, Sec. 103).

• Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to reduce the 10 year time frame window for rebuilding regional fish stocks to 5 years, and then to 3 years thereafter (Title III, Sec. 301).

• Requires that a Fishery Impact Statement submitted by the Secretary of Commerce to Congress include both the environmental impact of the proposed deregulation action as well as the impact on the quality of human environment (Title III, Sec. 302).

• Increases the annual catch limit for regional fisheries if it is determined that the fish stock population is at least 25 percent below the overfishing limit set (Title II, Sec. 204).

• Specifies that the death of Red Snappers in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the removal of offshore oil rigs will not be included in the total annual catch limit for Red Snappers (Title II, Sec. 209).

• Increases the offshore jurisdiction for recreational management and fishing in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi from 3 to 9 miles (Title III, Sec. 306).

• Prohibits the act of shark feeding in covered waters off the coast of Florida with an exemption for research purposes (Title IV, Sec. 407).

• Defines “covered waters” as federally owned waters (Title IV, Sec. 407).

• Defines “shark feeding” as the introduction of food or any other substance into covered water for the purpose of feeding or attracting sharks (Title IV, Sec. 407).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text