Washington, D.C. - On Friday, the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a balanced hearing on the state of fisheries management in the United States. The hearing comes after Democrats used Rule XI of the Committee rules to force an additional day of testimony on a Republican proposal to gut the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Democrats pursued the Rule XI move earlier this month at the latest in a series of hearings Republicans have held on our nation’s primary law governing fisheries management. The Republican-led legislation, floated in December as a discussion draft with no input from Committee Democrats, would undermine protections that are critical to maintaining the healthy fish stocks and marine ecosystems vital to U.S. fishermen.
“Congress must take a serious, deliberate, and collaborative approach to Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization - not a rash and partisan one. At the hearing, we will hear from fishermen, managers, scientists and stakeholders who will be directly impacted by the reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens, but who have different perspectives on the issues than previous witnesses have had. I look forward to having a balanced, real discussion on how we can improve existing law to protect our fisheries, allow them to flourish, and provide for our coastal communities," said DeFazio.
The hearing will focus on a broad range of issues that should be considered in the reauthorization process and include a balanced panel of stakeholders. Confirmed witnesses are listed below.
WITNESS LIST
Dr. Samuel Pooley
Director, NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Dorothy Lowman
Chair, Pacific Fishery Management Council
Zeke Grader
Executive Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
Bob Rees
North Coast Chapter President, Association of Northwest Steelheaders
Peter Shelley
Senior Counsel, Conservation Law Foundation
Last December, Republicans released draft fisheries management legislation that would roll back many of the important reforms to the Magnuson-Stevens Act that have been achieved over the past 20 years and undermine critical protections that prevent the depletion of fish stocks. The title of the bill implies the goal is to provide greater “flexibility" in managing fisheries and rebuilding overfished stocks, but in this case, “flexibility" means a management regime that fails to serve the best interests of U.S. fishermen. The bill overrides essential conservation protections -such as NEPA and ESA-which are critical to maintaining healthy marine ecosystems and healthy coastal communities.
Magnuson-Stevens, the law that governs federal fisheries, expired at the end of Fiscal Year 2013. While Congress is working to reauthorize it, federal agencies will continue to enforce Magnuson as written and Congress will fund it. But reauthorization provides an opportunity to take a hard look at the law - figure out what is working and what’s not working - and make changes to improve implementation.
In January, DeFazio hosted the first in a series of “listening sessions" to hear from community members, experts, and people who will be directly impacted by the reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens. The listening sessions, along with this hearing, will help influence the law based on real-world suggestions from the people and businesses affected.
WHAT: Democratic Magnuson-Stevens Hearing
WHEN: Friday, February 28th 9:30 am
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
LIVE STREAM: http://democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/1324-longworth-live-webcast (launch in Internet Explorer)
