Seafood Harvesters Respond to Rubio’s Legislative Priorities for Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:May 21, 2015Seafood Harvesters Respond to Rubio’s Legislative Priorities for Magnuson-Stevens ReauthorizationWashington, DC – On behalf of the Seafood Harvesters of America, Vice President and Board member John Schmidt (of the Gulf Fishermen’s Association) and Board Member Jack Cox (of the South Atlantic Fishermen’s Association) issued the following joint statement on U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s re-introduction of the Florida Fisheries Improvement Act, which lays out his legislative priorities for fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic:“We applaud Senator Rubio for several of his proposals that are aimed at maintaining balanced representation on the Fishery Management Councils and strengthening accountability in America’s fisheries with increased funding for stock assessments, surveys and data collection.“At the same time, however, we continue to be deeply concerned about proposals by Senator Rubio and others that would force the South Atlantic and Gulf Regional Fishery Management Councils to review allocations based on arbitrary political deadlines. Since the reallocation process itself can take up to five years to complete, the proposed mandate to revisit reallocation every five years would create the prospect of perpetual review and economic uncertainty.“The Harvesters believe that allocations in mixed-use fisheries need to maximize American’s access to our natural resources and promote accountability to conserving fisheries resources for both current and future generations. We intend to work with Senator Rubio to improve this aspect of his otherwise helpful bill.“America’s seafood supply, nobly harvested by hard-working commercial fishermen, is a precious natural resource that provides healthy food for America’s families. While the benefits of this resource is broadly shared, so too is the patriotic obligation to ensure that America’s seafood resources are sustainably harvested and passed on to the next generation. To that end, the Harvesters will continue championing a final bill that ensures shared accountability for commercial and recreational fishermen to sustain America’s seafood supply.”###Background:• Senator Rubio Release: http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=c56c021b-2b80-49cd-8661-d47802cdd18fSeafood Harvesters of America (“Harvesters”) is an umbrella association representing 16 commercial fishing organizations from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico north to New England. For more information, please visit seafoodharvesters.org or contact (202) 455-0286.