Seafood Harvesters of America Voice Concern Over Modern Fish Act

Article from PerishableNews.com, April 12, 2017Seafood Harvesters Of America Voice Concern Over Modern Fish ActBy PerishableNews.comWashington, D.C. – On April 6, 2017 the commercial fishing community expressed the following concerns to the introduction of a bill that exempts saltwater recreational fishing from sustainable management efforts.Introduced by Congressmen Garret Graves (R-La.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017” (Modern Fish Act) would hamstring federal regional fishery councils’ ability to manage the fishery sector and most species, while also limiting the ability to innovate new solutions to overfishing.“We support the bill sponsors’ effort to obtain additional, more accurate and real-time data on our fisheries and in particular, the recreational sector, which will help better manage our fisheries. However, this bill would fundamentally exempt the recreational fishing community from adhering to the basic conservation standards that have been central to the rebuilding of many of our fish stocks. Waiting for fisheries to be overfished before we act led to stock collapses in the past and created economic hardship for the entire fishing industry. We can’t afford to take that route again. Doing so would devastate not only the fisheries themselves, but would have enormous economic impact on the commercial sectors that harvest, process, market, and sell seafood across the nation. While not engaged in the drafting of this legislation, we look forward to working with Congress, NOAA and the fishing community to ensure that we have accountability in both the commercial and recreational sectors so that our fisheries can be a renewable resource for the enjoyment of all Americans,” said Seafood Harvesters of America Executive Director, Kevin Wheeler.The Harvesters is a broad-based association that represents the following commercial fishing organizations coast-to-coast.Alaska Bering Sea CrabbersAlaska Whitefish Trawlers AssociationCape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s AllianceCordova District Fishermen UnitedFishing Vessel Owners’ AssociationFort Bragg Groundfish AssociationGeorges Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector, Inc.Gulf Fishermen’s AssociationGulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholder’s AllianceMassachusetts Lobstermen’s AssociationMidwater Trawlers CooperativeNew Hampshire Groundfish SectorsNorth Pacific Fisheries Association (NPFA)Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association (PSVOA)Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s AssociationSouth Atlantic Fishermen’s AssociationUnited Catcher BoatsSource: Seafood Harvesters Of America