Page 5 - AT

A5
U.S. NEWS Monday 14 January 2019
Recreational fishing rules to be

overhauled under new law

By PATRICK WHITTLE "Passage of the Modern
Associated Press Fish Act will boost our con-
The rules that govern rec- servation efforts and bene-
reational marine fishing in fit the local economies that
the U.S. will get an overhaul depend on recreational
due to a new law passed fishing," Wicker said.
by Congress, and the coun- Recreational fishing is a
try's millions of anglers and huge industry in the U.S.,
the groups that stake their with trade groups tout-
livelihoods on them hope ing more than 40 million li-
the changes will bring bet- censed fishermen and an
ter management. impact on the economy
The new standards are part well above $100 billion. A
of a suite of changes that report released by NOAA
proponents call the Mod- earlier this month said the In this Sept. 5, 2018 file photo, Tim Hitchens, of Gulfprort, Miss.,
ern Fish Act that were ap- recreational fishing industry pulls in a fish while fishing from a pier in the Gulf of Mexico, the
proved by the House and fueled more than 472,000 morning after Tropical Storm Gordon made landfall nearby, in
Senate in December. Sup- jobs in 2016, up from Biloxi, Miss.
porters of the new rules 420,000 in 2012. Associated Press
have said they will boost Members of the Marine have reached agreement without jeopardizing either
an industry that contributes Fish Conservation Network, on a bill that responds to sustainability or Americans'
billions to the economy, a coalition of commercial the demands of recre- access to local seafood,"
though some members and recreational fishing as- ational fishing advocates he said.q
of the fishing industry felt sociations and others, said
deeper rule changes were the final version of the bill
warranted. was "an improvement" from
The passage is a "big step where it started, when it
toward implementing sci- faced opposition from con-
ence-based methods" and servationists and industry
"marks the first substantial members. However, Con-
update to the federal fish- gress still needs to reautho-
eries management system rize the Magnuson-Stevens
in more than a decade," Act, the federal standards
said Nicole Vasilaros, senior that govern U.S. fisheries at
vice president of the Na- large, the group said.
tional Marine Manufactur- "Our hope is that the 116th
ers Association, a boating Congress will continue to
industry trade group. work across the aisle to se-
The author of the proposal, cure a prosperous future
Mississippi Republican Sen. for the people, businesses
Roger Wicker, said one of and communities that rely
the key features of the law on our marine fisheries," the
is that it promises to help group said in a statement.
the National Oceanic and President Donald Trump
Atmospheric Administra- also released a statement
tion incorporate data from on New Year's Eve saying
fishermen, which he said he was signing the act into
would improve timeliness law, but adding that the
and accuracy. The data new laws grow the power
help inform fishing rules and of regional fishery manage-
regulations. ment councils that operate
The proposal also encour- along the nation's coasts.
ages regional fishery man- He said that raises "consti-
agement councils to up- tutional concerns."
date policies for some rec- Some conservation groups
reational anglers who fish in heralded the passage of
the Gulf of Mexico, one of the laws as a win. Matt Tin-
the most popular bodies of ning, associate vice presi-
water among sport fisher- dent for the oceans pro-
men. The current rules are gram of the Environmental
designed for commercial Defense Fund, said the
fishermen and are difficult Modern Fish Act started
for recreational anglers to out as a potential threat
follow, Wicker said. There to conservation goals but
are also a host of other morphed into an environ-
tweaks designed to more mentally-sound law over a
efficiently manage recre- year of negotiations.
ational fishing. "We can all be proud to