Consider writing your congress person with the following suggested letter:
Dear (your member of US House of Delegates):
I would like to call your attention to activities surrounding the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law governing marine fishing in U.S. waters.
The American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act (H.R. 5018), introduced by Congressmen Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Barney Frank (D-MA), will not put an end to overfishing, and instead will actually roll back current law.
The bill contains three major flaws:
* In 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP), a blue-ribbon panel appointed by President Bush, called for strengthening the Magnuson-Stevens Act through a series of recommendations. The Pombo-Frank bill generally ignores many of the recommendations of ocean experts in favor of weak guidelines that would allow overfishing to continue. Of particular concern is the lack of accountability and enforcement provisions when fishing quotas are exceeded.
* The Pombo-Frank bill rolls back current law by introducing major loopholes. For example, the bill changes the term "overfished" to "diminished," a term currently unused in conservation practice, and then significantly alters the definition by allowing fishery managers to blame environmental conditions for the poor state of U.S. fish stocks. Under these terms, fishermen would be allowed to continue to overfish already depleted stocks.
* The Pombo-Frank bill also fails to address the serious problem of recovery for overfished stocks by allowing for broad exceptions to the current requirement to rebuild overfished stocks within 10 years.
While H.R. 5018 fulfills some of the recommendations of the USCOP, the crucial provisions addressing the problem of overfishing are woefully inadequate.
Congress will be reauthorizing the MSA very soon. In order to ensure the long term viability of U.S. fishing resources and prevent devastating collapses in local fishing economies, please ensure that Congress passes an MSA bill that includes accountability and enforcement measures to put an end to overfishing. Please oppose Mr. Pombo and Mr. Frank's efforts to weaken fisheries law and allow our ocean legacy to fade away. Instead, please work to promote an alternative that would build on the strengths of our existing fishery management system. A strong MSA bill should bolster the reliance on sound science in fishery management decisions.
Thank you for your consideration.
(Your name, address, telephone number )
Dear (your member of US House of Delegates):
I would like to call your attention to activities surrounding the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law governing marine fishing in U.S. waters.
The American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act (H.R. 5018), introduced by Congressmen Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Barney Frank (D-MA), will not put an end to overfishing, and instead will actually roll back current law.
The bill contains three major flaws:
* In 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP), a blue-ribbon panel appointed by President Bush, called for strengthening the Magnuson-Stevens Act through a series of recommendations. The Pombo-Frank bill generally ignores many of the recommendations of ocean experts in favor of weak guidelines that would allow overfishing to continue. Of particular concern is the lack of accountability and enforcement provisions when fishing quotas are exceeded.
* The Pombo-Frank bill rolls back current law by introducing major loopholes. For example, the bill changes the term "overfished" to "diminished," a term currently unused in conservation practice, and then significantly alters the definition by allowing fishery managers to blame environmental conditions for the poor state of U.S. fish stocks. Under these terms, fishermen would be allowed to continue to overfish already depleted stocks.
* The Pombo-Frank bill also fails to address the serious problem of recovery for overfished stocks by allowing for broad exceptions to the current requirement to rebuild overfished stocks within 10 years.
While H.R. 5018 fulfills some of the recommendations of the USCOP, the crucial provisions addressing the problem of overfishing are woefully inadequate.
Congress will be reauthorizing the MSA very soon. In order to ensure the long term viability of U.S. fishing resources and prevent devastating collapses in local fishing economies, please ensure that Congress passes an MSA bill that includes accountability and enforcement measures to put an end to overfishing. Please oppose Mr. Pombo and Mr. Frank's efforts to weaken fisheries law and allow our ocean legacy to fade away. Instead, please work to promote an alternative that would build on the strengths of our existing fishery management system. A strong MSA bill should bolster the reliance on sound science in fishery management decisions.
Thank you for your consideration.
(Your name, address, telephone number )
