"PORTLAND, Maine — Fishermen and environmentalists are at odds over a suite of changes to American fishing laws that was approved by the House of Representatives, and the proposal faces a new hurdle in the Senate.
The House passed changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a 42-year-old set of rules designed to protect American fisheries from overharvest, on July 11, largely along party lines. Environmental groups have derided the changes as antithetical to the purpose of the act, which many fishermen and conservationists credit with saving American seafood stocks such as New England sea scallops and Bering Sea snow crab.
Supporters of the House bill and several commercial and recreational fishing groups have said the changes merely provide managers with flexibility and refocus the Magnuson-Stevens Act on sound science.
The big question is whether a bill will also pass the Senate before midterm elections. No bill has been proposed yet, and elections could bring changes that make it more difficult for such a bill to pass."
Patrick Whittle reports for the Associated Press July 29, 2018.
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