Press RoomPress ReleaseFor Immediate Release
December 8, 2006
For more information contact:
Tim Zink, (202) 654-4625 TRCP Supports Magnuson-Stevens Act Renewal
Coalition of Angling Groups Responds Favorably to Update of Key Coastal Fisheries Law by Senate, Looks to House of Representatives to Pass Companion BillWASHINGTON - The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) today applauded the Senate’s unanimous adherence to its “SALT” principles when reauthorizing the nation’s primary coastal fishery management law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The TRCP’s Marine Fisheries Working Group is looking to the House of Representatives to pass a similar measure before it adjourns. “It looks like what is coming out of Congress is a good bill,” said Matthew B. Connolly Jr, TRCP President and CEO. “The law been moved toward science-driven management and it contains gear restrictions that will safeguard habitat. It also works to correct federal data collection shortcomings of particular concern to recreational saltwater anglers.” “We need to keep in mind just how badly the Magnuson-Stevens Act needed an overhaul,” said Carol Forthman of the American Sportfishing Association. “Usually reauthorized every five years, a decade has passed since Congress last updated the law. Grinding out this legislation and increasing the strength of its conservation tenets is a major accomplishment for this Congress.” “Our coalition of recreational saltwater anglers see this bill as a significant step forward,” said Forthman, who serves on the TRCP Marine Conservation Working Group, which has organized around four key SALT principles: Science must be used in marine fisheries conservation; Allocate fisheries resources more equitably to recreational fishermen; License saltwater anglers to improve data collection and increase funding; and Tackle used by fishermen should reduce bycatch and not damage habitat. TRCP’s Marine Conservation Working Group brings together marine policy experts from the nation’s leading recreational fishing and marine conservation organizations including the American Sportfishing Association, Berkley Conservation Institute, Coastal Conservation Association, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and the Izaak Walton League of America. For additional information about the Magnuson-Stevens Act and more details on our SALT Principles, go to: www.angling4oceans.org. *** The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of leading conservation organizations and grassroots partners working together to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitat, increase funding for conservation and management, and expand access to places to hunt and fish. |