The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management ACT: Reauthorization Issues for the 107th Congress

Fishery policy, guided by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), originally focused on mandates to identify fisheries, encourage underdeveloped fisheries, and establish databases for socioeconomic variables. Since that time, new issues have emerged, including a recognition of the need to identify, measure, and respond to overfishing and to incorporate an ecological perspective in fishery management through increased attention to habitat. The MSFCMA was last reauthorized and extensively amended in 1996. Although the authorization of appropriations under the MSFCMA expired at the end of FY1999, the Act’s requirements continue in force. At issue for Congress are the terms and conditions of any provisions designed to reauthorize and amend the Act to address the concerns of various interest groups.