reaffirms its commitment to a strong science-based MSA to maintain healthy and profitable fisheries and to provide a foundation to address modern challenges, such as persistent overfishing, changing ocean and ecosystem conditions, fishery disasters, and illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing practices by foreign fleets that are affecting fishing communities and the productivity of fisheries in the United States.
Support a strong science-based Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to maintain healthy and profitable fisheries and address modern challenges including overfishing, changing ocean conditions, fishery disasters, and illegal foreign fishing practices.
Occurrences
Evidence
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
H.Amdt.263, sponsored by Keating, expanded fishery-independent data uses to include fishery research, independent stock assessments, conservation gear engineering, monitoring, fishery impact statements, and council priorities to rebuild or maintain sustainable fisheries. It was agreed to by voice vote.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
H.R.3718 would reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Congress.gov lists the latest action as House referral on June 4, 2025, and the bill status as introduced.
Assessments
Keating materially advanced science-based Magnuson-Stevens policy through H.Amdt.263 in 2015, which was agreed to by voice vote and targeted fishery research, independent stock assessments, monitoring, conservation gear, sustainable fisheries, healthy ecosystems, and fishing communities. However, the broader promised outcome, a strong modernized Magnuson-Stevens Act addressing overfishing, changing ocean conditions, fishery disasters, and illegal foreign fishing, has not been enacted; the current H.R.3718 reauthorization vehicle remains only introduced and referred in the 119th Congress. This supports credit for concrete legislative effort and partial progress, not full delivery.