UW Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Quantitative Seminar

David L. Fluharty

Wakefield Professor of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, UW School of Marine Affairs

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act [MSA] Reauthorization: What Difference Does it Make?

Abstract

In early December the US Congress reauthorized the MSA after six years of desultory debate.  In the process, Congress amended the act in ways that could prove significant in terms of the greater use of science in US fishery management and in the use of quantitative assessments.  This presentation will 1) cover some of the political dynamics that brought final passage of the MSA; 2) describe the substantive changes; and 3) place the MSA action in the context of other recent legislation and agency actions that affect fishery management.  Then, the floor is open for reaction and speculation on the import of these changes for fishery management in the US.