Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

Other short titles	Interim Fisheries Zone Extension and Management Act
Long title	An Act to provide for the conservation and management of the fisheries, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	MSFCMA FCMA
Nicknames	Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976
Enacted by	the 94th United States Congress
Effective	April 13, 1976
Citations
Public law	94-265
Statutes at Large	90 Stat. 331
Codification
Titles amended	16 U.S.C.: Conservation
U.S.C. sections created	16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 200 by Gerry Studds (D–MA) on January 14, 1975 Committee consideration by House Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Senate Commerce Passed the House on October 9, 1975 (208-101) Passed the Senate on January 28, 1976 (77-19, in lieu of S. 961) Reported by the joint conference committee on March 24, 1976; agreed to by the Senate on March 29, 1976 (Agreed) and by the House on March 30, 1976 (346-52) Signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford on April 13, 1976

The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), commonly referred to as the Magnuson–Stevens Act, is the legal provision for promoting optimal exploitation of U.S. coastal fisheries. Enacted in 1976, it has since been amended in line with sustainability policy.

Regional councils of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determine when a stock is overfished, and apply both regional and individual catch limits. The NMFS has implemented the Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI), which measures key stocks according to their overfishing status and biomass levels.

The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in United States federal waters. The law is named after Warren G. Magnuson, former U.S. senator from Washington state, and Ted Stevens, the former senator from Alaska.

The Magnuson–Stevens Act was originally enacted as the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The U.S. House of Representatives bill H.R. 200 was passed by the 94th United States Congressional session and enacted into law by the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford on April 13, 1976.

The United States conservation act has been amended many times over the years. Two major recent sets of amendments to the law were the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 and then 10 years later the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006.

The MSFCMA was enacted to promote the U.S. fishing industry's optimal exploitation of coastal fisheries by “consolidating control over territorial waters” and establishing eight regional councils to manage fish stocks. The act has been amended several times in response to continued overfishing of major stocks. The most recent version, authorized in 2007, includes seven purposes:

Additionally, the law calls for reducing bycatch and establishing fishery information monitoring systems.

Regional Fishery Management Councils are charged with developing and recommending fishery management plans, both to restore depleted stocks and manage healthy stocks. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) aids the Secretary of Commerce, who evaluates, approves, and implements the Councils' FMPs. Regional Fishery Management Council members are nominated by the governors of their respective states, and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

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