The Kenai River Sportfishing Association supports the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act (S. 1520) and encourages Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan to sign on as co-sponsors. The bill fixes major problems in how the federal government approaches recreational marine fisheries management. Unfortunately, the existing legislation in the Magnuson-Stevens Act does not adequately differentiate between commercial and recreational fishing. The Modern Fish Act would correct this problem and provide a set of management tools better suited for recreational fishing.
The bipartisan Modern Fish Act will accomplish the following:
The Modern Fish Act would provide anglers more access and opportunity while maintaining long-standing conservation goals. Nothing in the Modern Fish Act undermines the sustainable management or fisheries conservation embedded in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It simply brings parity to millions of saltwater anglers in a management system designed primarily for commercial fisheries.
For full text of the bill, click here: https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s1520/BILLS-115s1520is.pdf