Rick Allen: “I rise in support of H.R. 4956, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006.…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 4956, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. This bipartisan legislation is the product of tireless negotiations over the last year. The bill will sustain both the fish stocks and our fishing communities. I was proud to work so closely with our ranking member, Nick Rahall, on this particular legislation, to strengthen key conservation provisions and also to protect our fishing communities from excessive consolidation of the fishing industry. I do care deeply about the Limited Access Privilege Program, or LAPPs. These programs are market-based management tools that allocate percentages of the annual catch's quota shares among fishermen. LAPPs can be a legitimate fisheries management tool, but without strong Federal standards, they privatize the public resources by granting shares of the fishery in perpetuity. Moreover, in the drive toward industry efficiency, they can cause excessive and inequitable consolidation at the expense of small-scale fishermen. For the past 3 years I have been advocating for a LAPPs legislation that would protect public ownership of the fishery and ensure that managers and program participants are held accountable for program success, while still allowing LAPPs to be used. This bill reaches that result. The bill includes a 10-year renewable term limit on quota shares granted under a LAPP. This will also protect smaller fishermen by keeping quota prices affordable.”