John Kerry: “On March 1, 1977, the Fishery Conservation and Management Act was signed into law in response to an urgent threat to the…”

“On March 1, 1977, the Fishery Conservation and Management Act was signed into law in response to an urgent threat to the valuable living marine resources of our coastal waters. At that time, the threat to our domestic fisheries came in the form of an efficient and aggressive state-of-the-art foreign fishing fleet that was operating within sight of our shores and displacing our domestic fishermen and processors. In response, Congress, led by Senator Warren Magnuson, passed the Fishery Conservation and Management Act establishing a 200-mile fishery conservation zone and asserting United States management authority over fish within the conservation zone, as well as over anadromous species such as salmon throughout their migratory range. In honor of Senator Magnuson's leadership, in 1980, the act was officially retitled the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Magnuson Act succeeded--it limited the operation of foreign fishing vessels and processors and encouraged the development of the U.S. domestic fishing fleet and processing industry. In 1993, U.S. commercial fishermen landed over 10 billion pounds of fish, producing $3.4 billion in dockside revenues. By weight of catch, the United States is now the world's sixth largest fishing nation. The United States is also the top seafood exporter, with exports valued at $3.1 billion in 1993. However, we have succeeded too well in some ways, and today there is another threat to our coastal fisheries.”