Gregorio Sablan: “I am offering an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute for H.R. 1335, which was submitted to the Rules Committee by my…”

“I am offering an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute for H.R. 1335, which was submitted to the Rules Committee by my colleague Mr. Huffman. Mr. Chair, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is a sterling example of good federal policy and has helped make the United States the world leader in sustainable fisheries management. When we last reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens in 2007, we required the use of annual catch limits to end and prevent overfishing. Using this management tool--annual catch limits--we have increased the number of American fish stocks with populations sufficiently large that we can count on their ability to continue reproducing. Using annual catch limits as our guide, we have reduced the number of stocks being fished in excess of maximum sustainable yield--to an all- rime low. Magnuson-Stevens has proven to be effective environmental policy. It is also good economic policy. U.S. fisheries contributed nearly $90 billion and 1.5 million jobs to the economy in 2012. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that, when we have fully rebuilt our fisheries, they will add another $31 billion to our national economy and produce 500,000 new jobs. Of course, we learn as we go; and there are ways that Magnuson- Stevens could be made even more effective as environmental and economic policy. The Huffman-Sablan amendment in the nature of a substitute provides some of that fine-tuning.…”