PAGO PAGO — Congresswoman Aumua Amata issued a statement Tuesday regarding the introduction by Chairman Don Young (AK-At Large) of the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, a bill that would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

“I am pleased to have Representatives Bradley Byrne and Amata Coleman Radewagen as original cosponsors on the bill. I look forward to working with any Member of the House that is interested in reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act,” stated Chairman Young.

The Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act would reauthorize and strengthen the Magnuson-Stevens Act to ensure a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen and coastal communities.

The bill would make a number of improvements to the Act including: provide flexibility for fishery managers when rebuilding depleted fisheries; provide flexibility for fishery managers when setting annual catch levels; as well as provide more transparency for fishermen and others in both science and management.

It would also provide a schedule for obtaining better fishery dependent and fishery independent data especially for data poor fisheries; provide greater protection for confidential information submitted to regulatory agencies; encourage and promote cooperative research projects where scientists work with fishermen to develop sound scientific information.

Of note, it would allow fishery managers to take the economic impact of their decisions into account when setting harvest levels; allow fishery managers to take environmental conditions into account when establishing harvest levels; allow fishermen in regions where catch share programs have been controversial to have a vote to determine whether a new catch share program will be implemented and to be provided better information when considering such a program.

The bill would further require NOAA to provide better accountability on how fees are collected and used; clarify the role of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in relationship to other federal statutes; and authorize appropriations for an additional five fiscal years at current authorized funding levels.

“As an original cosponsor of this important bill that sets the policy for our nation’s fisheries, I am pleased that we have Chairman Young leading the charge,” said Amata.

“This bill will ensure that there is a proper balance between maintaining healthy fish stocks and the economic wellbeing of our fishermen and communities like American Samoa, who rely upon them,”she stated.