# Summary
This comprehensive bill reauthorizes and modernizes the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary federal law governing marine fisheries. The legislation addresses climate change impacts on fisheries, strengthens protections for fishing communities, enhances transparency in fishery management councils, modernizes scientific data collection, and improves ecosystem protections.
**Key provisions include:** establishing climate resilience requirements for fisheries management; creating a $50 million annual Working Waterfronts Grant Program to preserve fishing infrastructure and community access to coastal waters; requiring increased tribal representation on regional fishery management councils; mandating standardized bycatch reporting across all regions; improving stock assessments and using electronic monitoring technology for data collection; protecting forage fish species critical to marine food webs; and strengthening sexual harassment prevention policies for NOAA personnel and observers. The bill authorizes approximately $698-765 million annually for fiscal years 2025-2029 to implement these provisions.
The legislation affects commercial and recreational fishermen, fishing communities, seafood processors, coastal states, tribal nations, environmental organizations, and NOAA's fisheries management operations. Implementation timelines vary from immediate to five years, with many requirements taking effect within 1-3 years of enactment.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.