With the first session of the 114th Congress in full swing, members of the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) have joined representatives from across the national seafood supply chain to continue educating key Members of Congress on the importance of preserving federal management of the commercial and charter-for-hire red snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. These efforts are increasingly important as some members of Congress consider various measures designed to make sweeping changes to the management of this iconic American seafood species.
As representatives from GSI conducted meetings on Capitol Hill last week, the Bayou State’s freshman Representative Garrett Graves (R-LA) introduced legislation to establish a Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority (GSRSMA) to manage the entire Gulf red snapper fishery. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) is currently working on a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate.
The legislation would remove red snapper from the transparent federal reef fish management plan currently overseen by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council under authority from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). This strategy would essentially turn key management decisions over to the five Gulf states.
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