Carolina Connection: Hagan Stands Up for NC Fishermen

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Hagan Stands Up for NC Fishermen

From Kay

In North Carolina, our once vibrant fishing communities are taking a hit because of an arbitrary fishery management law, praised last week in the New York Times. In response, I wrote a letter to the editor, published in Sunday's paper, standing up for our North Carolina fishermen that are suffering under the current regulations in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. I cosponsored the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act that would change this law to provide our fishermen with the flexibility they need to maintain their livelihoods.

Without flexibility, fisheries that are rebuilt in less than a decade must remain closed, fisheries that are rebuilt in less than a decade must remain closed, leaving fishermen stuck at the docks, and businesses from tackle shops to boat builders suffering.

Currently, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires fisheries that are considered "overfished" to be completely rebuilt within 10 years. The 10-year timeline leaves no flexibility to utilize the most up-to-date technology and forces regulators to implement overly strict fishing quotas.

I am pushing for the Flexibility in Rebuilding Fisheries Act because it will allow North Carolina fishery managers to balance environmental and economic priorities by letting overfished sites specify a rebuilding time period that makes sense. The New York Times, however, defended the rigid Magnuson-Stevens Act in an April 20 editorial that can be read here.

I will continue to stand up for our NorthCarolina fishermen in the Senate. I am working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senator Richard Burr and Rep. Walter Jones, to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from implementing a catch shares program. My goal is to protect fishermen's rights.

Sincerely,

Hagan Touring the Oregon Inlet in November 2010

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ENC Today article: Hagan says law needlessly hurts fishermen

April 26, 2011

By Sun Journal Staff

http://www.enctoday.com/news/hagan-96850-nbsj-fishermen-north.html

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan took her support of North Carolina fishermen past Capitol Hill this week, challenging the editorial position of the New York Times in a letter to the editor.

Hagan, D-N.C., defended proposed changes in implementing the Magnuson-Stevens Act for fisheries management that are aimed at a more realistic timetable that appears dictated by both the environmental science and the economics of commercial and recreational fishing.

The changes have bipartisan support from many East Coast congressmen including Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. and Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.

Hagan's letter to the editor was published in the Sunday New York Times:

"Once vibrant North Carolina fishing communities are becoming remnants of the past because of an arcane law praised in the April 21 editorial "A Good Law That's Working."

"The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires any fishery deemed overfished to be rebuilt within 10 years — an arbitrary timeline. This effectively closes fisheries without allowing for any flexibility or modern stock assessment technologies to evaluate fishery health.

"Without flexibility, fisheries that are rebuilt in less than a decade must remain closed, leaving fishermen stuck at the docks, and businesses from tackle shops to boat builders suffering. Ourcoastal economies are hemorrhaging jobs. Fishermen are now spending more time in the waters off South America's coast, where they can fish without laws that straitjacket them.

"Even scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency charged with fisheries management, say more stock assessments are necessary to determine the health of fisheries. This year, President Obama requested more funding for this critical function in his budget.

"I am pushing for the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act because we need regulations that let North Carolina fishermen do what they do best — fish in the waters off North Carolina."

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Hagan speaking at a February 2010 fishermen's rally
in Washington, D.C., that included a delegation
from North Carolina. Hagan addressed the importance
of the fishing industry in our state.

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Kay Hagan | U.S. Senator for North Carolina

Carolina Connection: Hagan Stands Up for NC Fishermen

Hagan Stands Up for NC Fishermen

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