Feds Get It Wrong Once Again on Red Snapper, Byrne Says

Press Release

Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-1) today responded to the results of the Alabama Red Snapper Reporting program, which indicated that the federal National Marine Fishery Service had "grossly overestimated" Red Snapper landings in Alabama.

Byrne said: "Is anyone really surprised that the federal government miscalculated the number of Red Snapper caught in Alabama waters? For years the feds have failed to adequately account for the total fishing effort placed on the Red Snapper fishery. This latest failure is just another in a long line of mismanagement by the National Marine Fishery Service, that is both unfair and hurting our fishermen.

"I worked to get commonsense reforms included in the Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization legislation, which passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee earlier this year. My office is in continued dialogue with House leaders to hold a vote on this legislation by the full House of Representatives by the end of the year. Our fisherman and coastal communities are being negatively impacted by yet another misguided federal program, and it is time Congress acts to make things right."

Congressman Byrne has been leading a push in Congress to reform the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which has jurisdiction over all federal fisheries. As it relates to Red Snapper, the commonsense, reform bill would:

-Repeal Section 407(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which imposed inflexible quotas on Red Snapper fishing;

-Extend Alabama's state water boundary from the current 3 nautical miles to 9 nautical miles from shore;

-Remove stock assessment and data collection responsibilities for reef fish currently held by the federal government and give the responsibility to Gulf Coast states.

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