Priority sportfishing legislation moving on Capitol Hill
by American Sportfishing Association 28 Jan 15:58 UTC
White House © National Marine Manufacturers Association
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee moved two important bills for the sportfishing industry. On January 22, the Committee voted unanimously to advance the Mitigation Action and Waterman Support (MAWS) Act, sponsored by Reps. Elfreth (D-MD) and Wittman (R-VA). This bill would create a pilot program to incentivize watermen to catch highly invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay and establish the infrastructure to create a long-term market for the species.
During the same markup hearing, representatives also passed the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans (MAPOceans) Act by unanimous consent, sponsored by Reps. Fry (R-SC) and Levin (D-CA). This bill will direct the standardization, consolidation and digitization of boating and recreational fishing information for federally managed marine waters and federal fisheries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Senate passed the MAPOceans Act in September of last year.
We are encouraged by the overwhelming bipartisan support for both bills and look forward to seeing them become law before the end of this Congress.