“To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to add Rhode Island to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council by (1) adding Rhode Island to its list of constituent states (i.e., now Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina); (2) excluding fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean seaward of Rhode Island from its authority (in addition to North Carolina); (3) increasing total voting members to 23 (from 21); and (4) increasing voting members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to 14 (from 13). (The eight Regional Fishery Management Councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act develop fishery management plans for U.S. fisheries in federal waters seaward of their states. Thus, Rhode Island gains representation on the Mid-Atlantic Council while its fisheries remain under New England Council authority.)