Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act

Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act

This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2022 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).

Revisions are made to: (1) requirements for fishery management plans for overfished fisheries; and (2) catch limit requirements, including by authorizing Regional Fishery Management Councils to consider changes in an ecosystem and the economic needs of the fishing communities when establishing the limits.

To distinguish between fish that are depleted due to fishing and those that are depleted for other reasons, the term "depleted" replaces the term "overfished" throughout the MSA.

Fishery impact statements must analyze the impacts of proposed actions in fishery management plans on the quality of the human environment.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must publish a plan for implementing the Cooperative Research and Management Program.

The offshore jurisdiction of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama is extended from three miles to nine miles for the recreational management of red snapper.

The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission must conduct all fishery stock assessments used for management purposes by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for the fisheries managed under the Council's Reef Fish Management Plan.

Any commercial catch share allocation in a fishery in the Gulf of Mexico may only be traded by sale or lease within the same commercial fishing sector.

NOAA must develop a plan to conduct stock assessments for all fish for which a fishery management plan is in effect under this bill. Additionally, NOAA must develop guidelines that will incorporate data from private entities into fishery management plans.