Pallone Announces Hearing to Address Summer Flounder Cuts and the Magnuson-Stevens Act Rebuilding Plan

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced today that the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans will hold an oversight hearing on rebuilding overfished fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act. The hearing, which will occur on Wednesday, December 5th at 11 am, was requested by Pallone, who serves as a senior member of the Subcommittee.

The New Jersey lawmaker said he requested the hearing due to numerous complaints by recreational and commercial fisherman regarding the constant assault on the yearly summer flounder quota. The hearing will examine the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the massive cuts many have experienced to their yearly quotas in an attempt to reach the current rebuilding targets.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) recommended a 15.77 million pound summer flounder quota for 2008, which is a severe cut from the 2007 quota of 17.1.

"This hearing will give recreational and commercial fishermen a chance to testify before Congress and explain their position that the current rebuilding targets are unattainable," Pallone said. "It will also give members of Congress the opportunity to question NMFS about the 'best available science' used in creating the yearly total allowable landing (TAL) limits and whether the current rebuilding targets take into account environmental factors such as over development and the degradation of our estuaries. I will also be interested to hear if NMFS believes the current ecosystem can sustain all species at the rebuilt levels with regard to predator/prey relationships."

During the hearing, the Subcommittee hopes to get answers to the following questions:

§ Have rebuilding plans been established for fisheries identified as overfished and has overfishing ended in these fisheries?

§ What is the likelihood that these plans will achieve their rebuilding goals within the required time frames?

§ How are the rebuilding targets for overfished stocks established?

§ What type and quality of information and data is factored into those targets?

§ How are non-fishing impacts—such as habitat loss, pollution and predator-prey relationships—factored into those targets?

§ What can Congress do to help NMFS meet rebuilding plan goals?