Congressman Don Young has been proud of a proposed change to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act (MSA) which would give fisheries managers greater flexibility, but it may be vetoed by the President.
The White House says President Barrack Obama “strongly opposes” the changes and his senior advisers will recommend a veto. He’s found support from conservationists and some fishermen who say the amendments will harm conservation.
Rep. Young says the changes will provide fishery managers with more flexibility in rebuilding fish stocks. He insists he cares as much about healthy fish runs as any conservationist…
Rep. Young(R-AK): “What bothers me the most, I’ve heard two statements about we import 92 percent of our fishery, our fish that we consume. That may be true, but the value of our fish is in fact it’s not farm-raised. And in Alaska, that’s one thing that drives me absolutely nuts. They’re willing and NOAA’s promoted this, and we have stopped it so far, they want to put fish farms off our shores. And I argue that that will destroy the wild Alaskan salmon, which is the most valuable species we have.”
The bill will likely head to the House of Representatives next week.