Thursday June 22, 2006 Strengthen and Protect the Magnuson-Stevens Act
Ok, so accuse me of being an environmentalist, but I care about the issues that impact the places and sports I enjoy the most. This particular topic is a care of mine because of my love for the ocean. How can that be since I live in Colorado you ask??? Well I grew up on Guam, in the middle of the nowhere ocean, and my wife and I spend a fair amount of time on Oahu each year. I love surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking. So when Patagonia took on "Ocean's as Wilderness" as their latest environmental campaign, I was quite interested. I always look for the things that I can do to get involved in the causes that matter to me, and so here is one that I've been reading about recently.
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The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) is the primary law governing management of our nation's ocean fisheries. Ocean fisheries have significant effects on ocean ecosystems and are integral to national and coastal economies. That's why these activities have to be carefully managed. In recent years, two national commissions have recommended strengthening the MSA. Instead, the U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering a bill that would dangerously weaken the conservation and management of our ocean fish.
Rather than building on the strengths of the current law, the proposed bill would weaken longstanding safeguards and increase serious environmental threats to ocean fish and marine ecosystems. The bill would also limit public involvement and access to information about the way the federal government manages ocean fish.
Congress needs to know that we care about the health of our oceans and want them to oppose efforts to rollback critical environmental protections.
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Want to check it out or get more information? See http://www.democracyinaction.org.
Posted by mikedav ( Jun 22 2006, 02:51:09 PM PDT ) [Listen] Permalink
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