[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S3240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 1414. A bill to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act to add Rhode Island to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, along with my colleague Senator 
Whitehouse, I am introducing the Rhode Island Fishermen's Fairness Act 
of 2015.
  This legislation seeks to extend simple fairness to our State's 
fishermen by giving Rhode Island voting representation on the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery-Management Council MAFMC. The council manages stocks, 
like squid, which are critically important to the fishing industry in 
my State. Rhode Island's commercial fishing industry depends more on 
MAFMC-managed stocks than those managed by the New England Fisheries 
Management Council, where Rhode Island is a member. More than that, 
Rhode Island has a larger stake in the Mid-Atlantic fishery than many 
of the states that currently hold seats on the MAFMC.
  This is not a new proposal, nor is it unprecedented. North Carolina 
was added to the MAFMC through an amendment to the Sustainable 
Fisheries Act in 1996. In addition, the last reauthorization of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act required a 
report on this issue. Now it is time to make this change.
  I was pleased in the last Congress that this legislation was included 
in the Commerce Committee's discussion draft for the reauthorization of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, as well as in the reauthorization bill 
introduced by then-Oceans Subcommittee Chairman Mark Begich at the end 
of last year. I hope that in this Congress we can take this commonsense 
step to bring fairness to Rhode Island's fishermen.
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