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MSA Issues in the Mid-Atlantic: Topics and questions for consideration during potential reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. April 2013. National Standards. Which ones have predominance? Should there be a National Standard for habitat? Are MSA and NEPA sufficiently aligned?
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MSA Issues in the Mid-Atlantic: Topics and questions for consideration during potential reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act April 2013
National Standards • Which ones have predominance? • Should there be a National Standard for habitat? • Are MSA and NEPA sufficiently aligned? • Is the definition of fishing communities too narrow? • Do we need a National Standard for ecosystems?
Interpretation of National Standards • Law vs. National Standard Guidelines—does the law provide enough guidance, or is too much left to be defined in the guidelines? • How should OY relate to ABC/ACL/ACT
Other Issues • Ecosystem vs. Single-Species Management • Is the current law too geared toward single-species management? • National Ocean Policy • Disconnect between MSA and the NOP? • Review restriction on RPB membership
Other Issues Climate change and shifting fish populations • Should state memberships on the RFMCs be reevaluated? Which states should belong to what Councils? Other Representation and Governance Issues - Exploring opportunities to allow states or regions to vote on fisheries-specific actions (specs, frameworks, Amendments) in which they have a significant interest but are not represented on the managing Council. (e.g. Rhode Island Squid, Virginia and New Jersey Scallops).
Resources/Funding • Monitoring funding options • Science funding • How should funds be distributed for data collection, stock assessments, and cooperative research? • Separation of the Councils from NMFS • Should Councils have a separate line in the federal budget? • Fishery disaster relief • Lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy • How should the system work in the future?