By: Ken Moran -- New York Post

February 17, 2008 -- LEGISLATION that could help save the summer flounder sea son along the Atlantic Coast has been introduced in Congress.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced legislation this past week that will amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2007 (MSA) and include limited flexibility in rebuilding healthy fisheries.

HR 5425 has gained bipartisan support from 11 coastal legislators along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, illustrating that many believe limited flexibility is needed in the management of rebuilding fish stocks.

The MSA contains arbitrary and rigid rebuilding requirements, which have unnecessarily restricted recreational anglers and have not been adaptive to the marine environment. Top fisheries scientists and the Recreational Fishing Alliance made this point during testimony at a congressional hearing last December. Pallone's language would give the Secretary of Commerce the discretion to adjust rebuilding timeframes only if specific criteria are present to ensure that the conservation of such stocks continues to advance. Limited flexibility would allow fishermen to retain access to important fisheries such as summer flounder, red snapper, gag grouper, vermillion snapper, yellow-eye rockfish and canary rockfish, while continuing to achieve management goals.

This legislation needs to be passed and will be passed with the support of the entire recreational fishing community. It is critical that all recreational anglers and marine businesses get behind this bill, reach out to their legislators and ask them to support HR 5425.