Speak Up: Public Review Process

The U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Act, key legislation protecting our oceans, was reauthorized in January this year and its first goal is to end overfishing by 2011. It may strike you as ironic, then, that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is attempting to change the rules that protect our ocean fish. NMFS is revising its process for environmental review of fishing activities and for public comment on fishery management. If the current process is watered down, the public will not have a voice in managing our ocean ecosystems. The National Environmental Trust is working hard to get public support for public review. Speak up. Take advantage of the democratic process and let NMFS know that the public is serious about environmental review and its role in ending overfishing. The public comment period ends April 20th.