Despite veto threat, House votes to give states more control over Gulf red snapper

Ignoring a veto threat from the Obama administration, the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill that, among other things, changes the way the government regulates red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

The largely party-line 225-152 vote reauthorizes the so-called Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act, which governs fisheries management off the U.S. coast. The bill, which provides a little less than $2 billion through 2019, now goes to the Senate.

The bill contains three provisions that U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, has pushed since taking office:

• It repeals a federal quota system for Gulf red snapper that critics have called "inflexible."
• It extends state territorial boundaries to nine miles off the coast, matching the limit already enjoyed by Texas and Florida.
• It removes from federal control the responsibility for collecting data on the health of the red snapper stock. Byrne has accused the federal government of using flawed science that resulted in unduly negative assessments of the health of the population.

"Tonight was a big win for red snapper fishermen in the Gulf and fishermen all across the country," Byrne said in a prepared statement. "These provisions were designed to give the Gulf states control over the science and data collection as it relates to red snapper, and I believe that with better data and more flexibility for fisheries managers, we can get back to having a real red snapper season in the Gulf."

The bill drew criticism from some environmental groups, however. Ellen Bolen, director of the Fish Conservation Program at the Ocean Conservancy, called the bill a "stinging disappointment" that "fails to do anything for the nation as a whole, for fish, or the majority of fishermen."

The group indicted that the previous version of the law enjoyed bipartisan support and balanced the interests of fishermen and environmentalists.

"The controversial legislation that the House just passed, on the other hand, is partisan," Bolen said in her statement. "It weakens the nation's best efforts to protect vulnerable coastal fisheries from depletion. We need to keep Magnuson strong."

Gulf fishermen have complained that federal rules have resulted in ever-shorter red snapper seasons. This year's season, which began Monday, will last just 10 days.

Alabama officials welcomed Monday's vote.

"The state of Alabama is very pleased to see something is moving," Alabama Marine Resources Division Director Blankenship said in an interview.

Blankenship said extending state waters out to the nine-mile mark will free up six additional miles for fishermen to catch red snapper during the state season, which will be the entire month of July. He said it also will give the state an opportunity to build more artificial reefs to support the fish.

"We have an active reef-building program," he said.

Currently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration samples Gulf waters to come up with quotas that dictate how long the season can be. Under the bill that passed the House, responsibility for data collection would be transferred to the Gulf State Marine Fisheries Commission, made up of representatives from the five Gulf states.

The council then would submit that data to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council, made up of federal, state and charter industry representatives, which then would make a recommendation to NOAA. The federal agencies would not be bound by the rigid quotas now in place.

"This is a step in the right direction," Blankenship said "I think having flexibility will give them leeway to do some things."

The bill drew support from other Republican members of Alabama's GOP-dominated delegation.

"Fishing is important in Alabama, both for commerce and for recreation," Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, said in a prepared statement. "This bill will provide for more opportunities for Alabamians to have a stronger voice in the process of deciding how our fisheries are managed by replacing the current one-size-fits-all approach to a state managed approach by requiring state and local data in decision-making."