	Introduction

Provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA, P.L. 94-265 , as amended; 16 U.S.C. §§1801 et seq.) added during the 1996 reauthorization and amended in 2006, included specific requirements to end overfishing and to rebuild overfished stocks. To implement these requirements, the MSFCMA directed the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (also referred to as NOAA Fisheries) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop regulations by 2008 to provide guidance for establishing annual catch limits (ACLs) and related biological benchmarks. By the end of 2011, a requirement to implement ACLs and end overfishing in all federally managed fisheries came into effect. For fish stocks at low levels of abundance, stock rebuilding within a 10-year time frame (with some exceptions) is also required. Furthermore, they assert that assessments of fish stocks are often flawed or incomplete because of inadequate data and simplistic population models. Environmentalists counter that overfishing and previous management failures illustrate the need to maintain established fish stock rebuilding schedules. They emphasize that relatively short-term sacrifices associated with rebuilding will result in long-term economic gains to recreational and commercial fishermen. Several different bills related to overfishing and stock rebuilding have been introduced during the 112 th Congress. S. 2184 and H.R. 2304 , H.R. Several hearings have been held to explore broad concerns related to overfishing, ACLs, and the related need to reduce uncertainty by improving fisheries data collection and stock assessments. The most recent was held on December 1, 2011, by the House Committee on Natural Resources, which considered a variety of bills and associated issues related to fisheries, including H.R. 1646 , H.R. 2304 , and H.R. No further congressional action has been taken by either the House or the Senate. Since 2000, 27 overfished stocks have been rebuilt, including several notable examples such as Northeast scallop, mid-Atlantic bluefish, and Pacific lingcod. Progress has been made in some fisheries where stock rebuilding has increased yield and the associated economic value of the fishery. However, often improvements have come at a cost to commercial and recreational fisheries and associated fishing communities, especially in cases where stocks have not responded to management actions as rapidly as managers anticipated. Some fishermen, fishery managers, and academics have posed questions related to (1) the effects of ACLs on allocation of fisheries benefits; (2) the possible social and economic benefits of greater flexibility during stock rebuilding, (3) the data and models used to determine ACLs and rebuilding objectives, and (4) the decision making process, especially in situations with limited data and related uncertainty. 1646, H.R. H.R. Fish populations vary for many reasons that are often beyond the immediate control of fishermen and managers such as the condition of fish habitat, ecosystem shifts, and global climate change.
Provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA, P.L. 94-265, as amended; 16 U.S.C. §§1801 et seq.) enacted during the 1996 reauthorization and amended during the 2006 reauthorization, added specific requirements to end overfishing and to rebuild overfished fish stocks. To implement these requirements, the MSFCMA directed the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop regulations by 2008 to provide guidance for establishing annual catch limits (ACLs) and related biological benchmarks. By the end of 2011, a requirement to implement ACLs and end overfishing in all federally managed fisheries came into effect. For fish stocks at low levels of abundance, stock rebuilding within a 10-year time frame (with some exceptions) is also required.
Fishermen and fishing communities sometimes suffer from economic and social effects of harvest restrictions needed to satisfy MSFCMA overfishing and stock rebuilding requirements. Many question whether these requirements adequately address the complexities and uncertainties associated with managing fish stocks. Often fishermen express doubt over the efficacy of fish population assessments used for developing management measures because of data constraints and inadequate population models. Furthermore, they refer to studies showing that other factors, often outside the immediate control of fisheries managers, such as environmental conditions and the quality of fish habitat, also affect fish population abundance.
Others, including environmentalists and fishery managers, counter that overfishing and previous management failures illustrate the need to maintain established fish stock rebuilding schedules. They emphasize that relatively short-term sacrifices today will result in long-term economic gains to recreational and commercial fishermen in the future. They point to 27 stocks that have been rebuilt since 2000 and cite notable examples of fully rebuilt stocks such as Northeast scallop, Mid-Atlantic bluefish, and Pacific lingcod.
Overfishing has been arrested in most U.S. fisheries and progress has been made in rebuilding many others. However, these improvements have sometimes come at a cost to commercial and recreational fishermen and associated fishing communities, and in some cases stocks have not responded to management actions as managers anticipated. Some fishermen, fishery managers, and academics have posed questions related to (1) the effects of ACLs on allocation of fisheries benefits; (2) the possible social and economic benefits of greater flexibility during stock rebuilding, (3) the accuracy of data and models used to determine ACLs and rebuilding objectives, and (4) the decision-making process, especially in situations with limited data and related uncertainty.
Several different bills concerning overfishing, stock rebuilding, and related issues have been introduced during the 112th Congress, including H.R. 1646, H.R. 2304, H.R. 3061, H.R. 4208, S. 238, S. 632, S. 1916, and S. 2184. Several hearings have been held to explore broad concerns related to overfishing, ACLs, and the related need to reduce uncertainty by improving fisheries data collection and stock assessments. The most recent was held on December 1, 2011, by the House Committee on Natural Resources, which considered a variety of bills and associated issues related to fisheries, including H.R. 1646, H.R. 2304, and H.R. 3061. No further congressional action has been taken by either the House or the Senate.