House GOP preps draft reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens law

Hastings, who made the announcement during the committee's last hearing of the year, did not detail what the draft reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act would contain.

The proposal will be open for public comment upon its release.

The chairman said the committee will start working toward the draft's passage when it returns to Washington, D.C., in January.

Ranking member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) expressed his dismay that Democrats on the committee had not yet seen the Republican proposal.

"I'd like it if you could share" the plan, he said.

The law, last updated in 2006, was a bipartisan effort that was praised by both the fishing industry and environmental groups. It required resource managers to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks within 10 years and base decisions on recommendations from scientific advisers.

The House earlier this year held hearings to allow stakeholders to share their views on the reauthorization. It is working on a faster timeline for the reauthorization of the 1970s-era law than the Senate.

In the upper chamber, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, has led the slower charge in an attempt to hear from stakeholders across the country.

So far, the Senate subpanel has heard from officials, industry representatives and environmentalists from the New England, mid-Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regions. Begich has said he intends to hold hearings for the remaining regions -- the North Pacific, Pacific and Western Pacific -- next year.