(Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts) This week marks the 40th anniversary of the primary law that governs fishing in U.S. ocean waters: the Magnuson-Stevens Act. In 1976, Senators Warren Magnuson (D-WA) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) worked together on a bill that for the first time established American jurisdiction over fishing in the ocean out to 200 miles offshore. Signed by President Gerald Ford on April 13 of that year, the new law promoted domestic fishing and conservation of fish resources. A lot has changed since then: Scientific knowledge, fishing capacity, technological advancements, persistent and emerging threats to marine resources, and fundamental changes in the oceans themselves demand...
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