- Sponsored by former senators Warren Magnuson of Washington and Ted Stevens of Alaska, the fishery act declared that all fisheries within 200 miles of the coast belonged exclusively to the United States. Foreign fleets could travel through U.S. waters, but they were no longer allowed to fish freely inside the 200-mile boundary.
- The Magnuson-Stevens Act required fisheries officials to use the best available science as the basis of new conservation strategies. Fishery scientists began estimating fish populations and studying the effects of commercial fishing on specific species.
- The fisheries act also established eight regional fisheries councils throughout the United States. The councils enlisted fishermen, seafood dealers and environmentalists to help create management plans to foster the commercial and recreational fishing industries and, at the same time, conserve fish stocks.
- Congress amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1996 with the Sustainable Fisheries Act, a new set of guidelines that required tough conservation measures. The Sustainable Fisheries Act is a mandate to harvest fish responsibly so that the resource will be available to future generations.
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