Supporting Healthy Fisheries in Transition

Full Title:
SHIFT Act

Summary#

This bill, the Supporting Healthy Interstate Fisheries in Transition (SHIFT) Act, changes how federal fishery managers handle shifting fish stocks and new fishing activities. It adds requirements to existing fisheries laws to (1) ask managers to include ecosystem changes when setting state or regional quota shares; (2) let the Secretary of Commerce decide when a fishery moves across the geographic area of more than one regional fishery management council and require councils to decide which council will manage the fishery or to prepare a joint plan, with timelines for those decisions; (3) change how new fisheries or fishing gear get added to a list that allows certain fishing activities, requiring Councils to analyze effects and the Secretary to review those analyses before adding new fisheries or gear; (4) allow limited experimental fishing with public data reporting; and (5) require the Secretary to report to Congress every 5 years on how the Act is being implemented. The Act takes effect 180 days after enactment.

What it means for you#

  • Managers must consider changes in fish abundance, distribution, food webs, and habitat when setting or changing quota allocations between states and regions.
  • The Secretary can review scientific indicators (like shifts in stock distribution, fishing effort, or landing revenue) to decide if a fishery spans multiple councils. Councils then have set deadlines to assign management or prepare joint plans.
  • Councils must review fisheries and gear lists every 5 years and provide analyses about impacts before new fisheries or gear are approved.
  • Experimental fishing permits can be used temporarily to collect data, and the Secretary will make permit data public each year.
  • The Secretary will send Congress a report at least every 5 years about implementation, including metrics on transboundary fisheries and ecological data use.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

Supporters want fisheries management to account for changing ocean conditions and shifting fish distributions. The bill encourages use of the best scientific information, clearer coordination among regional councils when stocks move, careful review before opening new fisheries or allowing new gear, public sharing of experimental fishing data, and regular reporting to Congress.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.