Why It Matters: There are seven federal agencies under four different cabinet-level secretaries that have some degree of jurisdiction and regulatory authority over what hunters, anglers, and boaters can or cannot do on navigable waters. As a compliment to the MAPWaters Act for the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, the MAPOceans Act recently introduced in the Senate will begin to require the federal agency with the most U.S. waters under their jurisdiction, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to similarly digitize and map public information about federal fishing and boating restrictions in marine waters that is consistent with other federal agencies.
Highlights:
- NOAA has jurisdictional authority of our nation’s marine fisheries resources from the limit of a state or territorial sea (typically 3 or 9 miles from shore) out to the 200-mile limit of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
- A lot of water – a lot of rules! In addition to the 1.24 million square miles of water in marine protected areas (MPA’s) mostly under their authority, NOAA also manages 460 fish stocks or stock complexes through the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils.
- Introduced by Senator Ted Cruz and Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Vice-Chair Senator Angus King, the MAPOceans Act will direct NOAA to digitize and make available to the public any access or recreational use restriction on marine waters under the agency’s jurisdiction.
Last week, Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and CSC Senate Vice-Chair Senator Angus King (ME) introduced the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans Act, also known as the MAPOceans Act. The bill seeks to make it easier and eliminate confusion for public recreation on our nation’s marine and coastal waterways through standardizing, consolidating, and publishing digital data concerning regulations on marine waters under federal management.
“Access for anglers isn’t just about where you can launch your boat,” said Chris Horton, Senior Director of Fisheries Policy for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). “With our complicated system of federal fisheries management, and with our network of marine protected areas, it can be especially challenging to know which waters are open for fishing and what type of gear you can use. We very much appreciate Senator Ted Cruz and Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Vice-Chair Senator Angus King for working with us on this legislation that will remove barriers and uncertainty for America’s saltwater anglers.”
The MAPOceans Act will direct NOAA to digitize and make available to the public any access or recreational use restriction on marine waters under the agency’s jurisdiction. Marine protected areas (MPAs) cover 26% of U.S. marine waters, most of which are under NOAA’s watch. In addition, through NOAA’s eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, 46 management plans covering 460 fish stocks or stock complexes create a mosaic of fishing regulations and restrictions that are often location specific and can be cumbersome to understand. The MAPOceans Act will ultimately benefit anglers and boaters by helping them know which waters are open or closed to boating or fishing, if there are seasonal closures for certain species of fish in specific locations, what types of fishing gear is allowable in any given area, and more.
CSF looks forward to working with the bill sponsors of both MAPOceans and MAPwaters to see these two important bills signed into law.
