US Representative Mary Peltola introduces legislation to restrict bottom trawling

U.S. Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) has introduced a pair of bills that would restrict bottom trawling and reduce bycatch.“Since coming to Congress, I’ve worked to make fish and fishing policy the issue of national importance it deserves to be,” Peltola said. “I know fish, I know Alaska, and I know how to work with people in both parties to get stuff done.”The Bottom Trawl Clarity Act would require regional fisheries management councils (RFMCs) to define the difference between “substantial” and “limited” bottom contact when it comes to the use of bottom-trawl gear. The bill also would require the designation of bottom-trawl zones, limiting the areas where gear can scrape the seafloor.The Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act, meanwhile, would provide USD 10 million (EUR 9 million) for NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction and Engineering Program (BREP), a program that provides grants to help develop bycatch-reducing solutions. The bill would also establish the Bycatch Mitigation ...