Colleagues:

    I'm seeking volunteers for an expert panel to review and provide comments
on a draft 25-page report for Congress that Presidential Management Intern
Dan Waldeck and I have just completed discussing various issues that may
be presented or discussed in any reauthorization debate of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act during the
106th Congress.  We should have this product ready to distribute for review
around April 15th.

     Draft Abstract:  "The current authorization of appropriations for the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act expires at the
end of FY1999.  The issue for the 106th Congress will be whether, and if so
under what conditions, to reauthorize and amend the Act to reflect and
address the concerns of various interest groups.  To identify relevant details,
the Congressional Research Service queried commercial fishing, recreational
fishing, fish processing, fishery management, fishery science, Native
American, and environmental interests to identify issues that they may bring
before Congress or believe others might offer during the reauthorization
debate.

     This document presents a multitude of issues, including whether to rescind
the moratorium on individual quota management programs, how to assure that
regional council decisions are fair, whether to specify further approaches to
address bycatch, whether to require or designate marine protected areas,
whether to modify the definition of essential fish habitat, whether to increase
fishery management data collection efforts, how to define "fishing community,"
whether the fishery management plan review process should be revised, how
best to manage highly migratory species, and whether to increase emphasis
on promoting ecosystem health and long-term resource productivity."

     I'm seeking reviewers who are able to review this draft and return
comments back to me no later than May 15, 1999.  I'm looking for individuals
who can help me better define the various positions on issues presented,
clarify factual background on these issues, and identify additional issues of
concern.  If interested in being considered for this review panel, please e-mail
me a few sentences stating briefly your qualifications for serving on this expert
panel.  I anticipate selecting about 8-10 individuals to serve on this panel who
are relatively current on fishery issues and represent a spectrum of
constituencies and interests.  I will provide the text for review via e-mail, and
would like to receive your comments either via fax or e-mail.

     Thanks to all who have participated on my expert panels in the past; your
continued and excellent critiques of my products have been extremely
beneficial to Congress!

                                      Gene Buck, Senior Analyst
                                 Congressional Research Service

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