I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2890
To protect the public’s ability to fish for sport, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2003
Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To protect the public’s ability to fish for sport, and for 
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Fish Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Recreational fishing is traditionally one of 
the most popular outdoor sports with more than 
50,000,000 participants of all ages, in all regions of 
the country.
(2) Recreational fishing makes a substantial 
contribution to the local, State, and national econo-
mies. According to the most recent economic figures, 
recreational fishing infuses $116,000,000,000 annu-
ally into the national economy. Nationally, over 
1,200,000 jobs are related to recreational fishing; 
this represents approximately 1 percent of the na-
tion’s entire civilian work force. For those commu-
nities and small businesses that rely on seasonal 
tourism, the expenditures of recreational anglers re-
sult in substantial benefits to the local economies. 
(3) Recreational anglers have long dem-
onstrated a conservation ethic through their support 
of reasonable fisheries management laws and regula-
tions including minimum size requirements, posses-
sion limits, and seasonal closures, as well as through 
their voluntary practice of catch-and-release fishing 
when appropriate. 
(4) In addition to payment of Federal excise 
taxes on fishing equipment, motorboats, and fuel, as 
well as license fees, recreational anglers contribute 
over $500,000,000 annually to State fisheries con-
servation management programs and projects. 
(5) It is a long standing policy of the Federal 
Government to allow public access to public lands
and waters for recreational purposes consistent with 
sound conservation. This policy is reflected in the 
National Forest Management Act of 1976, the Na-
tional Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966, the Wilderness Act, the Wild and Scenic Riv-
ers Act, and the National Parks and Recreation Act 
of 1978. 
(6) In most instances, recreational fishery re-
sources can be maintained through a variety of man-
agement measures including minimum size require-
ments, possession limits, and seasonal closures, with-
out restricting public access to places to fish. 
(7) Comprehensive standards must be estab-
lished to demonstrate to the public that recreational 
fishing can be managed effectively without unneces-
sarily closing marine waters and to direct the imple-
mentation, use, and monitoring of marine protected 
areas. 
SEC. 3. POLICY. 
Consistent with sound marine conservation, it is the 
policy of the Congress in this Act—
(1) to create standards to direct the implemen-
tation, use, and monitoring of marine protected 
areas;
(2) to ensure that all Federal regulations pro-
mote open access for recreational fishing to the max-
imum extent practicable; 
(3) to ensure that recreational anglers will be 
actively involved in any regulatory procedures that 
contemplate restrictions on their access to places to 
fish; and 
(4) to ensure that whenever access to fishing 
places is restricted, the restricted areas are as small 
as scientifically necessary to provide for the con-
servation of the fishery resource. 
SEC. 4. MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 
MANAGEMENT ACT AMENDMENT. 
Section 303(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)) 
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 
paragraph (13); 
(2) by striking ‘‘fishery.’’ in paragraph (14) 
and inserting ‘‘fishery; and;’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(15) not establish areas closed to recreational 
fishing unless—
‘‘(A) there is a clear indication that rec-
reational fishermen are the cause of a specific
conservation problem and that less severe con-
servation measures, including minimum size re-
quirements, possession limits, seasonal closures, 
or gear restrictions, will not adequately provide 
for conservation and management of the af-
fected stocks of fish as determined by the ap-
propriate Regional Fishery Management Coun-
cil; 
‘‘(B) the closed area regulation includes 
specific measurable criteria to determine the 
conservation benefit of the closed area on the 
affected stocks of fish and provides a timetable 
for periodic review of the continued need for the 
closed area at least once every 3 years; 
‘‘(C) the closed area is no larger than that 
which is supported by the best available sci-
entific information; and 
‘‘(D) provisions are made to reopen the 
closed area to recreational fishing whenever the 
basis of the closure no longer exists.’’.
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