In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: 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 economies. According to the
most recent economic figures, recreational fishing infuses
$116,000,000,000 annually into the national economy.
Nationally, over 1,200,000 jobs are related to recreational
fishing; this represents approximately 1 percent of the
nation's entire civilian work force. For those communities and
small businesses that rely on seasonal tourism, the
expenditures of recreational anglers result in substantial
benefits to the local economies.
(3) Recreational anglers have long demonstrated a
conservation ethic through their support of reasonable
fisheries management laws and regulations including minimum
size requirements, possession 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 conservation 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 National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of
1966, the Wilderness Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and
the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978.
(6) In most instances, recreational fishery resources can
be maintained through a variety of management measures
including minimum size requirements, possession limits, and
seasonal closures, without restricting public access to places
to fish.
(7) Comprehensive standards must be established to
demonstrate to the public that recreational fishing can be
managed effectively without unnecessarily closing marine waters
and to direct the implementation, 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 implementation, use,
and monitoring of marine protected areas;
(2) to ensure that all Federal regulations promote open
access for recreational fishing to the maximum 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 conservation 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 recreational
fishermen are the cause of a specific conservation
problem and that less severe conservation measures,
including minimum size requirements, possession limits,
seasonal closures, or gear restrictions, will not
adequately provide for conservation and management of
the affected stocks of fish as determined by the
appropriate Regional Fishery Management Council;
''(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 scientific
information; and
''(D) provisions are made to reopen the closed area
to recreational fishing whenever the basis of the
closure no longer exists.''.
A:
Freedom to Fish Act - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to prohibit any fishery management plan prepared by a Regional Fishery Management Council or the Secretary of Commerce from establishing areas closed to recreational fishing unless: (1) there is a clear indication that recreational fishermen are the cause of a specific conservation problem and that less severe conservation measures will not adequately provide for conservation and management of the affected stocks of fish; (2) the closed area regulation includes specific measurable criteria to determine the conservation benefit of the closed area on such fish and provides a timetable for periodic review of the continued need for the closed area; (3) the closed area is no larger than that which is supported by the best available scientific information; or (4) provision is made to reopen the closed area to recreational fishing whenever any such condition that was the basis of the closure no longer exists.