CONGRESSMAN GRAY COSPONSORS BIPARTISAN FISH ACT TO CONSOLIDATE ENDANGERED SPECIES MANAGEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Adam Gray (CA-13) recently cosponsored the bipartisan Federally Integrated Species Health (FISH) Act led by Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41). The bill would consolidate management and regulation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) within the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Under current law, ESA authority is shared by FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

“Valley producers manage to grow the majority of our country’s fresh fruits and vegetables within one of the most complex regulatory environments in the world,” said Congressman Gray. “Consolidating ESA management will make it more feasible for producers to adhere to species management policy, and will give threatened and endangered species the best shot at recovery. I’m glad to join my colleagues on this commonsense legislation to ease burdens on producers and look out for vulnerable wildlife.”

“The FISH Act will benefit species and Americans trying to comply with the Endangered Species Act by having a single federal agency manage all species,” said Congressman Calvert. “Consolidating the management of our endangered species and our rivers will translate into better results for species and those trying to comply with ESA regulations. The FISH Act will provide stakeholders and our habitats a more uniform approach to managing threatened and endangered species.” 

The ESA is currently administered by FWS and the Commerce Department’s NMFS. The FWS has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as whales and anadromous fish such as salmon.  The FISH Act would transfer the NMFS’s ESA responsibilities for management of anadromous and catadromous species to the FWS.

A summary and full text of the bill are available here.

Stakeholder support for the bill is available here.

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