The late Sen. Ted Stevens had a great idea 40 years ago: kick unregulated foreign fishing fleets out of our waters and give those jobs to American fishermen. And while we’re doing that, let’s apply science to ensure the resource lasts forever.

Working with his bipartisan ally, Sen. Warren Magnuson of Washington state, they later created the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, better known today as MSA.

The wise vision behind this law created a powerful economic engine for Alaska. Fishing had always been part of our history, but MSA increased Alaska’s catch by almost 5 billion pounds and doubled the nation’s production of seafood.

Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Kodiak were instantly propelled to the top of the leader board among the nation’s top fishing ports. And MSA did this with rules and tools that ensured our fisheries were sustainable. No Alaska species is overfished.

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire>>