WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan bill introduced April 30 would permanently extend a 17-year fishery management agreement for the West Coast’s valuable Dungeness crab fishery.

Washington, Oregon and California cooperatively manage the West Coast crab fishery under a tristate agreement first authorized by Congress in 1996. Under the agreement, the states work with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to manage stocks and conduct fishery science. The plan has to be regularly extended and is set to expire in 2016.

H.R. 2168, was introduced by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in the Senate and by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., in the House of Representatives.

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