Anytime we mention our Crew Shots issue, we get an outpouring of positive feedback and an influx of new photos.

I'd like to keep it that way. The health of our fisheries and working waterfronts is at stake every day. As Congress continues the process of examining, holding hearings on and reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, your livelihoods will be on the chopping block.

Our January issue features a Dock Talk written by Jim Kendall, a board member at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, explaining the center's mission to preserve "our nation's fishery resources through conservation measures as well as promoting economic development for the fishing economy through the use of science."

Dr. Brian Rothschild, president and CEO of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, Montgomery Charter Professor Emeritus of the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and 2012 NF Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, was our keynote speaker at Pacific Marine Expo this year.

In his speech, he recommended rewriting the Magnuson Act so that its enforcement could more accurately target problems in fishery management. Rothschild said that when the act was implemented, it was widely believed that all 10 national standards would be enforced equally. But since then, National Standard 1 — preventing overfishing and maintaining optimum yield — has been enforced as the top priority.

Not only does Rothschild want to rewrite the act to whittle down the National Standards from 10 to five, but he wants to focus on improving the science used to manage fisheries. Better data would provide managers with a clearer picture not only of the state of fisheries but of the socioeconomic effects of fisheries on their communities.

It's an idea whose time has come. For more information, please visit the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and continue to follow our coverage here and in the magazine.