WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Friday signed legislation aimed at preventing overfishing in U.S. waters.
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The new law requires commercial fisheries to set conservation plans within a two-year period beginning in 2010. It sets a 10-year permit system that would still allow limited access in some waters that have been overfished.
The U.S. Congress passed the bill in December after Bush urged an overhaul of provisions in existing legislation known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fish Management Act.
The Bush administration also has pledged to work with other nations to try to ban destructive fishing practices, such as "bottom trawling." Environmental groups have long criticized the damage that practice does to fragile coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.
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The new law requires commercial fisheries to set conservation plans within a two-year period beginning in 2010. It sets a 10-year permit system that would still allow limited access in some waters that have been overfished.
The U.S. Congress passed the bill in December after Bush urged an overhaul of provisions in existing legislation known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fish Management Act.
The Bush administration also has pledged to work with other nations to try to ban destructive fishing practices, such as "bottom trawling." Environmental groups have long criticized the damage that practice does to fragile coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.
