US House of Representatives Rep. Don Young is set to take the lead on Magnuson Stevens Act reauthorization efforts this year after Sen. Mark Begich lost his bid for re-election this past fall, reports the Alaska Journal of Commerce.Young, who will retain his chairmanship of Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, plans to introduce the MSA in the new congress, spokesman Matthew Shuckerow told the newspaper.The MSA, was first passed in 1976, and most recently updated in 2006. This year's reauthorization will likely come with amendments.In the 1970s on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, Young worked on the 200-mile fishing limit, or exclusive economic zone, which was reportedly critical to ending foreign fishing off Alaska’s coast.In 2013, Young pushed the Port States Measures Agreement Act of 2014, which placed extensive limitations on foreign fishing vessels in an effort to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fish from entering the US market.In May 2014, Young added amendments to the MSA to ask for more representation for subsistence fishermen in the federal management of Alaska fisheries. He also proposed that a subsistence member be added to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees nearly all fishing in federal Alaska waters.The proposal has seen mixed approval so far. The council currently has six Alaska delegates out of 11 voting seats.For the complete article, click here.