Trump signs Herrera Beutler’s West Coast crab management bill

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President Donald Trump has signed Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s bill into law permanently extending a decades-old fishery management agreement.

The tri-state agreement with the states of Washington, Oregon and California cooperatively manages the West Coast crab fishery in federal waters, according to a press release from Herrera Beutler’s office.

The agreement was first authorized in 1998 by Congress, but expired without a replacement in 2016. The bill aimed to make the existing authority permanent. 

“Today, I join with so many others in our coastal communities to celebrate an important milestone for crab fishermen of Southwest Washington,” Herrera Beutler said in the release. “This common sense agreement has been a model for sustainable fishery management, and it has now been made permanent. I’m proud to have the president sign into law this bill that will give certainty — vital to the success of any industry — to the crab fishing businesses that support families and livelihoods in Southwest Washington.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., partnered with Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, to get the bill passed in the U.S. Senate. Herrera Beutler successfully secured unanimous support and led it through the U.S. House in January, according to the release.



The bill was deemed vital to Washington state’s Dungeness crab fishing, according to Herrera Beutler’s office.

The law allows fishery managers to coordinate between states to ensure management and conservation goals are achieved in the crab fisheries where populations vary greatly by year depending on food availability and ocean conditions, according to the release. The Dungeness crab catch tends to peak every 10 years and can fluctuate by tens of millions of pounds between years. 

The state’s Dungeness crab industry brings $61 million into the state’s economy annually, according to the release. Crab fishermen in the state harvest an average of 9.5 million pounds each year, supporting over 60,000 maritime jobs.