From 2010 commercial fisheries in the US will have to set conservation plans within a two-year period. A 10-year permit system will be set, which would still allow some limited access in overfished waters.
Bush urged an overhaul of provisions in existing legislation known as the Magnusson-Stevens Fish Management Act, after which the US Congress passed the bill in December. The Bush administration has also pledged to work with other nations to try to ban destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling.