The Mississippi River Basin is the fourth largest watershed in the world and the
largest in the nation. It drains all or part of 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces and
covers more than 1.2 million square miles or approximately 41% of the continental
U.S. There are at least 98 interjurisdictional rivers in the basin that flow between or
through two or more governmental agencies and comprising nearly 1.5 million
miles of waterways.
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Currently there is no congressionally recognized nor funded
formal structure through which the states manage the interjurisdictional fisheries
issues they navigate together. Fish species that move between management
jurisdictions (i.e., interjurisdictional species) create complex resource management
problems related to regulation development, licensing, enforcement, and
establishment of management objectives. There are at least 90 fish species in the
Mississippi River basin that can come under interjurisdictional management.
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It is well past time for Congress to act and formalize a Mississippi River Basin Fishery
Commission, through which the state wildlife agency fisheries have a dedicated
funding source and structure through which they can better apply their scientific
knowledge and expertise through improved coordination and communication
among the responsible management entities, which will include, via voluntary
membership, all of the states within the MS River Basin, as well as the US Fish
and Wildlife Service, USGS, USACE and USACE ERDC and tribal nations.