WASHINGTON, DC - A new regulation with the potential to seriously debilitate the Gulf Coast shrimp industry will prompt a congressional review to overturn the measure, US Representative Ron Paul wrote in a recent letter to Secretary of Commerce William Daley.

The regulation, an amendment to the Shrimp Fisheries Management Plan approved recently by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, would require the use of new "by-catch reduction devices" in addition to "turtle exclusion devices," which would cut the shrimp harvest by as much as 20% to 30%. The Secretary of Commerce has the authority to prevent such measures from going into place.

"The amendment will have a negative economic impact on the US shrimping industry," Paul wrote, encouraging the Secretary to reject the regulation. Paul also asked the Secretary to direct the Council "that in future deliberations balance, fairness and scientific quality must be the guide for all fishery management measures."

If the Secretary does not reject the new regulations, Paul said he would immediately begin congressional action to overturn the measures. Under the Congressional Review Act, the US House and the Senate have the authority to prevent agencies and departments from implementing new rules. If the measure is placed into effect, Paul would have 60 legislative business days to move forward legislation to stop it.

"I will not stand idly by and allow Washington bureaucrats to destroy the shrimping industry, upon which so much of the Texas Gulf Coast depends," Paul said today. "I have instructed my staff to keep a careful watch on what the Secretary of Commerce does on this issue, and I have begun working on legislation to overturn the regulation, 'just in case.'"