The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee is pushing to finish a partial rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act before the August recess, the committee press secretary says.

Both houses of Congress are scheduled to stop work Aug. 6, and do not return for more than a month. Committee Press Secretary Crystal Feldman, however, said this week the goal was to have a bill that synthesizes reforms sought by several fishing industry advocates ready for the committee by that date.

Over the past two years, various approaches for helping both the recreational and commercial sides of the industry have gradually merged into a movement dedicated to seeing adjustments made in the Magnuson Act, the original and overriding fisheries management statute that directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to ensure sustainable stocks while maximizing fishermen’s output.

The main flexibility bills were filed by New Jersey congressmen, Democrat Frank Pallone and Republican Jon Runyan.

Joining Tierney, Frank, and Keating, all Massachusetts Democrats, in writing to urge action from Hastings’s committee were Pallone, Reps. Frank C. Guinta, R-N.H., Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., Walter Jones, R-N.C., and Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.