February 8, 2016 — At 6’3” Richard Craig Shelby, the senior Senator from Alabama, casts a long shadow on the Halls of Congress, welding influence felt in banking, energy, commerce, defense, science and fisheries, especially Gulf of Mexico fisheries.
“I like fresh seafood,” said the Senator relaxing back in his leather chair at the head of his Capitol Hill office conference table. “I especially like Gulf Scamp (a highly prized game and commercial fish in the grouper family). I could live on scamp, my wife and I never throw a piece of that away.”
The Alabama Senator has a single purpose when it comes to the Gulf of Mexico. “I want to make sure the Gulf remains healthy, and that the fish are abundant as they can be, and that all three fishing sectors; commercial, charter-for-hire and recreational, as well as all Americans, continue to benefit from them,” he said.
Born in Birmingham on the sixth of May in 1932, Shelby received a law degree from the Birmingham School of Law. First elected to the Senate in 1986 after winning a tight race as a Democrat, he was among a group of conservative Democrats. In 1994, midway through his second term, he switched allegiance to the Republican Party.
Currently he chairs the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, and sits on the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Constant Gulf Seafood Supporter
During his term on Capitol Hill, Shelby has been a constant supporter of Alabama and Gulf Seafood, as well as the thousands of people working hard to deliver it to the American people everyday.
“I like to fish, it’s is a great sport,” he told Gulf Seafood News in an exclusive interview. “I enjoy the outdoors.”
In his soft Southern drawl, the Senator said he wants the Gulf seafood industry to flourish because everyone benefits from seafood. “It’s nutritious and provides jobs for thousands upon thousands along the Gulf coast, as well as across the country,” he said. “Be it commercial, charter-for-hire or recreational, I am interested in maintaining abundant, healthy seafood in the Gulf of Mexico that is available to all.”
Read the full story at Gulf Seafood Institute