Washington

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is offering to fight new federal fishing rules. Fishermen say those rules could put them out of business.

Watch the video from NECN.

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. House has voted to cut off funding for future catch share programs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration policy that opens the door to commodities trading of fishermen's catch allocations — and a policy already steering control of the fishing industry to larger corporations while driving out smaller, independent boats.

The 259-159 vote early Saturday morning was largely un-lobbied by either fishing industry backers or the Obama administration and its environmental allies, notably the Environmental Defense Fund that developed and has pushed hard for catch share policies.

The vote marked the first time a House of Congress has weighed in on the management regimen, and it looms as a setback for the Obama administration, whose most visible advocate of catch shares is Jane Lubchenco, the embattled NOAA administrator who formerly served as a top board member with Environmental Defense.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Sen. John Kerry is spending President’s Day in New Bedford.

Kerry is planning to start the day by participating in a roundtable discussion on federal funding for affordable housing, job training and human services. The discussion will take place at the New Bedford Community Development Center with New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and Newton Mayor Setti Warren.

Kerry then heads to a press conference with Lang and members of the Massachusetts fishing community to discuss fishing regulations and enforcement.

Read the complete story by the AP at The Boston Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment early Saturday that would prevent NOAA from spending money to promote and institute new limited-access fishing programs such as catch shares on the East Coast, a development that commercial fishing advocates have labeled as "very significant."

Bob Vanasse, head of the fisheries public relations campaign Saving Seafood, called the vote on the Jones Amendment "a major salvo" fired at federal fishing regulators.

"Basically, the message was, 'We've had it and we're going to use the power of the purse to have you reconsider your policies,' " Vanasse said.

Jim Kendall, president of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, said the amendment could prevent NOAA from spending "another $50 million to advocate and promote catch shares."

"A lot of the money is used to essentially disseminate propaganda," Kendall said. "They've been forcing catch shares down the throats of various fisheries."

Last May, federal regulators introduced the New England groundfishing industry to a new fishing management system, replacing a days-at-sea model with "catch shares" and "sector management."

The system requires boat owners to join cooperatives and manage

their share allocations, or "catch shares," as they best see fit within the law.

The new system has been met with opposition and controversy.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement in response to the announcement that the Interior Department would consider requests to build wind farms in the area of Georges Bank fishing grounds.

“I am deeply disappointed by this decision by the Interior Department and upset that neither Congress, the fishing industry, nor fishing regulators were notified before the decision was made.”

“Georges Bank is a critical fishing ground for northeastern fishermen and it must be protected for future generations. I will work closely with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to insist that the Interior Department extend the period during which it must accept comments on this proposal.  And I will submit comments against opening areas near Georges Bank to any form of energy development that would potentially harm the fishing industry.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Add U.S. Rep. Barney Frank to the list of those opposed to the notion that Georges Bank, or parts of it, may be suitable for wind farms.

Frank, D-Mass., on Friday issued a terse statement scolding the Interior Department for promoting the idea with a "request for interest" notification.

"I am deeply disappointed by this decision by the Interior Department and upset that neither Congress, the fishing industry nor fishing regulators were notified before the decision was made," he said.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Fisheries catch share systems will be ramped up at the expense of fisheries research if the proposed 2012 budget from NOAA is made law.

While the budget is being rolled out, lobbyists from the Environmental Defense Fund, whose former vice chairman is the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have reportedly been fanning out on Capitol Hill to sell Congress on the notion that catch shares are actually popular among the majority of fishermen.

In response, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, which organized last year's 5,000-member demonstration in Washington, D.C., against catch shares, is accusing the Environmental Defense Fund of falsely claiming that it represents the majority of fishermen.

"We had 5,000 fishermen waving flags and carrying signs at an open public protest last winter, and here it is almost a year to the day and EDF is still responding by slinking around in the shadows in Washington, pretending to represent fishermen," according to a Recreational Fishing Alliance statement.

NOAA administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco on Wednesday conducted an online press conference to discuss her proposed budget, which includes $1 million to fight lawsuits such as that filed against the Commerce Department by New Bedford and Gloucester over catch limits.

She also wants $36.6 million to be added to catch share implementation. Research and management would be cut by $17.4 million.

That shift in spending was flagged by a bipartisan group of 10 congressmen and senators in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at midweek.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key North Carolina congressional delegation members have asked U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke “to consider other well-established fishery management techniques” to help keep the industry alive.

A letter from Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., joined several senators and congressmen from other East Coast states in the request. The request came over “concern that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations catch share policy will further endanger the economic vitality of the already-struggling fishing industry and will not end overfishing.”

“The fishing industry is a crucial part of our nation’s economy, but in these tough economic times too many fishermen are struggling to provide for themselves, their families and their communities,” the letter said.

It maintains, as have fishermen speaking at recent public hearings in New Bern before the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council this year, that NOAA has “committed significant funding to encourage the adoption of catch share programs when it has not committed sufficient funds to adequately assess the stocks of our nation’s fisheries.”

Read the complete story from The Sun Journal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Feb. 19, 2011 – The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, early this morning, made available the roll call vote on Amendment No. 548, introduced by Mr. Jones of North Carolina and co-sponsored by Mr. Frank (MA) and Mr. Pallone (NJ).

Industry members are encouraged to check to see how their Representative in Congress voted on this amendment and express their views to their representative.

If you do not know who represents you in Congress, use this link from the House of Representatives

Read Amendment #548 in the Congressional Record.

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 130

      H R 1      RECORDED VOTE      19-Feb-2011      1:44 AM
      AUTHOR(S):  Jones of North Carolina Amendment No. 548, Co-sponsored by Frank (MA) and Pallone (NJ)
      QUESTION:  On Agreeing to the Amendment

REPUBLICAN
208 aye 
28   nay     
4 present

DEMOCRATIC   
51 aye  
131   nay     
11 present   

          
TOTALS  
259  aye
159  nay   
15 present

—- AYES    259 —

Adams
Akin
Altmire
Amash
Andrews
Austria
Bachmann
Baldwin
Barletta
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Benishek
Berg
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Boren
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Broun (GA)
Brown (FL)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Buerkle
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Butterfield
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canseco
Cantor
Capito
Capuano
Carnahan
Carney
Carter
Chabot
Chaffetz
Chandler
Clay
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Cravaack
Crawford
Crenshaw
Critz
Davis (KY)
DeFazio
Denham
Dent
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Doggett
Dold
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Dreier
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Emerson
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Flake
Fleischmann
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guinta
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Heck
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Herrera Beutler
Holden
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Israel
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan
Keating
Kelly
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kissell
Kline
Labrador
Lamborn
Langevin
Lankford
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Levin
Lewis (CA)
LoBiondo
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luján
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Lynch
Manzullo
Marchant
Marino
Matheson
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McGovern
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
Meehan
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Mulvaney
Myrick
Neal
Neugebauer
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Olson
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Paulsen
Payne
Pearce
Pence
Peterson
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Reed
Renacci
Ribble
Rigell
Rivera
Roe (TN)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross (AR)
Ross (FL)
Royce
Runyan
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Sánchez, Linda T.
Schilling
Schmidt
Schock
Schweikert
Scott (SC)
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Simpson
Sires
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stearns
Stivers
Stutzman
Sullivan
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tierney
Tipton
Towns
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Visclosky
Walberg
Walden
Walsh (IL)
Webster
West
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
Young (IN)

—- NOES    159 —

Ackerman
Aderholt
Alexander
Baca
Bachus
Barrow
Bass (CA)
Bass (NH)
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Bilbray
Bishop (GA)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boswell
Boustany
Brady (PA)
Brooks
Capps
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Cassidy
Castor (FL)
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke (MI)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Cooper
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
DeGette
Deutch
Dicks
Dingell
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Flores
Fudge
Garamendi
Gonzalez
Grijalva
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Heinrich
Higgins
Himes
Hinchey
Hirono
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Inslee
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Kildee
Kind
Kucinich
Lance
Landry
Larsen (WA)
Lee (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Mack
Maloney
Markey
Matsui
McDermott
McMorris Rodgers
McNerney
Michaud
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (PA)
Nadler
Napolitano
Nunnelee
Olver
Palazzo
Pastor (AZ)
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Pingree (ME)
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Rehberg
Reichert
Reyes
Richardson
Richmond
Roby
Rogers (AL)
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuler
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Sutton
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tonko
Van Hollen
Velázquez
Walz (MN)
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Welch
Wittman
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth

—- NOT VOTING    15 —

Conyers
Culberson
DeLauro
Giffords
Harman
Hinojosa
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
Meeks
Paul
Peters
Quayle
Shuster
Stark
Wilson (FL)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – Feb. 19, 2011 (Saving Seafood) – Amendment #548 to H.R. 1 sponsored by Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) and cosponsored by Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) passed the United States House of Representatives on a recorded vote of 259-159 at 1:43 a.m.   

The Amendment would prevent funds from being expended by NOAA to enact new limited access fishing programs.  The Amendment, if H.R. 1 is passed by the Senate and signed into law, would prevent spending on new catch shares programs.

51 Democrats joined 208 Republicans voting in favor of the Amendment.

Amendment No. 548 to H.R. 1 would ensure that no funds made available in the continuing resolution may be used to develop or approve new limited access privilege programs for any fishery under the jurisdiction of the South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, New England or Gulf of Mexico Fishery Managment Councils. 

This would prevent further spending on new "Catch Shares" programs, a heavily-promoted fisheries policy of the Obama Administration under Dr. Jane Lubchenco's leadership at NOAA.  The policy, backed by several environmental groups, has been controversial.  The Catch Shares policy has faced widespread opposition by East Coast fishermen.

The Amendment does not affect fishing programs on the West Coast or Alaska.

Watch the floor debate on the Amendment

Read Amendment #548 in the Congressional Record.