(10-5-09) The following information was released by the office of New Jersey Rep. John Adler :
Congressman John Adler, joined Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC), today in sending a letter to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) urging the agency to fix burdensome compensation issues for scallop fishermen. Under normal circumstances, the fishermen pay out-of-pocket for a federally mandated "observer" on their vessel, and are compensated through a resource set-aside of extra days at sea or extra harvest. This year, NOAA miscalculated the set-aside amount, and New Jersey scallop fishermen are now forced to pay for observer coverage out of their own pockets through February 2010.
Congressman Adler today asked the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), part of NOAA, to take action to fund the observer program until proper compensation can once again be ensured for scallop vessels and their crews.
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