My name is Eric C. Schwaab and I am Assistant Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Thank you, Chairwoman Bordallo and Members of the Subcommittee, for the opportunity to testify on H.R. 4914, the Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010, H.R. 5180, the National Marine Fisheries Service Ombudsman Act of 2010, and H.R. 3910 the Longline Catcher Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act. I will begin by providing some context on our role in living marine resource stewardship and supporting coastal jobs.
Building trust and ensuring good communication between the agency and the regulated community is a huge challenge but NOAA has many avenues by which to accomplish this. Under Dr. Lubchenco’s leadership as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, NOAA has renewed its commitment to improving the agency’s relationship and communications with fishermen and enhancing their understanding of fisheries science, regulations and enforcement activities on the local, regional and national scale.
NOAA is working to improve and increase our communications with fishermen and other stakeholders. We are employing or developing the following communications and outreach methods and tools:
•Fishermen Forums: In conjunction with regularly held Fishery Management Council meetings, NMFS regional leaders hold question and answer forums. Such forums are currently conducted in the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Western Pacific, and have helped to establish a dialogue with these fishing communities in those regions. Typically informal and without agenda, these forums focus on responding to questions, but they also provide an opportunity for proactive outreach.
•Web-Portal and Repository: Webpages facilitate easy public access to the regulatory compliance criteria for each region serving as a portal to the regulations and compliance criteria unique to each region. NOAA is considering a pilot project modeled after the NOAA National Weather Service “point and click” weather forecasts, where fishermen and the public could “point and click” to areas where they fish or enjoy marine recreation to access the appropriate regulations in that region.
•Compliance Guides: Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, NOAA produces compliance guides to accompany each regulation, primarily designed to assist small businesses with compliance. NOAA is working to make these easier to read and accessible on the web, as well as available in hard-copy. Those that are produced in a more user-friendly format have become valuable communication tools.
•E-mail ListServ: A listserve is an effective way to either “push” information out to constituents or, if moderated, serve as a discussion forum or a means to answer questions. NMFS already has FishNews, which is an automated, e-mail-based national weekly product that provides electronic notification of important actions, rules, policies and programs. Regional e-mailed news letters also exist and could be further utilized to enhance communications.
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