November 16, 2020 — Over 800 participants in our nation’s seafood economy wrote today to Chairman Raúl Grijalva of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources to express deep concern regarding Title II of the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act, recently introduced by the committee Democrats. The signers of the letter argue that the bill would undermine our nation’s world-class system of fisheries management, harming fishermen and the coastal communities they sustain. They urged the chairman to fundamentally rethink Title II’s provisions.
Of particular concern is the bill’s mandate that would compel the Executive Branch to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that prohibit all commercial fishing activity across at least 30 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by 2030. The proposal is known by the slogan “30 by 30”.
The House Natural Resources Committee plans a hearing tomorrow to cover this bill, among several others.
The letter was organized by the At-sea Processors Association, the National Fisheries Institute, Saving Seafood, and the Seafood Harvesters of America.
“United States fisheries management is the envy of the world. Science-based management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act is a remarkable example of bipartisan policy success. It is achieving exceptional environmental outcomes, preserving vital cultural traditions, creating jobs in communities across the United States, and delivering food with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any protein on Earth. Title II of the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act will jeopardize that remarkable record of success.”
— Matt Tinning, Director of Sustainability and Public Affairs at the At-sea Processors Association
“The over 800 signers of this letter hail from different regions and participate in different parts of the seafood supply chain. However, we are all united in our commitment to using defensible, quality science to ensure that our nation’s fisheries are harvested sustainably for the benefit of this and future generations. ‘30 by 30’ is a campaign slogan, not a scientific proposal. The legislation would undermine the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its fundamental principle of using the best available scientific information to inform our fisheries management decisions.”
— Robert B. Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood
“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is among the world’s very best fishery managers. This bill appears to ignore that expertise and process and just walls off parts of the ocean to fishing. It disregards generations of science-based work and community consensus. Drawing arbitrary lines on a map is not science, it’s politics. Lines on a map don’t actually promote sustainability but they can harm livelihoods that depend on real sustainability work.”
— John Connelly, President of the National Fisheries Institute
“High-value benthic habitat, such as deep-sea corals, are important parts of the marine ecosystem and worthy of science-based protection. The current system is working to deliver exactly those protections to hundreds of thousands of square miles of sensitive habitat through the Regional Fishery Management Council process. We should build on what is working, not create a new, parallel process.”
— Leigh Habegger, Executive Director of Seafood Harvesters of America