Andy Harris Archives - Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Md. officials seek disaster declaration for oyster fishery

February 17, 2026 — Maryland officials are asking for federal help after what they describe as one of the worst oyster seasons in state history, a collapse they say threatens both watermen and a cornerstone of the Chesapeake Bay economy.

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., last week asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an economic fishery disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Such a designation can unlock emergency federal assistance for fisheries.

Read the full article at The Columbian

Maryland congressman asks for fishery disaster funds for state oystermen

February 11, 2026 — U.S. Representative Andy Harris (R-Maryland) has asked NOAA Fisheries to declare a fishery disaster for the state’s commercial oyster fishery, which has been hard hit by cold weather and ice.

“Severe weather this year, combined with shrinking market access and increased competition, left many crews effectively tied to the dock, with watermen able to fish for just one or two days all season,” Harris said in a statement. “These pressures threaten both livelihoods and a major sector of the Eastern Shore economy. For that reason, I am urging NOAA to approve a federal disaster declaration because immediate disaster relief is necessary to help watermen recover from the financial losses caused by this season.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MARYLAND: Maryland oyster season collapse prompts calls for federal disaster aid

February 9, 2026 — Maryland officials are asking for federal help amid what they describe as one of the worst oyster seasons in state history, a collapse they say threatens both watermen and a cornerstone of the Chesapeake Bay economy.

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., this week asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to declare an economic fishery disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Such a designation can unlock emergency federal assistance for fisheries harmed by natural or market conditions.

Eastern Shore lawmakers echoed the comments from Harris, saying a combination of factors — prolonged freezing weather, weak demand and growing competition from out-of-state oysters — devastated the winter harvest. State Sen. Johnny Mautz, R-Middle Shore, said the normal Thanksgiving-to-Christmas peak selling period largely vanished.

“That is prime time oyster sales. This year, it just did not exist,” Mautz said. “There has not been a demand to buy Maryland oysters.”

Read the full article at the Baltimore Sun

Rep. Andy Harris seeks ‘fishery disaster’ to aid Maryland watermen

February 6, 2026 — Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st-Maryland, has sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requesting that the agency declare an economic fishery disaster to provide immediate assistance to Maryland oystermen following this year’s devastating season. The request was made under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which authorizes federal emergency relief for fisheries affected by natural or economic disasters.

Harris sent the letter in response to outreach from members of Maryland’s Eastern Shore delegation requesting federal assistance as local watermen face mounting economic strain driven by severe weather, reduced market access, and increased competition.

“Severe weather this year, combined with shrinking market access and increased competition, left many crews effectively tied to the dock, with watermen able to fish for just one or two days all season,” said Harris. “These pressures threaten both livelihoods and a major sector of the Eastern Shore economy. For that reason, I am urging NOAA to approve a federal disaster declaration because immediate disaster relief is necessary to help watermen recover from the financial losses caused by this season.”

Read the full article at Salisbury Daily Times

Standoff at sea sours fishermen, US Wind relations

November 15, 2021 — After an on-the-water standoff between commercial fisherman Jimmy Hahn and a US Wind survey boat, Rep. Andy Harris met with area fisherman to discuss encroachment into fishing areas.

The closed meeting Wednesday, also attended by state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, R-38-Worcester, included more than 12 fishermen primarily from Ocean City who discussed survey ships damaging potentially lucrative fishing pots in allowed fishing areas.

“On Nov. 1 at approximately 3 p.m., we were on on our way to set more conch pots and I noticed a US Wind survey boat was tearing through my gear,” Hahn said. “I contacted them on a radio channel, as well as our fishing liaison from US Wind, and we had a conversations for 30 minutes and they would not stop going through my gear.”

What followed was Hahn placing his ship between his pots and the much larger boat. Eventually, the survey ship begged off.

Read the full story at the Salisbury Daily Times

Trump visa ban excludes “essential” seafood industry

June 23, 2020 — On Monday, 22 June, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to temporarily suspend foreign seasonal workers from entering the United States. However, the order carves out an exception for workers who provide “services essential” to the country’s food supply chain.

That’s good news for U.S. seafood processors who depend on H-2B visa workers to fill critical jobs during fishing season.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GOP lawmakers urge Trump not to halt H-2B visa workers

May 29, 2020 — Groups of Republicans in both the U.S. House and Senate wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump this week urging his administration to exclude temporary visa programs, such as the H-2B visas, from efforts to curb immigration.

The letters, reported by Law360.com and TheHill.com, come a couple weeks after the Department of Homeland Security announced it would not bump up the total of H-2B visas, which permit nonimmigrant laborers to work in seasonal positions. Seafood processors, along with landscaping companies and seasonal resorts, are the primary industries that use the visa program.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Military’s Issues With Offshore Wind Farms Now Added to U.S. Spending Bills

June 6, 2019 — The U.S. military has been eyeing America’s offshore wind development, concerned about impacts on training and operations, with project-siting issues brewing in some states. The dispute moved to the national stage May 21 when a House of Representatives committee passed federal appropriations bills that would set new curbs on where turbines could go. Industry advocates say they are duplicative impact mandates.

The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to fiscal 2020 spending bills for the U.S. Defense and Interior departments to require more National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study of turbine construction and operations impacts on marine life.

Introduced by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), it also says wind turbines in large arrays may interfere with radar and underwater sonar, and directs DOD to issue a report next year to address possible national security issues.

The amendment comes as Maryland enacted on May 22 a bill to raise its offshore wind commitment by up to 1,200 MW.

“Some in Congress continue to seek to sow conflict between offshore energy development and military operations,” said Randall Luthi, National Ocean Industries Association president. He said developers and DOD have long worked “with NATO allies in the North Sea.”

Read the full story at the Engineering News-Record

U.S. Is Likely to Add About 15,000 Work Visas This Summer

May 11, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expected to make about 15,000 additional H-2B visas available for low-skilled foreign workers this summer, a modest supplement to the popular program, lawmakers and aides familiar with the planning said.

The number of visas available each year is capped by statute at 66,000, evenly divided between the summer and winter seasons. Congress declined to lift that cap during negotiations this spring. It did, however, give the secretary of Homeland Security authority to issue up to 69,000 more this summer if she determines there is sufficient need.

A range of businesses—including fisheries, landscapers and those in summer tourist spots—have been waiting to see if Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will use that authority.

Rep. Andy Harris (R., Md.), who is concerned about the need for visas among Maryland crab processors, said Ms. Nielsen told him to expect about 15,000 additional visas. An aide to another GOP member of Congress said he was told the same.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) said that in her home state, fisheries, which are heavy users of the program, are in desperate need of a decision within a week in order for the companies to have workers in place for the summer fish run.

“We are in a situation where, once again, our processors aren’t able to be on the ready to receive the fish when they hit. We can control lots of things. We cannot control when the fish come,” she said. “We are asking you, urging you, politely and then forcefully, to address this very, very quickly.”

Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal

House Committee Approves Harris Chesapeake Bay Amendment

July 17, 2017 — The following was released by the office of Representative Andy Harris (R-MD)

On July 13, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment introduced by Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018. This amendment prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce the designation of any area of the Chesapeake Bay watershed as a “Critical Habitat” for the Atlantic Sturgeon. Congressman Harris issued the following statement praising the amendment’s passage:

“The Appropriations Committee’s adoption of this amendment is a victory for both the conservation of the Bay and the Eastern Shore’s economy. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) proposal to designate the Chesapeake Bay as a Critical Habitat for the Atlantic Sturgeon was crafted without adequate opportunity for input from the communities surrounding the Chesapeake Bay. Furthermore, NOAA has failed to document sufficient cause for the designation.

Designation of the Bay as a Critical Habitat for the Sturgeon is an unnecessary and burdensome regulation that could lead to restricted use of various regions of the Bay, stifling commercial activity in the Bay and inhibiting oyster restoration and other important conservation activities.”