Saving Seafood

CONGRESSMEN JONES & YOUNG FILE BILL TO PREVENT MARINE MONUMENT DESIGNATIONS WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – September 23, 2015 – The following was released by the Office of Congressman Walter Jones:

Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-North Carolina) and Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) have cosponsored H.R. 330, the Marine Access and State Transparency (MAST) Act.  The bill would prevent President Barack Obama, or any future president, from unilaterally designating offshore areas as “national monuments” and restricting the public’s ability to fish there.  Instead, the bill would require a president to get the approval of Congress and the legislature of each state within 100 nautical miles of the monument before any “monument” designation could take effect.

The bill comes in response to increasing speculation that President Obama may follow the example of his predecessor George W. Bush and unilaterally designate large swaths of coastal America as “national monuments.”  In 2006, President Bush short circuited the established process of public consultation and input and unilaterally designated 84 million acres off the coast of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The new monument, which is larger than 46 of America’s 50 states, was then closed to fishing.    

“Presidents from both parties have abused their monument designation authority for far too long,” said Congressman Jones.  “No president should be allowed to just lock up millions of acres of fishing grounds by fiat, with no public input whatsoever.  Frankly, it’s un-American, and it must be stopped.  I am proud to be the first member of Congress to join my friend Don Young in fighting for this legislation, and I urge the rest of my colleagues to get behind it.” 

For additional information, please contact Maria Jeffrey in Congressman Jones’ office at (202) 225-3415 or at maria.jeffrey@mail.house.gov.

Read the release from Congressman Jones online

Baker and Mass. congressional delegation urge federal officials to pay for ground fishing observers

August 19, 2015 — In an effort to reduce the financial burdens on the region’s struggling fishermen, Governor Charlie Baker and the state’s congressional delegation urged federal officials this week to pay for a controversial program that requires observers to monitor fishermen who catch cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling fish.

In a letter sent to the secretary of the US Department of Commerce, which oversees the nation’s fishing industry, Baker and the delegation expressed “serious concern” about a decision this year by the National Marine Fisheries Service to require the region’s fishermen to pay for the observer program.

Fishermen insist they can’t afford to pay for the observers, especially after major cuts to their quotas. The Fisheries Service estimates that it costs $710 a day every time an observer accompanies a fisherman to sea, and the agency’s research has suggested that requiring fishermen to cover those costs would cause about 60 percent of their boats to operate at a loss.

“To shift the cost of this ineffective program onto the fishery just as the industry begins to rebuild is not only imprudent, but irresponsible,” Baker and the delegation wrote. “This equates to an unfunded mandate that could lead to the end of the Northeast Groundfish Fishery as we know it.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

 

Rep. Clawson introduces lionfish legislation in Congress

August 5, 2015 — Curt Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, has introduced a bill that would ban importing all 11 lionfish species, including the nine that have not been found in U.S. waters.

The bill would not interfere with the selling of fish fillets, which encourages to help eliminate the fish in Florida waters.

The bill was introduced last week.

Lionfish are an invasive species and can consume up to 40 juvenile sports fish per day, lay up to 2 million eggs per year and has no natural predators in the Western Hemisphere.

Read the full story at News-Press.com

 

FLORIDA: Struggle continues over Biscayne National Park marine reserve

August 3, 2015 — Lloyd Miller, a 95-year-old Florida conservationist, waited patiently through the testimony of nine people at a hearing about a marine reserve zone in Biscayne National Park before he rose to his feet with the help of a cane to address three members of Congress Monday morning.

“If anyone should be able to speak at something like this, it’s me,” said Miller, who advocated for the creation of Biscayne National Monument in 1968, a precursor to today’s nearly 174,000 acre-national park. “It’s so important for us to save it.”

Miller was one of about 150 people who came to a joint congressional hearing in Homestead of the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Small Business Committee to discuss a controversial portion of the National Park Service’s general management planfinalized in June — a 10,500 acre “no fishing” reserve. The joint hearing was requested by Republican U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Curbelo and included invitation-only witnesses, many saying the National Park Service’s data was outdated and that the fish population in Biscayne National Park isn’t endangered enough to warrant a reserve.

“I don’t think the fishing and the resources are as bad off as they’re making it,” said Jimbo Thomas, owner of charter fishing business Thomas Flyer. “I’d rather see the state put in rules, regulations, seasons, size limits — let them do the work.”

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

 

Proposed Legislation in Congress Would Block Planned Fishing Ban in Florida

August 3, 2015 — On Monday, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Small Business held a congressional hearing in Homestead.

The subject of the hearing was a proposed bill that would allow state fishery managers to block fishing bans in state waters within national parks.

The bill’s relevance to South Florida is that it would shut down an attempt to create a marine reserve zone blocking commercial and recreational fishing in a portion of Biscayne National Park.

The hearing was standing-room only, and supporters representing both sides of the bill brought their passionate arguments to the Homestead community center.

Read the full story at WLRN Miami

Fishermen, environmentalists battle over red snapper

July 25, 2015 — WASHINGTON — Red snapper has become the focus of the battle between fisherman and environmentalists, and the catalyst for members of Congress, who represent Gulf Coast states, to push legislation that would allow for longer seasons and larger limits.

The fish has become the symbol of recreational fishers’ frustration with federal management.

Anglers say they are now seeing an abundance of the early maturing reef fish that can live to the age of 57.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., introduced a bill Thursday that would transfer management of the red snapper fishery from the federal government to five Gulf states out to nine miles from shore. Currently, state management ends at 3 miles offshore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. (Texas and Florida state waters extend to 9 miles already).

“When I was growing up, we could fish snapper year round; this year’s recreational season was just 10 days,” Graves said. “Our state-based approach will eliminate failed federal fish management that saw only one weekend of red snapper fishing in federal waters, while preventing overfishing.”

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, Ala., has included similar language in an appropriations bill heading to the floor.

In many ways, the battle over red snapper is emblematic of the conflict over the nation’s fishing laws. Lawmakers are caught between environmentalists and the fishermen back home.

Read the full story at The Montgomery Advertiser 

 

House passes bill to combat foreign illegal fishing

July 27, 2015 –WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman David Jolly, R-Indian Shores, July 27 to fight the problem of illegal fishing from foreign vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 774) passed the House by voice vote.

“Illegal fishing from foreign vessels is a direct threat to the livelihood of thousands of hardworking Americans along the Gulf coast as well as the quality of life throughout our Bay area communities. This bill will strengthen enforcement mechanisms against those who illegally fish our waters and will protect this important resource for our recreational, commercial, and charter boat fisherman,” Jolly said.

Read the full story at Tampa Bay Newspapers

 

Bill Allowing Killing of Sea Lions Moving Ahead in Congress

July 27, 2015 — A bill that would allow the killing of sea lions along the Columbia River because they’re eating all the fish is moving ahead in Congress. It’s sponsored by Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera-Butler, who testified yesterday before a House Natural Resources subcommittee.

This Spring around 24-hundred barking sea lions were counted in and around Astoria, shattering the previous years record by nearly a thousand.

Read the full story at KGMI Radio

Congress probing California oil spill that blackened beaches

June 25, 2015 — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A congressional committee Thursday opened a probe into an oil pipeline rupture on the Central California coast that spread to the Pacific Ocean and washed up goo on beaches as far as 100 miles away.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee asked operator Plains All American Pipeline for detailed information on maintenance of the failed line, including how it addressed corrosion, and inspection records for five years.

The panel also wants the company to explain what it did in the hours leading up to the break near Santa Barbara, and how it reported the problem. The spill was estimated at up to 101,000 gallons.

The Texas-based company has faced criticism for how long it took to relay information to the federal government on the break, even though its internal planning documents repeatedly stress the importance of notifying the government of a leak as quickly as possible.

In a letter to Plains CEO Greg Armstrong, the committee said it wanted to understand the circumstances leading up to the break, as well as what steps the company had taken to maintain the integrity of the line.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Earlier this month, the agency released preliminary findings that said the break occurred along a badly corroded section that had worn away to a fraction of an inch in thickness. An estimated 21,000 gallons entered the ocean.

In a separate letter Thursday, the committee asked the pipeline administration for an update of what it called long overdue pipeline safety rules.

Read the full story at U.S. News & World Report

 

Lawmakers seeking $65 million to clean up Long Island Sound

June 22, 2015 — Conn. — With new legislation proposed to protect and restore the waters of the Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York lawmakers are hoping to reverse the effects of decades of over-development and pollution.

The Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act would combine two water quality and shore restoration programs to be funded at, respectively, $40 million and $25 million per year through 2020. It was introduced by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on Monday.

Co-sponsoring the bill are Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Connecticut Democrats, who called the Sound the “most valuable natural resource” of the region.

The Sound brings in billions yearly from sport and commercial fishing, boating, recreation and tourism.

Read the full story at CT Post