Saving Seafood

The Catch Share Reform Coalition goes to Congress

February 8, 2023 — Reacting to Will Sennott’s July 2022 ProPublica story about a European family owning a large chunk of New England groundfish quota, a consortium of fishermen and others from around the country have landed in Washington D.C. and will be meeting with the members of House and Senate Committees to advocate for more fishermen-friendly systems.

From Feb. 6-9 the Catch Share Reform Coalition will be raising awareness in Congress of the failures of Catch Shares and other Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) management schemes.

Consortium members cited Larry Marino, a representative of Louisiana’s Attorney General Office, as a high-profile critic of catch shares. Marino spoke at a recent meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council of the need to reform catch share programs.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Threat of rail strike recedes as US Congress intervenes

December 3, 2022 — The U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House in voting to intervene to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers.

The Senate bill, which passed 80-15, was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on 2 December. Food industry and retail groups had urged Congress to pass the resolution to avert the strike, which was estimated to potentially cost the American economy up to USD 2 billion (EUR 1.9 billion) a day.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fishing advocates seek new federal funding for offshore wind studies

June 22, 2022 — A nationwide coalition of U.S. commercial fishing groups is asking Congress for nearly USD 74 million (EUR 69 million) in federal spending to survey and plan for how offshore wind energy development may change marine environments and fishing communities.

An accelerated drive to develop ocean wind power in the U.S. has so far led to 28 wind lease areas in federal waters, two projects now underway off southern New England, and nearly 55 million acres on all coasts in consideration for possible development.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

US House pays tribute to Don Young by passing salmon task force bill

April 28, 2022 — The U.S. House of Representatives honored the late Don Young on Tuesday, 26 April, by passing legislation the longtime Alaska Republican congressman sponsored.

Young first won the state’s only House seat in 1973. He was the “Dean of the House,” a term given to the longest-tenured member in Congress. He died at age 88 on 18 March while traveling back to the state from Washington, D.C.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Congress Urged to Fund National Seafood Marketing Campaign

April 6, 2022 — Legislators on Capitol Hill are being urged by those in the Massachusetts seafood industry to fund a nationwide marketing campaign showcasing seafood.

In a letter to the delegation in Congress representing the Bay State, members of major players in the seafood industry such as Gorton’s and North Coast Seafoods called for funding to boost a multi-year marketing effort.

The signatories said that campaign would improve public health, boost the regional economy, and aid a vital part of the workforce within Massachusetts–especially in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Stronger America Through Seafood sends letter to Congress in support of AQUAA Act

February 14, 2022 — Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) has sent a letter signed by more than 65 supporters of aquaculture – including leaders in the U.S. seafood harvesting, production, and retail sectors – to Congress, requesting support for aquaculture expansion in the U.S.

The letter, sent on Monday, 14 February to both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, calls for support for the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act,” or “AQUAA Act.” An updated version of the AQUAA Act was recently introduced by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Marco Rubio (R-Florida); and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Steve Palazzo (R-Mississippi).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

How a continuing resolution will Impact the next generation of commercial fishermen

February 11, 2022 — The commercial fishing industry is facing unprecedented challenges with a graying of the fleet and very few young fishermen joining our industry. In our coastal communities, the average age of a fisherman has increased significantly and the number of “greenhorns,” or beginning fishermen, has continued to decline. Inaction by Congress may make the situation worse.

Despite a deep fishing heritage, coastal and fishing communities across the country are experiencing a generational shift. As current fishermen look to retire, we see fewer younger fishermen stepping up and continuing our fishing tradition as captains and crew. The future of our industry, coastal communities, and access to sustainable, domestic seafood depends on our ability to recruit and train new fishermen. We are already seeing the landscape change as imported seafood becomes more common in our markets. The shortage of young fishermen will only exacerbate this problem and lead to fewer sustainable, domestically harvested seafood options for our fellow Americans.

It is critical that we work to solve this issue at all levels of government. Last year, Congress passed the Young Fishermen’s Development Act to support training for the next generation of commercial fishermen. This new program is modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program and is aimed at training and equipping the next generation of commercial fishermen with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the fishing industry. This program will help encourage recruits in the commercial fishing industry by providing funding for states and organizations across the country to develop programs that create hands-on training opportunities for men and women interested in commercial fishing.

Read the full op-ed at The Hill

US fishing vessels now have permanent waiver from incidental discharge rule

December 10, 2018 — When U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act into law last week, it finally – and permanently – relieved the fishing industry from Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding incidental discharge on their boats.

The regulation required vessel operators to get EPA permits to perform routine actions, such as using pumped ocean water to clean off the deck after harvesting. It stemmed from a 2005 federal court ruling, and the Southern Shrimp Alliance said the system was a hindrance to more than 80,000 commercial fishing boats.

“This permit requirement should never have existed,” said John Williams, SSA’s executive director. “It was lawsuit driven by environmental groups in a California court a long time ago. SSA has been working ever since with Congress and other fishing groups across the nation to put a temporary stop to it. I have to say, after working to prevent this disaster for more than a decade, it feels pretty good to finally put this one to bed, permanently.”

Read the full article at Seafood Source