Saving Seafood

As some in Congress question CARES Act allocations, lawmakers begin effort to secure more aid

May 8, 2020 — On Thursday, 7 May, the Trump administration finally rolled out its plan for allocating the USD 300 million (EUR 276.6 million) in fishery relief aid earmarked in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Reaction on Capitol Hill was nearly unanimous – more money will be needed, according to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The U.S. Commerce Department awarded a third of the funding to two states, Alaska and Washington. Both states received USD 50 million (EUR 46.1 million) in aid. While Alaska is by far the leading seafood-producing state, producing 5.4 billion pounds of seafood worth USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) in 2019, some questioned the method by which the allocation was determined.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Louisiana seafood industry to receive $14.8 million in aid

May 8, 2020 — One Louisiana congressman says Louisiana has been shortchanged.

Louisiana fishermen and others in the industry will receive $14.8 million in federal aid to address economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said Louisiana’s share is far too small, adding that only 4.9 percent of the available money was provided to Louisiana despite being one of the top fisheries states in the nation.

“Washington State is receiving $50 million compared to Louisiana’s $14.7 million when we have a 50 percent greater value to our fisheries landings,” Graves said. “Florida receives $23 million, even though Louisiana brings in 50 percent greater value. Oregon receives over $15 million and California $18 million when we have more than double their fisheries by value and triple by poundage. They must be counting aquarium fish. You really can’t compete, unless you are cheating.”

He said he has asked the House Natural Resources Committee to request an investigation into the allocations.

Read the full story at Houma Today

Senators Markey and Warren, and Reps. Moulton and Keating React to $28 Million in Fisheries Disaster Aid for Massachusetts

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.):

Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced its plan for distributing $300 million of fisheries disaster funds appropriated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. NOAA announced that each fishing state, territory, and tribe would receive a maximum allocation of $50 million and a minimum allocation of $1 million. Massachusetts received $28 million, the third-highest award. In 2018, $647.2 million of seafood was landed in Massachusetts, the second-highest amount of seafood landed in any state. For 19 consecutive years, New Bedford has been the highest grossing port in the country. Massachusetts is second to only California with more than 87,000 jobs in the commercial fishing and processing industry and 10,000 jobs in the recreational fishing industry

“The $28 million in aid for Massachusetts should only be the beginning. With Massachusetts’s position as home to the highest grossing port in the country, additional aid will be needed to address and match the critical role the Commonwealth plays in our fishing economy,” said Senator Markey. “While the amount allocated for Massachusetts is lower than anticipated and requires explanation, it will help out struggling fishermen who are suffering during the pandemic. I will continue to fight for more support for this historic and robust industry in upcoming coronavirus relief packages.”
 
“Massachusetts fishermen were struggling long before the pandemic hit, and this much-needed relief is an important first step toward keeping our fishermen and their families afloat as they confront this crisis and grapple with the economic slowdown it has brought to the fishing community,” said Senator Warren. “This allocation will be helpful to our fishermen during this difficult time, and I’ll keep fighting alongside my delegation partners to support the fishing and seafood industry.”
 
“Like all small businesses, the men and women of the Commonwealth’s fishing industry have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rep. Keating. “This disaster assistance will begin to assist the industry as they recover from the effects of the pandemic, and I will continue to fight in the House as we look to further aid the fishing industry and the thousands of Massachusetts families it supports in the coming months.”  
 
“Fishermen are hurting. Things were already tough because of the trade war and they got a lot tougher when restaurants closed because of the pandemic,” said Rep. Moulton. “Government’s strength is measured by the ability to serve the people it represents. I hope this brings some peace of mind to the state’s fishermen.”
 
The Massachusetts lawmakers, led by Senator Markey, have championed the swift, equitable, and transparent allocation of financial aid to fishery participants and secured a $20 million USDA procurement of Atlantic seafood. On April 29, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter demanding immediate release of federal guidance on how fishery participants can access this $300 million in CARES Act funds, and identifying bureaucratic inefficiencies that were behind the failure to issue this guidance in a timely manner. On April 2, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter urging the Department of Commerce and NOAA to act swiftly, equitably, and transparently in allocating fisheries disaster assistance funding. On March 23, Senators Markey and Warren, and Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan called on Senate leadership to include support for the fishing industry in coronavirus economic relief packages. Also on March 23, Rep. McGovern led Chairman Richard Neal (MA-01), James P. McGovern (MA-02), and Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) in calling on House leadership to include fishing disaster assistance in relief packages.

JOE GROGAN & PETER NAVARRO: Trump Lifts the Net off American Fishing

May 8, 2020 — With the global food supply chain under stress, President Trump’s executive order Thursday will help reduce pain in the grocery checkout line—and also strengthen U.S. food production against foreign competition.

The order creates an administrative trade task force to find new markets for American seafood products and identify unfair trade barriers. It also supports industry research, removes unnecessary regulations on commercial fishermen, and streamlines the aquaculture permitting process.

These reforms will allow producers to make better use of the country’s ample resources. The U.S. has one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones, a vast area of ocean in which we have sovereign rights over natural resources. But more than 85% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. U.S. fish farms produce only $1.5 billion a year, compared with $140 billion in China. Much foreign seafood comes from fish farms in countries that often fail to meet international standards on health, labor and the environment. Many of China’s catfish and tilapia swim in shallow pens with low oxygen levels, polluted by their own waste along with improperly used antibiotics and fungicides. Farmed fish in South America routinely suffer from infectious anemia, algae blooms and sea lice due to poor biosecurity protocols.

The Trump administration wants to protect American consumers from those unhealthy practices, and American aquaculture is the gold standard. Consider the sleek, silvery and delicious Kanpachi—raised in the deep blue waters off Hawaii’s Big Island, inside high-tech submerged pens developed through American innovation. Hawaii’s cutting-edge ocean farms are subject to the highest environmental standards: The fish are raised in pens with healthy oxygen levels and fed sustainable feed. If American aquaculture is allowed to grow to its full potential, it can help revive domestic fish processing, halting the long-running trend of plants moving to China.

President Trump’s executive order creates a task force to enact policies that encourage fair and reciprocal trade for America’s seafood industry, and strengthens enforcement of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The order affirms that the U.S. will continue to hold imported seafood to the same food-safety requirements as domestic products. And it removes many burdensome regulations on commercial fishermen.

Read the full opinion at The Wall Street Journal

President Donald J. Trump Is Working to Secure America’s Seafood Supply Chain and Bring Jobs Home

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by The White House:

SECURING OUR SEAFOOD SUPPLY CHAIN: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to secure our Nation’s food supply chain by supporting American seafood production.

  • Today, President Trump is signing an Executive Order to increase America’s competitiveness in the seafood industry and protect our seafood supply chain.
  • This order will instruct agencies to expand sustainable seafood production in the United States, including:
    • Furthering more efficient and predictable aquaculture permitting processes;
    • Accelerating regulatory reform to maximize commercial fishing; and
    • Upholding common-sense restrictions on seafood imports that do not meet American standards.
  • The President’s order will help solidify our Nation’s food security, protect American jobs in the seafood industry, and create new jobs in the United States.
  • President Trump is also announcing the availability of $300 million to support fishermen and related businesses hurt by the coronavirus.
EXPANDING AMERICA’S SEAFOOD INDUSTRY: President Trump’s action will expand America’s ability to fully utilize our vast ocean resources.
  • It is critical that America take steps to strengthen our seafood supply chain and bring our Nation’s seafood supply chain back home.
  • While America has among the most extensive ocean resources in the world, our Nation ranks 17th in aquaculture production and imports roughly 85% of the seafood consumed domestically.
    • China’s aquaculture industry is producing 100 times more seafood by weight than the United States aquaculture industry.
  • Burdensome over-regulations and red tape on the aquaculture industry are stifling innovation and production.
  • Under current regulations, small aquaculture facilities are forced to navigate an unnecessarily complex permitting process involving multiple Federal agencies.
PROTECTING AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY: This action builds on President Trump’s commitment to ensure that Americans have a sound and plentiful food supply chain.
  • President Trump has taken action again and again to support America’s farmers, ranchers, and food suppliers.
  • The President has worked tirelessly to expand markets for American agricultural goods through enacting fair and reciprocal trade deals like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and implementing tough tariffs.
    • The President has authorized billions in support to help farmers and ranchers affected by retaliatory tariffs.
  • President Trump has fought for our farmers at the World Trade Organization, winning multiple disputes.

NEW YORK: Where is money for Long Island’s fishing industry?

May 8, 2020 — Containing more than $2 trillion in stimulus spending, the CARES Act seemingly had something for everybody reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. That includes the nation’s fishermen, many of whom call Long Island their home. CARES contains $300 million to compensate both those who live off the sales of their catches and those whose boats are chartered by recreational anglers.

Boats that docked in Montauk alone in 2018 nabbed 12 million pounds of fish and cleared $18 million for the catch.

But for six weeks, none of the appropriated $300 million had been divvied up or released, and Rep. Lee Zeldin was badgering Congress and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for details on how it would be divided and paid out.  Then, Thursday afternoon, information began to trickle out. The money is reportedly being allotted based on past-year revenues of each state’s fishing industries, so much of it went to big fishing states. Sen. Susan Collins tweeted that Maine, for instance, got about $20 million.

Read the full story at Newsday

Public hearings on at-sea monitors move online

May 8, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled two more webinar public hearings on its draft groundfish monitoring amendment and extended the public comment deadline to the end of June.

The council, which voted in April to postpone final action on draft Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, has set the webinar public hearings for May 12 and May 21.

Both are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and individuals may register through a link on the council’s website.

The council also said it plans to hold additional public hearings beyond those scheduled for May, with details to follow. The date for final action has not been determined.

“We’ve updated the public hearings document and the presentation,” said Janice Plante, council spokeswoman. “The executive committee also will meet at some point and talk about the next step.”

The executive committee is scheduled to meet in early June, but Plante said that wouldn’t preclude it from earlier discussions on the future path for Amendment 23 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Rep. Huffman Celebrates Long Awaited Allocation of CARES Act Relief for Fishing Industry

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Today, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million of congressionally directed CARES Act funding for fisheries assistance to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. Of this funding, $18.3 million is being awarded to California fishery participants and $5 million to Federally Recognized West Coast Tribes.

In April, Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), Chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, led a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging immediate distribution of this CARES Act funding to fishing-related businesses, Tribes, and communities whose livelihoods have been threatened by the pandemic and economic crisis. The CARES Act was signed into law in March.
 
“The fishing and seafood industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Fisheries are a critical part of state and regional economies across the U.S., providing food for the nation and supporting a way of life for countless tribal communities,” said Rep. Huffman. “I’m glad to see that this funding has finally left the Commerce Department, but the work isn’t done yet. This money needs to quickly be delivered to all those whose businesses and jobs have been disrupted, and we need to see more support for the fishing and seafood sectors in the next congressional response. In my role as Subcommittee chair, I am committed to tracking the federal response and making sure this urgently needed relief gets to those who need it.”
 
NOAA Fisheries will award these allocated amounts to the interstate marine fisheries commissions, including the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to disburse funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19. Fishery participants eligible for funding—including Tribes, commercial fishing businesses, charter/for-hire fishing businesses, qualified aquaculture operations, processors, and other fishery-related businesses—should work with their state marine fisheries management agencies, territories, or Tribe to understand the process for applying for these funds.
 
More information on this funding can be found here.

Fisheries Survival Fund Applauds White House for Executive Order Supporting Domestic Seafood

May 8, 2020 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:

Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at promoting domestic seafood production and the U.S. seafood industry amid the current COVID-19 crisis. The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) is grateful to the Administration for its support of our nation’s fishing communities, and looks forward to working with the Administration in lifting unnecessary burdens to American fishermen.

“We appreciate that the President recognizes how important the seafood industry is in supplying our nation with essential products, especially during the current crisis,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund. “These measures will go a long way to ensure that our industry is able to meet the country’s needs, and will be able to recover once the crisis is over.”

One of the key measures in the order is to sustainably increase domestic seafood production through regulatory reform. FSF has long supported efforts to revise and streamline unnecessary regulations, an effort that is more important now than ever. FSF looks forward to working with NOAA and the Department of Commerce on implementing this directive, especially in opening up fishing grounds on the northern edge of Georges Bank. These grounds have been closed for nearly 30 years, at the cost of billions of dollars in lost revenue. The closures have long been unnecessary for the conservation of the species in the area, making them a prime candidate for reform under this order.

FSF also urges the Administration to reconsider current policies in place for offshore wind development, specifically the policy of accepting unsolicited bids for wind farms. This policy is poorly thought out, and is an unnecessary threat to the seafood industry. Eliminating it and similar policies will help meet the Administration’s goal of promoting local seafood and securing our food supply chain.

 

Walmart, Major Retailers Call for Governments to Ensure Sustainably Produced Tuna during COVID-19

May 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and more than 50 retailers, brands, and seafood companies,* including Walmart, Publix, Nestle, Carrefour, and Tesco, today called on the United States, European Union, and approximately 45 governments to implement electronic monitoring in tuna fisheries to protect workers and ensure fishing continues to be sustainable.

“We are key stakeholders in these fisheries and strongly wish to see the environmental impact of these fisheries managed in a manner consistent with our procurement specifications for sustainable sourcing,” the companies wrote.

In a letter issued today, the companies urged the governments to move rapidly and urgently through the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to make electronic monitoring an accepted alternative to human observer coverage in tuna fisheries. This technology already exists, but the governments and RFMOs have been slow to adopt its use.

In April, at-sea observer programs in tuna fisheries were suspended by the RFMOs, the international governmental bodies responsible for their management, due to COVID-19. Observers document activities and collect data essential to conservation.

The companies also called for greater transparency to advance the fully effective implementation of electronic monitoring on all fleets and regular review of the COVID-19 situation and risks of restoring human at-sea observers at the earliest safe and practical date.

*Afritex Ventures Limited, Aldi North, Aldi South, Asda, Beaver Street Fisheries, BirdLife International, Carrefour France, Congalsa, Culinary Collaborations LLC, D&E Import LLC, Direct Ocean, Earthworm, Euclid Fish Company, Fish Is Life, Fishwise, Fortune Fish Co., Frinsa, Giant Eagle, IncredibleFish, Inland Seafoods, Ipswich Shellfish Group, Jealsa/We Sea, Maguro Foods, Mercadona, Metro France, Morrisons, Nestle, New England Seafood International, North Atlantic Inc., Profand, Publix, Rema Foods, Sainsburys, Santa Monica Seafood, Sea Delight, Seacore Seafood Inc., Seafood Imports, Sea Pact, Seattle Fish Co., Stavis Seafoods, Sysco France, Tesco, The Fishin Co., True Worlds Food, True Worlds Group, TUPA, Walmart