Saving Seafood

Markey and Warren Seek $500M in Additional Fisheries Aid

June 8, 2020 — U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren on Friday called on U.S. Senate leadership to include $500 million in additional fisheries assistance in the next coronavirus recovery package.

In their June 5 letter, the senators said $28 million in fisheries assistance already allocated to Massachusetts should be supplemented as the pandemic continues to affect demand through the summer month’s peak harvests.

“Compared to the previous five-year average, in March and April of this year, Massachusetts bivalve shellfish landings lost 60 percent of their value, lobster landings lost 40 percent of their value, recreational head boats have been completely shut down, and seafood processors have lost their usual restaurant market,” the letter stated.

In Massachusetts, four sectors – commercial fishing, aquaculture, seafood processing, and for-hire recreational fishing – expect pandemic-related losses of 35 percent, leading to approximately $500 million in lost revenue over the year, the letter said.

“The $28 million in CARES Act fisheries assistance allocated to Massachusetts is not sufficient to help the four fisheries sectors survive revenue losses beyond April, and the pandemic is far from over,” the two wrote.

Read the full story at WBSM

USDA Agrees to Buy $20M in Atlantic Seafood Under CARES Act

May 6, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week decided to include Atlantic seafood in certain government food assistance purchases, and now federal coronavirus funding will support USDA purchases from the East Coast commercial fisheries.

The Agricultural Marketing Service announced yesterday that it will purchase $20 million in Atlantic haddock, pollock, and redfish under the USDA Section 32 program.

It’s good news for a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation said today. U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton have been pushing the USDA for weeks to include the fisheries in agricultural purchasing funded by the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The Massachusetts lawmakers wrote to the USDA in April and May to urge the inclusion of domestic and East Coast seafood companies in the $9.5 billion awarded by the CARES Act to help affected agricultural producers, and today they sent a celebratory press release.

Read the full story at WBSM

USDA to spend USD 70 million in COVID-19 relief funds on domestic seafood

May 5, 2020 — The U.S Department of Agriculture announced on Monday, 4 May, it had purchased USD 470 million (EUR 433.4 million) worth of agricultural products as part of its COVID-19 response, with nearly 15 percent of that spent on seafood products.

According to a USDA release, the USD 70 million (EUR 64.6 million) in seafood, along with the remaining agricultural goods, will go to the department’s Section 32 program, which purchases surpluses and directs their use in children’s nutrition and disaster relief programs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Senators Markey and Warren, and Reps. Moulton and Keating Secure Historic USDA Procurement of East Coast Seafood with Coronavirus Recovery Funding

May 5, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.):

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Congressmen William Keating (MA-09) and Seth Moulton (MA-06) applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement to include Atlantic seafood in additional Section 32 food purchases made available in part by the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The USDA Section 32 program has historically overlooked East Coast seafood. However, the Agricultural Marketing Service announced yesterday that it will purchase $20,000,000 in Atlantic Haddock, Pollock, and Redfish. These purchases will help East Coast seafood producers that have been devastated by the ongoing effects of the pandemic. The Massachusetts lawmakers have championed the federal government taking this step, writing to the USDA in April and May to urge the inclusion of domestic and East Coast seafood companies in the deployment of the $9.5 billion awarded by the CARES Act for affected agricultural producers.

“Atlantic seafood and our seafood industry have long been overlooked by USDA purchasing and they are finally get the attention and resources they need through these food purchases,” said Senator Markey. “Our fishermen are suffering during this pandemic and these purchases will help them stay afloat.”
 
“I’m glad the USDA will be providing this much-needed relief to Massachusetts fishermen, who were already struggling before this pandemic hit,” said Senator Warren. “The fishing and seafood industry are a key part of the Commonwealth’s history, economy, and future, and we must support our fishing community during this difficult time.”
 
“I am pleased to see that the USDA has finally recognized the important role that North Atlantic seafood plays in maintaining the nation’s food supply,” said Rep. Keating. “These purchases will not only help to support our fishing industry during these trying times, but will also provide highly nutritious, sustainable food for families in need across the nation.”
 
“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 its ability to serve the people it represents. I hope this brings new business and peace of mind to America’s fishermen.”

Massachusetts congressional delegation urges feds to include seafood in food aid purchases

May 4, 2020 — Members of the all-Democratic Massachusetts congressional delegation are pushing to include East Coast seafood in purchasing agreements funded by the federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton said in a letter Friday to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that when the U.S. Department of Agriculture begins its purchasing programs intended to assist those the pandemic has affected, the USDA should include domestic seafood.

Purdue in April announced that the USDA would be making about $19 billion in purchases through the coronavirus assistance program, the lawmakers said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News

Senators Markey and Warren, and Reps. Moulton and Keating Urge USDA to Include East Coast Seafood in Purchase Agreements Established with Coronavirus Recovery Funding

May 1, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Edward Markey (D-MA):

Today, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Congressmen William Keating (MA-09) and Seth Moulton (MA-06) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include East Coast seafood in purchasing agreements funded by the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and the Section 32 program. On April 17, 2020, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the USDA would be making $19 billion of purchases through the CFAP, $873.3 million in agricultural purchases for food banks through the Section 32 program, and $1.5 billion for food bank administrative costs and purchases. USDA announced that the CFAP would support farmers and ranchers, and maintain the integrity of the food supply chain, but did not clarify whether seafood would be included in these purchases. USDA has included seafood in past procurement programs, and the lawmakers urge it to do so again in its response to the coronavirus crisis. In their letter, the Massachusetts lawmakers ask if there are additional USDA programs that will buy seafood products to provide assistance to producers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and whether the USDA is currently in conversations with seafood producers from the East Coast to purchase seafood. East Coast seafood producers have been devastated by the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

“When USDA begins its purchasing programs intended to assist those whom the pandemic has affected, USDA should include domestic seafood,” write the lawmakers in their letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “East Coast seafood producers can offer a wide variety of seafood that currently does not have a market, and which should be included in purchases made for this program.”
 
A copy of the letter can be found HERE. 
 
On April 3, the lawmakers wrote a letter urging the inclusion of domestic and East Coast seafood companies in the deployment of the $9.5 billion awarded by the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for affected agricultural producers.

Elizabeth Warren demands government sort out $300 million aid package for fisheries

April 30, 2020 — US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey on Wednesday joined a growing chorus of voices calling “for the immediate release of federal guidance” for how fishery participants can access $300 million (€276.6 million) in emergency funds promised through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES).

In their letter to US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Massachusetts lawmakers, both Democrats, stated “bureaucratic inefficiencies” are behind the failure to distribute the funds.

“The Commerce Department needs to issue guidance as soon as possible so that fisheries aid can reach those who desperately need it,” the letter reads.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Massachusetts lawmakers call on government to help New England fisheries during COVID-19 crisis

April 6, 2020 — Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give New England fisheries a needed boost as they battle through the COVID-19 outbreak.

U.S. senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. representatives William Keating and Seth Moulton, on 2 April sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking him to use part of the USD 9.5 billion (EUR 8.8 billion) earmarked for agricultural producers – from the USD 2.2 trillion (EUR 2.0 trillion) CARES Act Congress passed in late March – to help seafood processors and other companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Massachusetts senator talks $300m seafood relief in COVID-19 call with industry

April 1, 2020 — US senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and one of the handful of lawmakers responsible for getting $300 million worth of assistance for the seafood industry in the recently passed $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, talked to dozens of fishing industry leaders, state legislators and mayors on Saturday about the state of the crisis, the Cape Cod (Massachusetts) Times reports.

He warned them that it was going to get worse.

“These numbers are mounting, the number of cases, and it could go on potentially for a sustained period of time,” Markey said. He described the relief package as a life raft and said Congress was “fully prepared to come back as many times as it takes to make sure we keep all industries afloat in this health care crisis.”

The fishing industry responded that the $300m won’t be enough.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Markey: Aid for fishermen only the beginning

March 30, 2020 — Sen. Edward Markey warned members of the fishing community Saturday that the country was just at the beginning of the coronavirus health crisis.

“These numbers are mounting, the number of cases, and it could go on potentially for a sustained period of time,” Markey said to dozens of fishing industry leaders, state legislators and mayors on a weekend conference call.

“Three hundred million is a great start, but it’s hard to imagine it will go very far,” said Jeffrey Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries of Cape May, New Jersey, of the $300 million economic aid package to the fisheries, contained in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus economic stimulus bill signed Friday by President Donald Trump.

Markey said the relief package was a life raft to get them through the immediate crisis period. Congress, he said, was “fully prepared to come back as many times as it takes to make sure we keep all industries afloat in this health care crisis.”

Markey was critical of the Trump administration’s handling of the crisis and how it was affecting businesses such as the $1 billion New England fishing industry. The shortage of virus test kits, and the delay invoking wartime powers to push industries to convert to producing needed supplies such as masks and ventilators, meant they were on uncertain ground in telling them how long it might take to get back to work.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times