May 9, 2022 — More than $600,000 will come to New Hampshire to help those impacted by the 2019 Atlantic herring fishery disaster.
A scientific assessment in 2020 found herring were overfished, leading to a disaster declaration by the federal government.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said the funding will help combat economic issues caused by the disaster.
Read the full story and watch the video at WMUR 9
March 9, 2022 — Lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation aimed at establishing a grant program to assist the lobster industry as it upgrades its gear to reduce risk of entanglement with critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The “Stewarding Atlantic Fisheries Ecosystems by Supporting Economic Assistance and Sustainability Act of 2022” was introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to support the transition, which is expected to cost “tens of millions of dollars each year.” The lawmakers secured $10 million in draft appropriations for fiscal year 2022.
“This bipartisan bill helps ensure that lobstermen aren’t put out of business and can afford equipment to reduce mortalities of endangered right whales,” Shaheen said in a statement. “I’ll keep working in Congress to support our fishing industry as we enhance protections for endangered species.”
June 25, 2021 — A new bill backed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) would share the revenue from offshore wind development with coastal states like New Hampshire.
The bill proposes new uses for revenue generated by the sale of leases that allow developers to build wind farms in federal waters.
The federal government has sold hundreds of millions in offshore wind leases. Right now, the money goes back to the U.S. Treasury.
This plan would send half of it to states that are adjacent to approved wind projects. They could use the money for coastal resilience and climate change adaptation projects, fisheries research and conservation work.
Most of the remaining revenue would go to a similar existing grant program for coastal and Great Lakes communities.
April 27, 2021 — Seacoast tourism and business leaders want federal officials to approve more foreign visa workers and economic aid to support what they hope will be a busy summer on the tail end of the pandemic.
They spoke at a roundtable Monday in Hampton Beach with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, was on her first official trip as U.S. Commerce Secretary. She asked what the Seacoast wants out of the latest round of pandemic stimulus money and President Biden’s proposed jobs and infrastructure plan.
New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association CEO Mike Somers said he’s optimistic for any small tourism businesses that made it this far through the pandemic. But he said continued federal support – for visa workers and other aid – will be crucial in the next few months.
To lower emissions and mitigate the warming trend, Raimondo said she’s confident the nation can scale up offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine without hurting the region’s fisheries.
She was asked about it by David Goethel, a Seabrook-based commercial fisherman and member of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a fisheries advocacy group with concerns about wind growth.
Raimondo said she was proud of how Rhode Island worked with its fishing industry to build what’s currently the nation’s only utility-scale wind farm, Block Island Wind.
“They were super anxious, as you are, about what would happen to fish migration patterns when you put the turbines in the middle of the ocean,” she said. “It worked out because we listened to them and we really looked hard at all the data.”
May 8, 2020 — Fishermen and those in the seafood industry in New Hampshire are set to receive $2.7 million in federal assistance but some leaders who have a deep understanding of what is happening on the ocean have questions about how the money will be spent.
On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced that the money will be made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
“New Hampshire fishermen and our seafood industry play an important role in the Seacoast economy and the economic well-being of our state, and they have been hit hard by this crisis,” Shaheen said in a statement.
Shaheen recognized that New Hampshire fishermen were operating on razor-thin margins before COVID-19, which is why she fought for relief for the seafood industry, according to a news release.
In order to qualify, fishermen and processors need to show a 35% loss in business. It will be up to state officials to submit a plan for how the money will be distributed, according to one of Shaheen’s staff members.
January 8, 2020 — In late December, on the doorstep to the Christmas holidays, New England’s groundfishermen received an early present.
As part of a $1.4 trillion spending package, the U.S. Senate passed a $79.4 billion appropriations bill that includes another $10.3 million for NOAA Fisheries — once again secured by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen — to fully fund at-sea monitoring in the Northeast groundfish fishery for the 2020 fishing season that begins May 1.
When President Donald Trump signed the bill into law the next day, the mandated shouldering of the full financial weight of at-sea monitoring by the groundfish industry — at a cost of up to $700 per day per vessel — had been deferred for at least another fishing season.
“This is obviously very good news for our commercial groundfishermen,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “At-sea monitoring has become such a huge financial issue for everyone in the fishery.”
It was the third consecutive year that Shaheen, a ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, bailed out the groundfish industry on at-sea monitoring. Shaheen secured the first $10.3 million in the 2018 appropriations process that fully funded at-sea monitoring during the current fishing season.
January 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:
Calendar year 2020 has begun with some positive news for commercial groundfish fishermen.
Thanks to the hard work of Senator Shaheen and fellow members of Congress, full funding has once again been secured through the FY 2020 federal appropriations legislation to cover at-sea monitoring (ASM) expenses for commercial groundfish fishermen!
Even better, for the first time, this legislation includes specific directives for NOAA Fisheries to improve the quality and utility of ASM and other fishery dependent data for the purpose of improving groundfish stock abundance estimates, along with the necessary funding to support implementation of these directives.
It has become clear that the future of the groundfish fishery depends on improving the apparent limitations of current stock assessments given their disconnect with the observations of fishermen on the water. It is likewise clear that until an understanding of true stock abundance is achieved, the groundfish fishery will not be sustainable under the financial burden of ASM expenses.
Consequently, securing this funding and these Congressional directives has been among the top priorities of the Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC), and so we are profoundly grateful to Senator Shaheen for her effective leadership and enduring commitment to our fishery.
Our work is not over. Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation also directs NOAA to submit to her Committee a ‘spend plan’ for these funds. It is critical that NOAA Fisheries strictly adheres to the intent and directives of Congress and does not seek to misuse these funds to pursue their own objectives. NSC will be watching this closely.
Finally, it is critical that NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council understand that there is absolutely nothing in Senator Shaheen’s appropriations legislation suggesting that it was intended to support any specific measures to revise the monitoring program as are being contemplated within ongoing development of Amendment 23. NSC will be vigorous in objecting to any misrepresentations of Congressional intent in this regard.
For additional information contact Jackie Odell, Executive Director, Northeast Seafood Coalition, Cell (978) 836-7999, jackie@northeastseafoodcoalition.org
August 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA announced on Tuesday that they will fund 100% of New England At-Sea Monitoring costs for 2018, as part of an additional $10.3 million added to the budget by New England congressmen, including NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
In addition, they will provide an additional 25% subsidy for 2017 costs, based on the money they saved from Carlos Rafael’s fleets not fishing. Since there was less need for monitoring, the overall program cost was lower.
The cost to vessels for an at-sea monitor is about $710 per day. This can have a significant impact on the profitability of smaller trips.
In 2016, NOAA supported 80% of this cost. In 2017 that dropped to 60%, with NOAA making the argument that the costs eventually had to be fully paid by fishermen. However, with the additional funds from 2017, the subsidies for that year will now be 85%.
For 2018 NOAA will cover 100% of the costs.
Part of the additional money will be used to further develop electronic monitoring and less costly systems.
“This is very welcome money and good news all the way around,” Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition told the Gloucester Times. “It’s a lot for groundfishermen to pay for, especially as quotas decline and they lose access to key stocks.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen said “Our state’s commercial fishing industry is operating on razor-thin margins and urgently needs relief from these burdensome fees, which is why I’m thrilled that funding is now available to cover the costs of at-sea monitoring.”
“Relieving our fishermen of these fees has been a top priority for me since NOAA unfairly shifted the responsibility for at-sea monitoring costs on to the backs of our fishermen. The commercial fishing industry plays a role in New Hampshire’s economy, history and culture, so ensuring its longevity will always be important to me. Negotiating this federal funding was one of my top priorities in the government spending bill.”
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
August 3, 2018 — President Donald Trump on Thursday jumped into the farm bill debate once again — on Twitter, of course — in an effort to tip the scales toward House Republicans ahead of conference negotiations.
“When the House and Senate meet on the very important Farm Bill – we love our farmers – hopefully they will be able to leave the WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD STAMPS PROVISION that the House approved,” the president wrote on Thursday afternoon.
The U.S. seafood industry is starting an education campaign to convince Trump and other policymakers that American workers would be hurt, not helped, by his proposed new tariffs on China. The National Fisheries Institute, which represents the seafood industry, has rebranded its AboutSeafood.com website to tell the stories of American seafood workers threatened both by the proposed tariffs, as well as the retaliatory tariffs that China has already imposed in response to U.S. duties on more than $34 billion worth of Chinese goods.
“To understand the negative impact these tariffs will have on American workers, you have to go see them, you have to talk to them, you have to hear their concerns,” National Fisheries Institute President John Connelly said in a statement. “We’re bringing those stories to policymakers so they understand; this is not a theoretical, economic chess game. These tariffs have the potential to do a lot of harm to the seafood community and that community’s jobs are right here in the U.S.”
Political opposition: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) both raised concerns about the impact of China’s retaliatory duties on their states’ lobster exports during a hearing last week with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Their complaints were echoed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who told Lighthizer China’s actions have “clearly rattled my state.” The increased duty affects about 40 percent of the state’s salmon exports and 54 percent of its cod exports that went there last year, she said.
August 3, 2018 — As President Donald Trump prepares to continue ratcheting up tariffs, the duties he has already imposed on $34 billion worth of goods from China and around $50 billion worth of steel and aluminum exports from around the world are causing pain across the United States.
That’s already prompted Trump to promise $12 billion in assistance to help farmers who have been hit with retaliatory duties on their exports to China, the European Union and other key markets. The aid package has been popular with voters, particularly in rural areas, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. But the same poll also showed that most voters in farm states prefer free trade and better access to markets over subsidies.
Moonlight Meadery, a small business based in Londonderry, N.H., “had a deal effectively killed by the retaliatory tariffs on American wine,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said. “This is a deal that would have doubled their output. For a small business that meant a lot. But what’s happened, they’ve had to lay off employees and they’ve also been hit by the increased cost of aluminum because of the tariffs on steel and aluminum.”
A New Hampshire business, Little Bay Lobster Company, that previously sold 50,000 pounds of lobster to China each week “can no longer find a buyer,” Shaheen added. After the Trump administration slapped a 25 percent duty on $34 billion worth of Chinese exports, China retaliated with a 25 percent tariff that priced New Hampshire lobsters out of the market, Shaheen said.
China’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. seafood has “clearly rattled my state,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said. The increased duty affects about 40 percent of the state’s salmon exports and 54 percent of its cod exports that went to China last year, she said.
“So this is, this is very, very significant to us. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what this means, not only to our fishermen but to the processors, the logistics industry, all aspects of the seafood supply chain,” Murkowski said.
In addition, Trump’s threat to impose a 10 percent duty on another $200 billion of Chinese exports could boomerang back on Alaska.
“Many of our fish and shellfish that are harvested in the state are then processed in China before re-importing back to the United States for domestic distribution. So in many ways, [Trump’s additional proposed tariffs would impose] a 10 percent tax on our own seafood, which is just a tough one to reconcile,” Murkowski said.