Saving Seafood

Gina Raimondo confirmed as US Commerce Department secretary

March 4, 2021 — By an 84-15 vote on the afternoon of Tuesday, 2 March, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as the next U.S. secretary of Commerce. In that position, Raimondo will be the top official in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to oversee the federal government’s policies concerning the fishing industry.

Raimondo was nominated for the position on 7 January and testified before the Senate on 27 January. She was sworn into her new position in the evening of Wednesday, 3 March.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden’s Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, Confirmed By Senate

March 2, 2021 — The Senate confirmed Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo on Tuesday as the next secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department.

With a 84-15 confirmation vote that was delayed by a procedural move in February by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Raimondo is set to lead one of the federal government’s most eclectic departments, which includes the Census Bureau, close to two months after President Biden announced the Democratic governor’s nomination.

As secretary, Raimondo is set to take on a portfolio of agencies that also includes the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Raimondo, the first woman to lead Rhode Island, is cutting short her second term as governor of the country’s smallest state to join the Biden administration.

During the confirmation process, Raimondo emphasized the need for the department to address how the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the economy and underscored structural inequities facing people of color and families with lower incomes.

Read the full story at NPR

New rules to limit New England herring fishing to start

February 10, 2021 — New restrictions that will limit commercial herring fishing off New England take effect on Wednesday.

Atlantic herring are the source of a major East Coast fishery. They’re used as food and bait. Concerns about the size of the population motivated federal regulators to craft new rules about herring fishing.

The rules prohibit certain kinds of fishing in inshore federal waters from the border of the U.S. and Canada to the border of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The rules state they are designed to bring sustainability to the species.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Milford Mirror

US Senate committee backs Raimondo for commerce secretary

February 4, 2021 — Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is one step away from Washington, D.C.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted 21-3 Wednesday to advance to the full Senate Raimondo’s nomination to be President Biden’s secretary of commerce. The hearing lasted just 15 minutes, and the overwhelming support is a sign that she is likely to be confirmed.

“I think it’s very important that we have someone at the department of commerce who is from the private sector, and we’re blessed with Governor Raimondo’s being both in the public sector and the private sector,” Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington said prior to the vote.

Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Rick Scott of Florida, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee voted against Raimondo.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

RHODE ISLAND: Fishermen, developers reach impasse over offshore wind farm

February 3, 2021 — Members of the state Fishermen’s Advisory Board say they’ve hit an impasse in negotiations with Orsted and Eversource over compensation for the impact of the proposed South Fork Wind Farm.

The 130-megawatt project would be built in Rhode Island Sound and supply power to Long Island, the Providence Journal reported.

Lanny Dellinger, chairman of the board, declined to go into detail on the offer from Ørsted and Eversource. The board advises the Coastal Resources Management Council on offshore wind development.

Read the full story at the Caledonian Record

US Commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo discusses fishing industry concerns at Senate confirmation hearing

January 27, 2021 — Testifying on Tuesday, 26 January, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo pledged to use science and data to help move the seafood industry forward if she becomes the country’s next secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

With senators from several major fishing states represented on the panel, Raimondo got plenty of time to discuss her views on the commercial fishing industry during the hearing, which lasted over two-and-a-half hours. She noted seafood is a key industry in her home state of Rhode Island.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden’s Commerce Pick Vows to Combat China and Climate Change

January 26, 2021 — Gina M. Raimondo, President Biden’s nominee to be the next commerce secretary, told lawmakers on Tuesday that she planned to help American communities bounce back from coronavirus, aggressively enforce trade rules to combat unfair Chinese practices and leverage the government’s power to mitigate climate change if confirmed.

Ms. Raimondo, the current governor of Rhode Island and a former venture capitalist, tried to reassure members of the Senate Commerce Committee that she would work with them on priorities like protecting American fisheries, expanding broadband access and promoting American research into cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and advanced communications.

“In this time of overlapping crises, the Commerce Department must be a partner to businesses and workers to help them innovate and grow,” Ms. Raimondo said.

Read the full story at The New York Times

RHODE ISLAND: As Commerce Secretary, Raimondo to play key role in offshore wind

January 19, 2021 — In the selection of Gina Raimondo as the next U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the offshore wind industry would get a champion in Washington.

What influence she could bring to bear for the emerging energy sector remains to be seen, but if confirmed to her new position in the Biden cabinet, Raimondo would oversee federal fisheries regulators who have raised some of the concerns about potential negative impacts of erecting what could be many hundreds of wind turbines in the ocean waters off southern New England.

It’s those concerns that have played a major role in delaying the approval process for the first set of large wind farms proposed in the nation.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an arm of the Department of the Interior, has permitting authority over the multibillion-dollar projects, which are all planned for the Atlantic Ocean waters off Rhode Island and Massachusetts. But both federal fisheries management and coastal zone management are under the aegis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the Department of Commerce.

“I think it’s fantastic to have someone that does have experience with offshore wind and knows the extent of the conflicts,” said Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a group representing fishing interests in the development of offshore wind. “She understands coastal communities and their concerns. I think there is a real opportunity here.”

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Commercial fishing stakeholders optimistic about Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary

January 8, 2021 — Gina Raimondo received praise from fishing industry stakeholders on Thursday, 7 January, after reports broke that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden would choose her as his Commerce secretary.

National Fisheries Institute President John Connelly called Raimondo, who is currently the governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, an innovator capable of balancing the needs of conservation and commerce.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NFI Statement on the Selection of Gov. Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce

January 8, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Gov. Gina Raimondo is an innovator who understands the vital balance between resource management and the needs of the business community. We are encouraged that President-elect Biden has chosen a policy maker from a coastal state, who knows the importance of harvesting and the full seafood supply chain, for this leadership position.

We look forward to working with her to ensure the continued sustainability of America’s fisheries and the entire seafood value chain.