Saving Seafood

Floating fish farms in Gulf of Mexico could get green light with Congressional bill

September 30, 2020 — A new bill in Congress would open the Gulf of Mexico and other federal waters to offshore fish farming, a controversial idea backed by President Donald Trump’s administration but opposed by environmental groups and elements of the seafood industry that depend on wild fisheries.

Introduced Thursday and sponsored by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act aims to accomplish what a recent federal court decision said was impossible unless Congress intervened.

Last month, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocked federal rules that would have allowed offshore fish farming for the first time in the Gulf, considered potentially a prime area for raising high-value fish in large floating pens. The court said federal regulators lack the authority to “create an entire industry” not mentioned in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries since 1976.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Senate bill would establish U.S. offshore aquaculture rules

September 28, 2020 — A bill newly introduced in the Senate would establish a federal regulatory system for offshore aquaculture, opening a pathway to large-scale fishing farming in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

Sponsored by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), bill S-4723 would clear the way for the Department of Commerce in its drive to create new aquaculture zones – an effort so far stymied by the federal courts.

In an Aug. 3 decision, the Fifth Court of Appeals upheld a 2018 lower court ruling that the Department of Commerce and NMFS lack legal authority to issue permits for aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.

In its 2-1 decision, the appeals panel found in favor of critics who argued the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management grants the agency no power to permit fish farming in federal waters.

“If anyone is to expand the 40-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Act to reach aquaculture for the first time, it must be Congress,” according to the court’s opinion.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Wicker and Palazzo announce $21.3M Fishery Disaster Relief Fund for Mississippi

May 19, 2020 — U.S. Senator Roger Wicker and Rep. Steven Palazzo announced the allocation of $21,311,804 in federal fishery disaster relief funds to Mississippi. The U.S. Department of Commerce aid is being distributed in response to a prolonged period of freshwater inundation into the Gulf of Mexico that devastated Gulf Coast fisheries last year. The funds will be distributed by the state to cover losses by fishermen, aquaculture businesses, and seafood processors.

“These funds are welcome news for the many fishermen who suffered through last year’s unprecedented opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway, but our state deserves a long-term solution to disasters like these. I am working to reform the disaster relief process so that funds can be distributed quickly and directly to the people who need them most. I am also pushing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternatives to opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway so that we can minimize the risk of these disasters in the future,” said Wicker.

“These funds will begin supporting the ongoing recovery efforts from the devastation caused by the extended opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway last year. While we appreciate this assistance in our recovery, we must reform the way federal fisheries disasters are evaluated and approved,” said Palazzo. “As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I remain committed to allocating resources that will help restore our way of life in south Mississippi.”

Read the full story at WJTV

Rep. Huffman, Rep. Palazzo Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Federal Fisheries Disaster Relief Program

January 8, 2020 — The following was released by The Offices of Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) & Representative Steven Palazzo (R-MS):

Yesterday, Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Steven Palazzo (R-MS) introduced the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act (Fishery FUNDD Act), which will improve the federal fishery disaster process and ensure more timely disaster relief for impacted communities. Rep. Kilmer (D-WA) and Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA) are original cosponsors. Senator Roger Wicker introduced similar legislation, which was approved by the Senate Commerce committee in late 2019.

 The Fishery FUNDD Act would set a timeline for the federal government to respond to a fishery disaster request, and set a timeline for disbursal of appropriated funds following a disaster. It will also clarify the disaster request process, including by allowing direct payments to be made to affected members of fishing communities as an eligible use of relief funds. Rep. Huffman, the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, is a long-time champion for improving federal fishing policy and providing relief for fishing communities affected by natural disasters and other fishery closures.

“Across the country, fishermen, tribes, and coastal communities depend on productive fisheries. However, far too many suffer while waiting for federal relief after unexpected disasters. On the North Coast of California, we’ve seen how ocean heat waves, domoic acid blooms, and drought have led to devastating consequences for our most important fisheries. As climate change impacts increase, it is more important than ever that we make sure fishing communities are as resilient as possible,” said Rep. Huffman. “That means ensuring the federal disaster relief process is implemented efficiently, and making sure funds are provided in a timely manner to those impacted by a fishery disaster. This bill will help make federal agencies more responsive to communities who have suffered a fishery disaster, while we continue to work in Congress to deliver the needed funds.”

“The Mississippi Gulf Coast has experienced significant seafood and marine life loss from the Bonnet Carré Spillway releasing an unprecedented amount of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound,” said Rep. Palazzo. “While Mississippi’s federal fisheries disaster declaration was approved within several months, this is unfortunately not the case for other communities around the nation. The Fishery FUNDD Act will streamline what has been a years-long process into a transparent system that will provide disaster relief to fishermen who have experienced harsh conditions out of their control.”

“In Washington, our coastal fisheries are an essential part of our local economies. In recent years, multiple disasters on our coasts have wreaked havoc on our fisheries and on the finances of the people who rely on them to make a living,” said Rep. Kilmer. “This bipartisan bill will expand eligibility for disaster funds so charter boat operators, processors, and other fishing related businesses that are impacted can get access to these critical relief and recovery funds. Importantly, because delays can damage communities, this bill will also increase accountability, ensuring that when the federal government commits to helping in the wake of disaster, our tribal, commercial, and recreational fishing communities see these relief and recovery funds on time and in full.”

“The failure of a fishing season is devastating to fishermen and their communities, but in recent years, the poor performance of our fishery disaster assistance program has itself become a disaster,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “Fishery disasters impact port communities, but they also harm the broader economy and limit Americans’ access to domestic seafood. This important bill will enhance our commercial fishing safety net, ensuring that fishery disaster assistance reaches communities in need in weeks instead of years.”

This bill is the most recent step in Rep. Huffman’s career-long push to deliver federal disaster relief funds to fishing communities, including leading the effort to secure $29.65 million in federal assistance to North Coast fishing communities that suffered economic impacts due to disasters dating back to 2015.

Under current law, fishing communities can receive federal financial assistance when fish populations decline, during closed seasons, or if other disruptions cause economic losses. However, the disaster relief process has received criticism for being slow to respond to disaster requests and to allocate funds. The Fishery FUNDD Act clarifies the process and implements timelines for faster delivery of disaster relief to impacted communities.

Specifically, the bill:

  • Maintains the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to determine fishery disasters;
  • Specifies required information for disaster requests, guidelines for evaluation of requests, and required information for spend plans;
  • Specifies criteria for determinations based on revenue loss and includes consideration of impacts on charter fishing and subsistence uses;
  • Sets a 120-day timeline for the Secretary to evaluate a request, either upon receipt or immediately after the close of the fishery season, and sets a 90-day timeline for disbursal of appropriated funds after completed spend plans are submitted;
  • Specifies the eligible uses of fishery disaster relief funds, including direct payments to affected members of the fishing community, habitat restoration and conservation, management improvements, job training, public information campaigns, and preventative measures for future disasters, and would prioritize hiring fishermen displaced by the fishery disaster for this work;
  • Requires the Department of Commerce to make a request in its annual budget for outstanding, unfunded fishery disasters and requires a GAO report on how fishery managers are preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change, a major factor in recent fishery disasters; and,
  • Consolidates the legal framework for the federal fishery disaster declaration process under the Magnuson Stevens Act
  • Authorizes appropriations as necessary, including supplemental appropriations.

The text of the legislation, numbered H.R. 5548, may be found here.

US defense bill addresses IUU fishing domestically and abroad

December 17, 2019 — The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the U.S. military for the 2020 fiscal year, includes provisions to combat illicit fishing and increase transparency in the seafood industry.

The bill’s fate had been in jeopardy because of questions over whether it would curtail President Donald Trump’s authority to spend defense money on the proposed border wall. Congressional negotiators kicked those negotiations down the road, and on Wednesday, 11 December, the House overwhelmingly passed the bill; bipartisan approval is expected to push it through the Senate, too.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Bill to streamline fishery disaster process clears Senate committee

November 15, 2019 — A U.S. Senate committee earlier this week passed a bill that would make changes to how NOAA Fisheries disaster relief program is managed.

On Wednesday, 13 November, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee passed S. 2346, the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act. The bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), the committee’s chairman, calls for the disaster declaration to be streamlined by requiring the U.S. Commerce Secretary to evaluate a disaster request within 120 days.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Wicker aims to bolster U.S. seafood production

October 21, 2019 — U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said he intends to reintroduce a bill that would improve domestic seafood production.

“America imports over 90 percent of the seafood we consume. Simply put, there is not enough fresh, healthy, and local seafood produced in the United States to meet consumer demand,” Sen. Wicker said in his opening statement to the committee during an Oct. 16 hearing on the state of the nation’s offshore aquaculture industry.

Sen. Wicker said he will reintroduce the bipartisan, bicameral Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act, which would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to streamline the federal permitting process for aquaculture.

During the 115th Congress, Sen. Wicker sponsored S. 3138 to direct the U.S. Commerce Department to establish an Office of Marine Aquaculture within the NOAA to coordinate regulatory, scientific, outreach, and international issues related to aquaculture.

Read the full story at The Ripon Advance

MISSISSIPPI: ROGER WICKER: Disaster relief secured to help restore Gulf Coast

October 1, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Roger Wicker (R-MI):

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently sent welcome news to Mississippi’s fishing communities. The declaration of a federal fisheries disaster for our state at the end of September will open up relief for those affected by the ongoing crisis on the Gulf Coast.

After historic rainfall and the unprecedented 123-day opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway earlier this year, fresh water streamed into the Gulf, devastating the local ecosystem, causing massive losses of marine wildlife, and shutting down fishing operations and other businesses.

I have worked on behalf of Mississippians on this issue for months, and in June, Congressman Steven Palazzo and I wrote in support of Governor Phil Bryant’s request for a disaster declaration. All six senators from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama joined together in July to send a letter urging Secretary Ross to help restore the Gulf Coast.

This declaration’s urgency is apparent to anyone who has been paying attention. I have seen firsthand how the introduction of fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico has hurt our state’s signature seafood industry. Between 89 and 100 percent of oysters on harvest reefs have died, shrimp landings are down by 50 percent, and harmful algae have closed entire beachfronts, leaving hotels and restaurants vacant at the height of tourist season.

Read the full release at the Daily Journal

Wicker, Hyde-Smith, & Palazzo Commend Federal Fishery Disaster Declaration for Mississippi

September 26, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Roger Wicker (R-MI):

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Representative Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., today commended U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for approving a federal fishery disaster declaration for Mississippi. The legislators had previously urged Secretary Ross to approve Governor Phil Bryant’s request for federal assistance in June.

Wicker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, made the announcement at today’s full committee hearing on the federal fishery disaster declaration and relief process.

“I supported Governor Bryant’s request for a fishery disaster declaration, and I have been working with NOAA to make sure Mississippi gets the relief it needs,” Wicker said. “Last night, I received the good news from the Secretary of Commerce that he is officially declaring a fishery disaster for Mississippi. This is a needed development for Mississippi fishing communities affected by recent disasters, but problems remain with the fisheries declaration process. Our fishermen deserve more timely consideration and relief.”

Wicker’s committee is considering reforms to federal law that would provide fishermen with disaster relief more quickly. Wicker outlined several of these proposals in legislation he introduced in July.

Hyde-Smith, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in May worked to secure $150 million in an emergency relief bill for the Department of Commerce to mitigate designated fishery disasters, and wrote Ross in June to encourage him to utilize that funding for Mississippi’s coastal communities. In July, Hyde-Smith and Senator John Kennedy, R-La., introduced legislation to create a disaster assistance program for commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.

“Recovering from the damage caused to the Mississippi Sound this year will take time, but we’re fortunate that funding is already in place to implement disaster assistance. The Commerce Department should use those funds to help us overcome the significant economic hardships experienced by Mississippi’s boating, tourism, fisheries, shrimp, and oyster industries,” said Hyde-Smith.

Read the full release here

Sen. Wicker’s bipartisan bill protects national security by fighting illegal fishing

May 7, 2019 — U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) last week introduced a bipartisan bill to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that threatens the national security of the United States.

Sen. Wicker on May 1 sponsored the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act, S. 1269, with U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), which also would prevent the illegal trade of seafood and seafood products, among other purposes, according to the congressional record.

“The Maritime SAFE Act would give federal agencies greater tools to protect maritime security, lawful fishing and the global seafood supply chain,” Sen. Wicker said on Wednesday.

Sen. Wicker pointed out that bad actors involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing also have been known to conduct other illicit activities, including weapons, drugs and human trafficking.

“We cannot let illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing jeopardize the livelihoods of America’s honest fishermen or fund other criminal activities,” said Sen. Wicker, who serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

Read the full story at The Ripon Advance