Saving Seafood

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

Petition, gathering kick off new push for US federal aquaculture bills

February 19, 2019 — Another push for passage of a new US federal aquaculture law is in full swing with a petition to Congress signed by 122 professionals mostly from aquaculture or other seafood-related industries.

An informational gathering on Capitol Hill has been scheduled for lawmakers and their staff early next month.

Both the US Senate and House of Representatives’ versions of the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act that were introduced during the 115th Congress expired in December along with the session, but Margaret Henderson, campaign director for the Stronger American Through Seafood (SATS), told Undercurrent News Friday that she believes new bills will be introduced in both chambers within the next two months.

Senators Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and representatives Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, and Steve Palazzo, another Mississippi Republican, all of whom championed the earlier bills, are back, and support is already being built.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Aquaculture supporters send letter to Congress

February 7, 2019 — More than 120 seafood industry leaders and other aquaculture proponents have signed on to a letter that was sent to members of Congress on Wednesday, 6 February, urging federal lawmakers to open up opportunities for offshore fish farming.

The letter, sent to legislators by Stronger America Through Seafood, said House and Senate members plan to reintroduce updated versions of the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act. The bills would streamline the permitting process for aquaculture initiatives based in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“It is time for the U.S. to get into the aquaculture game and provide new local sources of sustainable seafood for consumers,” the letter said. “We can do it here, we can do it right and we can do it [now].”

The letter also said the country risks missing out on getting a piece of the growing aquaculture industry, which researchers believe will continue to grow. According to Beyhan de Jong, a Rabobank researcher, the industry produced USD 232 billion (EUR 204.8 billion) in goods in 2016. It stands to grow by another USD 100 billion (EUR 88.3 billion) in less than a decade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Recreational fishing rules to be overhauled under new law

January 14, 2019 — The rules that govern recreational marine fishing in the U.S. will get an overhaul due to a new law passed by Congress, and the country’s millions of anglers and the groups that stake their livelihoods on them hope the changes will bring better management.

The new standards are part of a suite of changes that proponents call the Modern Fish Act that were approved by the House and Senate in December. Supporters of the new rules have said they will boost an industry that contributes billions to the economy, though some members of the fishing industry felt deeper rule changes were warranted.

The passage is a “big step toward implementing science-based methods” and “marks the first substantial update to the federal fisheries management system in more than a decade,” said Nicole Vasilaros, senior vice president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a boating industry trade group.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

Trump signs recreational fishery bill into law

January 4, 2019 — The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act is now officially a law.

The White House announced on Monday, 31 December, that President Trump signed U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s bill, which the Mississippi Republican has said would improve conservation efforts and also help communities that rely on recreational fishing for their economies.

In a statement, Trump said the act strengthens regional fishery management councils. Namely, it requires the Government Accountability Office to review how councils presiding over the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic fishery regions allocate quotas in areas where both anglers and commercial fishermen have access.

The new law also urges councils to consider using alternative means for evaluating recreational fishery catch limits. Rather than using tonnage, councils could now use fishing mortality targets or extraction rates. The law also requires the National Academy of Sciences to review limited access privilege programs to make sure they treat recreational fishing interests fairly.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Senate unanimously passes “compromise” recreational fishing bill

December 18, 2018 — The U.S. Senate on Monday, 17 December, unanimously passed a bill that would urge regional management councils to revise policies and take into account the needs of anglers in mixed-use fisheries.

The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act, proposed by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), would require the Government Accountability Office to review how the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic management councils allocate catch limits in fisheries shared by commercial and recreational fishermen. It also would encourage the two councils to find alternative methods for managing recreational fisheries.

“I appreciate the hard work of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this bill passed, but there is still more work to be done,” Wicker said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing our efforts to modernize federal fishing policies on the Gulf Coast and to support our fishermen.”

Monday’s vote comes after Wicker and members of the sportfishing industry stepped up their efforts to get the bill passed before the 115th Congress’ term ends. Wicker filed the bill in July 2017, and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee advanced the bill in June.

However, the bill coming out of the committee met with serious resistance from commercial interest groups, who feared the bill would be detrimental to their industry. The Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance as recently as last month said it opposed the bill as written.

Greg DiDomenico, executive director of the Garden State Seafood Association, lamented that the time and energy directed toward Wicker’s bill in the Senate could have been better used for discussing a Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization. If Wicker’s bill becomes law, the best outcome might be that the pubic gets a truer sense of the impact the recreational industry has on Southeastern fisheries.

“This does not get us the real reform that both industries need,” DiDomenico told SeafoodSource.

The push to revise recreational management policies comes on the heels of the federal government relaxing some regulations in the Gulf. Earlier this year, Gulf states started a two-year pilot to manage the red snapper recreational fishery in federal waters.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

US commercial fishermen take their aquaculture concerns to Capitol Hill

December 14, 2018 — Commercial fishermen and their supporters let Congress know where they stand on a bill that would grant NOAA Fisheries the ability to regulate aquaculture operations in federal waters.

The letter, signed by 100 fishermen and supporters and sent to elected officials last week, claims each fish farm in the exclusive enterprise zone would restrict access to “hundreds of acres of marine space” to commercial fishermen. They also believe fish farms would produce lower-cost and lower-quality fish, which they believe would deter consumers from paying more for wild fish. Further, the letter raises concerns about the impact that farmed fish escapes and pollution stemming from fish feed and antibiotics might have on fishing stocks.

“Simply put, industrial seafood farms threaten the integrity of the wild fish populations that are key to our industry’s success, and the coastal communities we support,” the letter states.

In July, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) filed the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act to give NOAA Fisheries power to permit aquaculture activities within the country’s exclusive enterprise zone. In September, U.S. Reps. Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) introduced a companion bill in the House.

Read the full story at Seafood Source