June 18, 2024 — U.S. fishing groups are praising federal lawmakers for incorporating significant fisheries support into a U.S. Farm Bill framework recently released by Senate Republicans.
The Farm Bill is the main piece of legislation governing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and fishing industry groups have been working to use the forthcoming renewal of the law as an opportunity to raise the profile of seafood within the department.
May 14, 2024 — A special legislative panel is to make recommendations about state policies to rescue Alaska’s seafood industry, a major pillar of the economy that is mired in crisis, under a bill that won final passage over the weekend.
The measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 10, would establish an eight-member seafood industry task force, with four state senators and four state House members and with the Senate president as chair.
The House passed it nearly unanimously on Saturday. The Senate, which originally passed it on April 19, on Sunday gave unanimous approval to changes made in the House.
The task force, to present recommendations to the Legislature by Jan. 21, 2025, is charged with finding some kind of response to the “unprecedented economic implosion of our industry,” Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, one of the sponsors, said in floor comments on April 19.
November 3, 2023 — The U.S. Senate passed a package of appropriations bills in late October that included funding for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The legislation includes key provisions for the domestic seafood industry and brings Congress one step closer to providing funding for fiscal-year 2024 and avoiding a government shutdown. Congress agreed to a last-minute deal in September to avert a partial shutdown, but that agreement expires 17 November.
February 8, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — As news of a Wednesday night Senate agreement on the federal budget bill that included millions for disaster aid filtered out, many fishermen and processors on the West Coast wondered whether fisheries aid was included.
The short answer: Yes, according to Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Executive Director Noah Oppenheim.
“We called on Congress to step up and provide fishery disaster assistance, and today they delivered. West Coast fishermen express their heartfelt gratitude to key senators and members of congress who fought hard for their constituents,” Oppenheim said in a statement. “Fishery disasters don’t flood cities or burn down houses, but they do devastate coastal communities and threaten the fishing way of life. These fishery disaster appropriations will go a long way towards beginning the healing process for hundreds of working fishing families on the West Coast.”
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October 20, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation:
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, will convene the hearing titled “Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: Fisheries Science,” at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24, 2017. The hearing is the fourth of the series and will focus on the state of our nation’s fisheries and the science that supports sustainable management.
Witnesses:
– Mr. Karl Haflinger, Founder and President, Sea State, Inc
– Dr. Ray Hilborn, Professor, University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
– Dr. Michael Jones, Professor, Michigan State University Quantitative Fisheries Center
– Dr. Larry McKinney, Director, Texas A&M University Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
Hearing Details:
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
2:30 p.m.
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard
This hearing will take place in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.
Editor’s Note: Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein addressed Senator Ayotte’s press release by stating that “Cause of Action, on behalf of the fishermen we are representing in this matter, applaud Senator Ayotte, and thank her for her support. We appreciate any help we can get on educating the public about this unlawful regulation that would devastate the fishing industry and would put good, hard-working people out of work.”
WASHINGTON — December 10, 2015 — The following was released by the office of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.):
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today expressed support for New Hampshire fishermen who filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the legality of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) at-sea monitoring program:
“I support New Hampshire fishermen in their fight against NOAA’s at-sea monitoring fees. I continue to believe that NOAA should fully fund the at-sea monitoring program and Senator Shaheen and I have also called for a full investigation of the program. Going forward, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure the survival of New Hampshire’s historic and iconic commercial fishing industry.”
In September, Ayotte introduced legislation to terminate NOAA’s independent third-party at-sea monitoring program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery unless NOAA fully funds the program using funds within its existing budget. She also sent a letter, together with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), to the Department of Commerce Acting Inspector General David Smith calling for a full investigation into NOAA’s at-sea monitoring program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire’s coastal region.
Also in September, Ayotte hosted a roundtable discussion with NOAA officials, New Hampshire fishermen, and business leaders at the Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth. She invited NOAA officials to New Hampshire to hear directly from fishermen and business leaders about concerns with fishing regulations, federal catch-share limits, NOAA’s process for determining fish stocks, the imposition of fees for “at-sea monitors” on commercial fishing vessels, and NOAA’s implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Ayotte is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard.
Read the original release from the office of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
July 29, 2015 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced a bipartisan bill to enhance ocean monitoring, research and forecasting. The Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act (S. 1886) would create a national ocean acidification monitoring strategy to prioritize investments in ocean acidification sensors to areas that need it most. The bipartisan bill also directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation to make investments in adaptation and mitigation research so we understand how to make our coastal economies more resilient to the threat of ocean acidification.
“Ocean acidification will have a vast impact on commercial and environmental conditions across the nation – and currently threatens jobs in Washington State. Shellfish in the Pacific Northwest have already been negatively affected, but we don’t know yet what this means for salmon populations and larger coastal ecosystems,” said Cantwell. “This bill ensures that NOAA is making the appropriate investments in research, and monitoring the ongoing impact of this threat to our coastal economies.”
Ocean acidification results from changing ocean chemistry when seawater absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and it is already negatively impacting coastal economies in Washington state. A recent study in Nature Climate Change identifies communities at significant risk for sustained economic losses resulting from ocean acidification’s impact on shellfish fisheries. Communities at the highest risk were found in these 15 states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Maine, Florida, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Maryland, and Texas. A July 2014 report published in Progress in Oceanography identified seafood jobs across Alaska that could be impacted by ocean acidification, such as king crab and salmon.
The Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act would require NOAA to build upon these models and conduct a nationwide economic vulnerability assessment to determine the impact ocean acidification would have on our economy, and our coastal ecosystems. The bill would also require NOAA to develop a strategy for the deployment of new ocean acidification sensors — based on the economic vulnerability assessment. Access to real-time ocean acidification data has been critical for shellfish farmers in Washington state. Enhanced data collection structures included in this legislation is critical for scientists to close knowledge gaps, and help us understand how ocean acidification could impact our fisheries and ecosystems.
In 2010, Cantwell secured funding to acquire and deploy ocean acidification sensors near major shellfish hatcheries in Washington state. Today, these sensors have been integrated into NOAA’s national ocean observing program—the IOOS program. These sensors allow shellfish growers to monitor ocean acidity in real-time and close off their shellfish rearing tanks when ocean acidity is too high. Cantwell also has previously highlighted why additional research is needed to understand ocean acidification’s potential damage to critical salmon food sources – including small crustaceans.
Cantwell’s bill also would expand the installation of high frequency radar stations, which are part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) network. Last year, Cantwell toured the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Port Angeles, where she learned how the Coast Guard uses high-frequency radar to assist in finding missing or distressed boaters in the mid-Atlantic. Washington state has the largest high-frequency radar gap on the West Coast – with nearly 80 percent of the state’s coastline lacking high-frequency radar coverage. High-frequency radar also can be used to map oil spills and to monitor harmful algae blooms and track water quality.
Cantwell’s bill would also improve coordination between ocean science and monitoring and the National Weather Service, which is vital in the Pacific Northwest where nearly all of our storms originate offshore. Lastly, the bill authorizes a program to measure and share marine sound. Monitoring sound in the marine environment is important so we can understand the impacts on Southern resident orcas and other key species.