Saving Seafood

Sens. Blumenthal and Portman ask president to expand seafood traceability rule

May 17, 2016 — U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH), co-chairs of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, sent a letter to the president today asking that he expand a proposed rule on seafood traceability.

“We welcome the Administration’s proposed rule on seafood traceability as a further step in combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud,” the Senators wrote. “However, we remain concerned that the steps outlined will not adequately address these problems and do little to confront human trafficking within the seafood supply chain.”

The letter urged the Administration to ensure the final version of the rule enhances enforcement requirements on the high seas to prevent human trafficking on vessels, expands seafood traceability to all species, and strengthens tracking requirements beyond the first point of entry into U.S. commerce.

“As a world leader, the U.S. must do all within its power to provide adequate safeguards against illegal and exploitative seafood supply chains,” the Senators concluded.

Read the full letter here

 

Long Island Sound is a fight worth the engagement

May 4, 2016 — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has launched a dramatic — if quixotic — drive in Congress for an $860 million-a-year program to protect Long Island Sound.

May his effort be successful. But even in pushing the issue into the news, Murphy does a service in keeping awareness of the Sound’s fragility in the public conversation.

The Sound, as noted here often, is a multi-million dollar economic asset and a major component in the state’s quality of life. It is never to be underestimated as an economic driver.

A Hearst Connecticut Media investigation last year of federal Environmental Protection Agency documents uncovered unsettling data on the threat to marine life from pollutants that continue to flow into the Sound.

Read the full story at Greenwich Time

CONNECTICUT: Murphy secures more federal funds for Milford fisheries lab

April 22, 2016 — MILFORD, Conn. — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said that a subcommittee’s appropriations bill approved Thursday includes more than $20 million in federal funds for Long Island Sound programs, and $200 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has a research lab in Milford.

Murphy is a member of the appropriations subcommittee of the U.S. Senate committee on Commerce, Science, Justice, and Related Agencies. The funding, in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, “would support critical aquaculture research and improve regulatory permitting that supports over 700 local jobs and helps to improve the health of Long Island Sound,” Murphy said.

The Milford Lab is one of just two NOAA labs nationwide supporting aquaculture research, he said. The subcommittee bill “includes language addressing concerns around staffing changes and funding cuts at Milford Lab,” Murphy said in a prepared statement.

Read the full story at the Stamford Advocate

Senate letter urges funding for fishing safety programs

March 23, 2016 — WASHINGTON — In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, six U.S. senators urged funding for the Fishing Safety Training Grant Program and Fishing Safety Research Grant Program in Homeland Security’s 2017 appropriations bill.

“The safety and survival of our commercial fishermen are of the utmost importance, and we fully support the expansion of safety training requirements,” the senators wrote. “We are concerned, however, that the high costs of this required training will fall entirely on the fishing families in our states who continue to experience tremendous financial strain.”

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (CGAA) extended the scope of safety and survival training programs for commercial fishermen. The safety rules, which took effect in 2015, require individuals in charge of commercial fishing vessels to complete the training if they operate beyond three nautical miles offshore. Previously, this training was only mandatory for individuals operating beyond 13 nautical miles offshore.

“Safety and survival training is critically important for fishermen who, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, work in the deadliest industry in America and are 37 times more likely to die on the job than a police officer,” the senators wrote. “This training undoubtedly saves lives.”

The signatories were Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Read the full letter