Saving Seafood

More US Senators push for shrimp to be added to SIMP

February 13, 2018 — A bipartisan group of 11 U.S. Senators have signed on to a plan that would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to add shrimp to the Seafood Import Monitoring Program.

In a letter addressed to Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senators expressed their support for language in the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which mandates the inclusion of shrimp in the monitoring program within 30 days of the spending bill’s enactment.

SIMP, which officially took effect last month, requires imported seafood to be traced from the time it was caught or harvested to the time it reaches the United States. The program was created to crack down the sale of counterfeit or illegally caught seafood products to consumers.

Most of the seafood Americans consume is imported and shrimp makes up nearly two-thirds of those imports. Shrimp was one of the species included in the program. However, federal officials have waived it from compliance at this point until similar recordkeeping requirements are also in effect for domestic producers. That, however, has not stopped U.S. commercial fishing groups from pushing NOAA add shrimp to the program.

“The domestic, wild-caught shrimp industry has been in a state of decline for decades due to the flood of cheap, imported shrimp from countries such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam,” said Ryan Bradley, Director of the Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United. “This bill is a beacon of hope for our coastal communities that greatly rely on domestic shrimp production – the largest commercial fishing industry in the southeastern United States.”

In their letter, the senators expressed concerns over the use of unapproved antibiotics in foreign farmed shrimp and cited reports of human rights abuses by processors in Thailand, one of the world’s largest shrimp providers.

“We believe that SIMP is a key step to restoring a level playing field for the U.S. shrimp industry,” the senators wrote.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

West Coast Fisheries Disaster Funding Included in Senate Appropriations Bill

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.”

Read the full story with a subscription at Seafood News

 

U.S. Senate Focuses on Science behind America’s Fisheries

October 26, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, chaired by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), convened a hearing entitled “Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA): Fisheries Science.” This is the fourth MSA hearing held by the Subcommittee this year. A video of the hearing and witness testimony can be found here.

Witnesses:

  • Dr. Ray Hilborn, professor at University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
  • Dr. Larry McKinney, director of Texas A&M University Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
  • Karl Haflinger, founder and president of Sea State, Inc.
  • Dr. Michael Jones, professor at Michigan State University Quantitative Fisheries Center

Dr. Hilborn reported to the committee that, “Overfishing remains a concern for a limited number of stocks but should not continue to be the most important concern for U.S. fisheries policy.” And while he pointed to some positive outcomes brought by implementing total allowable catch for “individually targeted, large scale industrial fisheries,” he argued it is “totally inappropriate for recreational” fisheries.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

Ray Hilborn tells US Senate overfishing shouldn’t be most important concern

October 25, 2017 — WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate subcommittee considering the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act heard additional testimony Tuesday, with a University of Washington researcher telling lawmakers the U.S. is leaving money in the ocean.

Ray Hilborn, a professor at the university’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, noted that in many cases fisheries aren’t even bringing in half of the total allowable catch in some seasons. For example, in 2015, mixed bottom commercial fishermen caught USD 65 million (EUR 55.1 million) worth of fish available in the West Coast. The total allowable catch had an estimated value around USD 168 million (EUR 142.5 million).

Read the full story at Seafood Source 

 

US Senate committee rejects most of Trump’s proposed cuts to NOAA

August 8, 2017 — The appropriations committee of the United States Senate has voted to reduce the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s 2018 budget, but the cuts are less severe than those requested by President Donald Trump.

The Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations subcommittee agreed to a USD 85.1 million (EUR 72.3 million) cut to NOAA’s budget to USD 5.6 billion (EUR 4.8 billion) – much less than the nearly USD 900 million (EUR 764 million) in cuts requested by Trump, according to a press release put out by Senate Republicans.

The committee voted to fully fund NOAA operations including ocean monitoring; fisheries management; coastal grants to states; aquaculture research; and severe weather forecasting, according to the press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Senate Bill on New National Fisheries Marketing Advisory Panel Moves Through Committee

August 7, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — A bill to create an advisory committee to guide seafood marketing and research projects nationwide was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, August 2, 2017.

Introduced by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), S. 3087, The American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act would create a 25-member national panel to advise the Secretary of Commerce on projects aimed at boosting fisheries research and/or seafood marketing initiatives across the country.

The advisory panel would assist the Secretary of Commerce “in the awarding of fisheries research and development grants.”  It establishes six regions within the AFA Committee:

1. Alaska, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territories of Guam and American Samoa.

2. Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

3. Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, and territory of the Virgin Islands.

4. California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

5. New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

6. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Membership would include one representative each from the processing, harvesting, and recreational sector, with at-large appointments from the nation’s distribution, retail, and foodservice sectors, plus a seafood marketer and an individual with experience growing seafood.

Efforts to establish national seafood promotional and research boards have had success in the past, most notably the National Fish and Seafood Promotional Council from the late 1980s.

The current plan has been supported by a coalition of fish harvesting groups who want full throated government support to increase marketing of domestic seafood.

This bill differs from the old national marketing council effort in a few important ways, however. The AFA Committee is not restricted to national promotional initiatives as it will be considering regional projects as well as those that focus on research.

Funding sources were not explicitly mentioned in the bill, but similar marketing and promotional efforts have been supported through Saltonstall-Kennedy funds, industry assessments, and other revenues.  Supporters feel once a vehicle is in place, funding will follow.

The bill was reported to the Senate for a floor vote.

A related House Bill, HR 214, also called the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, was introduced by Don Young (R-AK) earlier this year. It was referred to the House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans on February 10, 2017.

S. 3087 is nearly identical to a bill introduced by Sullivan and Cantwell last year, with the notable addition of a recreational representative on the advisory panel in this year’s version. Last year’s bill was easily passed by the Committee but was never brought to the floor for a Senate vote.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Marine Sanctuaries Program is Bad for Fishermen, California Fishing Captain Tells Senate Subcommittee

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — July 10, 2017 — Marine sanctuaries are hurting commercial and recreational fishermen and overruling the fisheries management process created under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, said Capt. Jeremiah O’Brien, vice president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, at a Senate hearing June 27.

Speaking before the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard at a hearing convened by chairman Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mr. O’Brien criticized marine sanctuaries for their “weak science capabilities” and “poor, self-serving public process.” He said that policymakers are interpreting the National Marine Sanctuaries Act in a way that steadily limits human uses of marine resources, violating the principles of ecosystem-based management and the law’s mandate for comprehensive and coordinated management.

“For fishermen and fishery managers, the fact that sanctuaries can overrule the Regional Fishery Management Councils, with eight National Standards serving as the council’s guide, is disconcerting, and not in the best interest of ocean health,” Mr. O’Brien said. “I hope Congress will make it clear that the Magnuson-Stevens Act is the nation’s law for fisheries and habitat management.”

Read the full testimony here

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