Saving Seafood

Florida congressional delegation fishes for CARES Act assistance for seafood industry

April 17, 2020 — Members of Florida’s Congressional Delegation sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Department seeking help for the fishing industry.

Sens. Marco Rubio, Rick Scott and 25 Florida members of Congress signed onto the request for aid.

“Florida’s fishing industries have experienced several crises in recent years. Impacts from Hurricanes Irma and Michael, major fish kills caused by harmful algal blooms, significant habitat loss in the Florida Reef Tract due to coral bleaching and disease, and massive seagrass die offs in many of our state’s estuaries have taken their toll,” the letter reads.

“Even for those businesses who have endured these events, the economic crisis we face today as a result of the pandemic may prove fatal without your assistance.”

All members of the state Delegation signed the letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross except Tallahassee Democrat Al Lawson and Dover Republican Ross Spano.

Read the full story at Florida Politics

Florida Delegation Wants Commerce Department to Quickly Distribute Stimulus Funds for Fishing Industry

April 17, 2020 — The Florida delegation on Capitol Hill is urging the U.S. Commerce Department to quickly move to distribute funds from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus enacted at the end of last month to help the fishing business.

As part of the stimulus package, $300 million was included to help fisheries and Florida’s two senators–Republican U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–and 25 of the state’s 27 members of the U.S. House sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross on the matter on Wednesday.

“Florida’s recreational and commercial fishing industries are critically important to Florida’s tourism-based economy, as well as for the state and nation’s food security and have been hit especially hard during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rubio’s office noted.

The Florida delegation also called on Ross to work U.S. Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue “ to expand seafood commodity purchases for nutrition programs, take further action to guide Florida’s fishing communities to new resources such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and expedite consideration of the State of Florida’s pending Fisheries Disaster Declaration request related to severe red tide events which occurred between 2015 and 2019.”

Read the full story at Florida Daily

Reps. Huffman, Case, Cunningham, Graves Advocate for Fisheries Relief in Bipartisan Letter

April 9, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA):

Today, Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ed Case (D-HI), Joe Cunningham (D-SC), and Garret Graves (R-LA) led 35 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging immediate distribution of the assistance secured by Congress in the CARES Act to fishery participants, including Tribal, subsistence, commercial, and charter fishery participants. Representative Huffman currently serves as Chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife which has jurisdiction over fisheries.

“We write to urge you to quickly implement the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which provides $300 million for fishery participants facing unprecedented and severe impacts due to the novel coronavirus,” the members wrote in their letter. “Due to the ongoing public health crisis, fisheries dependent businesses and communities are facing extreme economic hardship from loss of markets […] Furthermore, many tribal and non-tribal communities impacted by the ongoing crisis have also faced fishery disasters in recent years with long delays in disaster relief, so they are especially threatened by additional economic hardship […] Rapid relief is critical now for the future of coastal communities, our constituents, and a thriving fishing industry. ”
 
As part of their letter, the Representatives requested that the Department of Commerce ensure a transparent and fair process for distributing the CARES Act relief and provide detailed guidance for requests, explicit timelines for review and distribution of funds, and clear standards for decision making and funding allocations.
 
Representative Huffman has been a career-long advocate for fishing communities and Tribes, and has continuously pushed for fishery disaster relief funding. Earlier this year, Huffman introduced the bipartisan Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act (Fishery FUNDD Act) to improve the federal fishery disaster process and ensure more timely disaster relief for impacted communities. 
 
In addition to Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ed Case (D-HI), Joe Cunningham (D-SC), and Garret Graves (R-LA), the letter was signed by Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), David Rouzer (R-NC), Don Young (R-AK), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), Denny Heck (D-WA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Elaine G. Luria (D-VA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Kurt Schrader (D-OR), William R. Keating (D-MA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA).
 
The full letter can be found  here  or below.  
 
Dear Secretary Ross:
 
We write to urge you to quickly implement the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which provides $300 million for fishery participants facing unprecedented and severe impacts due to the novel coronavirus. We ask that you work with NOAA, impacted stakeholders, and Native American Tribes to rapidly provide this assistance and to do so in a fair and transparent process that allocates sufficient funding to our impacted constituents and communities throughout the country.
 
U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries generate over $200 billion in sales and 1.7 million jobs, but due to the ongoing public health crisis, fisheries dependent businesses and communities are facing extreme economic hardship from loss of markets. These impacts are felt throughout the industry – charter guides and recreational businesses; processors, retailers, and the entire seafood supply chain; and fishing captains, their crews, and the communities they serve are all facing significant challenges. The U.S. is a global leader in sustainable fisheries management and has a rich fishing history and culture, but significant loss of economic activity threatens the future of fisheries and associated infrastructure throughout the country.
 
The crisis has also significantly impacted Tribes who rely on fisheries for cultural, subsistence, and commercial harvest. Fisheries assistance is critical to mitigate the direct economic impacts these communities are facing and ensure they have adequate resources to continue providing basic services for their communities throughout this crisis. Furthermore, many tribal and non-tribal communities impacted by the ongoing crisis have also faced fishery disasters in recent years with long delays in disaster relief, so they are especially threatened by additional economic hardship.
 
We urge you to work quickly to ensure that fishery participants and the communities they support see this financial assistance as soon as possible. We also ask that you ensure a transparent and fair process for distributing this relief and provide detailed guidance for requests, explicit timelines for review and distribution of funds, and clear standards for decision making and funding allocations. Rapid relief is critical now for the future of coastal communities, our constituents, and a thriving fishing industry.
 
Thank you for your work during this time.

Senator Collins Calls for Swift Release of $300 Million to Support Fishermen During COVID-19 Pandemic

April 6, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Susan Collins (R-ME):

U.S. Senator Susan Collins wrote to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, urging him to quickly release the $300 million for assistance to fishermen and related businesses that was included in the Phase 3 coronavirus emergency package.  As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins worked to ensure that this critical relief provision was inserted in the final legislation.

“The seafood and aquaculture industries are experiencing severe financial harm from disruptions to supply, demand, and labor caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who make their livelihoods harvesting, transporting, processing, distributing, and preparing the bounty of our oceans have incredibly complex and inter-reliant business models,” said Senator Collins.  

“I am pleased that, as a result of my and other coastal state members’ advocacy, the Assistance to Fishery Participants provision was included in the CARES Act to provide relief that is targeted specifically for these iconic and essential engines of Maine’s economy,” Senator Collins continued.  “It is critical that the $300 million in fishery-related assistance reach those who need it expeditiously in order to manage this period of uncertainty and emerge as strong as before.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be responsible for releasing this funding.  Senator Collins requested that:

  • NOAA work with regional fisheries management commissions to distribute the funds to coastal states;
  • Each state is given reasonable flexibility to distribute money in the ways that will best benefit fishermen and their communities;
  • NMFS use comparative methods and averages that span multiple years—as is common with other fisheries disaster calculations—to allocate funding; and
  • NMFS continue to move quickly to get relief funds out to the states, and require states to submit a spending plan to achieve accountability.

Click HERE to read Senator Collins’ letter to Secretary Ross.

Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Earl Comstock

March 4, 2020 — The following was released by the U.S. Department of Commerce:

I would like to thank Earl Comstock for honoring his commitment to serve for three years as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning at the Department of Commerce. I value his wise counsel, his deep policy expertise, his innovative thinking and leadership, and I thank him for his service to the American people. I know he will excel in whatever new role he takes on and wish him the very best.

Read the statement here

US Commerce Department allocates $35 million for Alaska fisheries disasters

March 2, 2020 — Fishermen affected by the 2018 Pacific cod and Chignik sockeye disasters will soon have access to about $35 million in relief funding.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross allocated about $65 million to fisheries disaster relief, about $35 million of which is for Alaska, according to a Feb. 27 announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Within Alaska, about $24.4 million will go to the Pacific cod fishery disaster and about $10.3 million to the Chignik sockeye fishery. The funding was appropriated when Congress passed the 2019 Consolidated and Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Fisheries disasters can be declared under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management and Conservation Act when natural disasters or management actions significantly negatively impact stakeholders’ ability to participate in a fishery.

In the case of the Pacific cod fishery in the Gulf of Alaska, scientists are linking the decline in stock abundance to environmental causes; in Chignik, the salmon decline seemed to be linked to poor environmental conditions for sockeye that summer.

Both disaster requests had already been granted, but the amount of funding that the fisheries would have allocated to them was yet to be determined. The National Marine Fisheries Service determines how much funding to allocate to fisheries based on commercial revenue loss information.

Affected fishermen will be able to apply for funding to help with infrastructure projects, habitat restoration, state-run vessel and fishing permit buybacks, and job retraining, according to the announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

NOAA: Secretary of Commerce allocates $65 million for fishery disasters

February 27, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the allocation of $65 million to communities in Alaska, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the Yurok Tribe (California) that suffered fishery disasters between 2017 and 2019.

“These funds help impacted fisheries recover from recent disasters and make them more resilient to future challenges,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This allocation supports the hard-working American fishing communities suffering from impacts beyond their control.”

Fisheries play a critical role for coastal economies, providing jobs for fishermen, fish processors, and other related maritime industries. However, fisheries can experience natural disaster events and other circumstances beyond the control of fishery managers, resulting in sudden and unexpected losses within the fishery and leading to serious economic impacts to those who rely on them.

NOAA Fisheries used commercial revenue loss information to allocate funding among the eligible disasters. NOAA Fisheries also took into consideration traditional uses that cannot be accounted for in commercial revenue loss alone.

The allocated funds can be used to help the fishing community including commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, charter businesses, shore-side infrastructure, and subsistence users, as well as improve the fishing ecosystem and environment. These funds will improve the long term economic and environmental sustainability of the impacted fisheries. Activities that can be considered for funding include infrastructure projects, habitat restoration, state-run vessel and fishing permit buybacks, and job retraining.

In addition, some of the affected fishing communities may be eligible for assistance from the Small Business Administration or other Federal agencies.

NOAA Fisheries report: 2018 production down, but value up

February 24, 2020 — NOAA Fisheries has released the “Fisheries of the United States 2018” report, and it indicates that the production of both wild-capture and aquaculture was down in the U.S. in 2018, while the value of both sectors increased.

U.S. commercial fishermen combined to land 9.4 billion pounds (4.3 million metric tons) of seafood, a 5.3 percent decrease of 531 million pounds over the 2017 total. The value of those landings, however, increased by 2.8 percent, or USD 150 million (EUR 138 million), to USD 5.6 billion (EUR 5.1 billion).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Cape May Fishermen, Processor Sues NOAA’s At-Sea Monitoring Rule

February 21, 2020 — Cause of Action Institute, on behalf of six trawlers and a processor based in Cape May, NJ, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and NOAA Fisheries to block a new rule forcing them to pay for third-party “at-sea monitors.”

The plaintiffs claim that NOAA Fisheries and the Department of Commerce violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) when designing and implementing the final rule.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NOAA finds new liquified natural gas pipeline in Oregon will not jeopardize species

January 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries has issued a final biological opinion on construction and operation of the Jordan Cove terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the associated 229-mile long Pacific Connector Liquid Natural Gas pipeline. After conducting a thorough review, NOAA scientists determined that the proposed action does not jeopardize protected species or adversely modify their critical habitat.

“NOAA’s opinion on Jordan Cove will pave the way for more American jobs and vastly expanded exports of domestically sourced liquified natural gas to prized Asian markets,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The speed of this decision was only made possible by recent reforms to the infrastructure permitting process, while still allowing the relevant authorities ample time to determine that no species or critical habitat would be jeopardized.”

The pipeline would connect the terminal to other major pipelines in the West, linking it to gas supplies across the United States and Canada. The terminal in Coos Bay would be capable of liquefying up to 1.04 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for export to markets around the world.

This biological opinion considered the effects of construction and operation of the terminal and pipeline on 17 species listed under the Endangered Species Act and their critical habitats. The affected species include whales, sea turtles, salmon and other fish species. NOAA Fisheries determined that impacts on the species and their habitat would occur only in the short-term or on small scales, and would be dispersed broadly across about 250 miles.

The biological opinion fulfills requirements under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, known as FAST-41, and Executive Order 13807, which sets a goal of speeding environmental reviews.

The company, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, committed to important best management practices that would reduce effects on listed species, and proposed mitigation measures that will benefit species in the long-term.

The measures include restoration of at least 72 acres of tidelands and 2.7 acres of freshwater floodplain that provide important habitat for protected salmon and other species. The company would also establish at least 2.7 acres of eelgrass habitat. Additional measures would restore and improve freshwater habitat at 60 sites along the pipeline route, including placement of large wood in streams, riparian vegetation planting and fencing, fish passage improvement, and road improvements that will reduce delivery of fine sediment to streams.