Saving Seafood

Senators Markey and Warren, and Reps. Moulton and Keating Secure Historic USDA Procurement of East Coast Seafood with Coronavirus Recovery Funding

May 5, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.):

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Congressmen William Keating (MA-09) and Seth Moulton (MA-06) applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement to include Atlantic seafood in additional Section 32 food purchases made available in part by the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The USDA Section 32 program has historically overlooked East Coast seafood. However, the Agricultural Marketing Service announced yesterday that it will purchase $20,000,000 in Atlantic Haddock, Pollock, and Redfish. These purchases will help East Coast seafood producers that have been devastated by the ongoing effects of the pandemic. The Massachusetts lawmakers have championed the federal government taking this step, writing to the USDA in April and May to urge the inclusion of domestic and East Coast seafood companies in the deployment of the $9.5 billion awarded by the CARES Act for affected agricultural producers.

“Atlantic seafood and our seafood industry have long been overlooked by USDA purchasing and they are finally get the attention and resources they need through these food purchases,” said Senator Markey. “Our fishermen are suffering during this pandemic and these purchases will help them stay afloat.”
 
“I’m glad the USDA will be providing this much-needed relief to Massachusetts fishermen, who were already struggling before this pandemic hit,” said Senator Warren. “The fishing and seafood industry are a key part of the Commonwealth’s history, economy, and future, and we must support our fishing community during this difficult time.”
 
“I am pleased to see that the USDA has finally recognized the important role that North Atlantic seafood plays in maintaining the nation’s food supply,” said Rep. Keating. “These purchases will not only help to support our fishing industry during these trying times, but will also provide highly nutritious, sustainable food for families in need across the nation.”
 
“Fishermen are hurting. Things were already tough because of the trade war and they got a lot tougher when restaurants closed because of the pandemic,” said Rep Moulton. “Government’s strength is measured by its ability to serve the people it represents. I hope this brings new business and peace of mind to America’s fishermen.”

Massachusetts congressional delegation urges feds to include seafood in food aid purchases

May 4, 2020 — Members of the all-Democratic Massachusetts congressional delegation are pushing to include East Coast seafood in purchasing agreements funded by the federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton said in a letter Friday to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that when the U.S. Department of Agriculture begins its purchasing programs intended to assist those the pandemic has affected, the USDA should include domestic seafood.

Purdue in April announced that the USDA would be making about $19 billion in purchases through the coronavirus assistance program, the lawmakers said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News

Massachusetts lawmakers call on government to help New England fisheries during COVID-19 crisis

April 6, 2020 — Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give New England fisheries a needed boost as they battle through the COVID-19 outbreak.

U.S. senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. representatives William Keating and Seth Moulton, on 2 April sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking him to use part of the USD 9.5 billion (EUR 8.8 billion) earmarked for agricultural producers – from the USD 2.2 trillion (EUR 2.0 trillion) CARES Act Congress passed in late March – to help seafood processors and other companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Keating Pushes USDA to Buy American Seafood Under CARES Act

April 6, 2020 — U.S. Rep. William Keating, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Massachusetts, joined some of his Capitol Hill colleagues today in urging the USDA to include U.S. seafood companies in a $9.5 billion program designed to help farmers affected by the coronavirus.

Keating, Rep. Seth Moulton, and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and said the federal government should take steps to buy American seafood through the CARES Act agricultural assistance program.

“The pandemic-driven closure of restaurants and other businesses has devastated the New England seafood industry, as about two-thirds of seafood is consumed in restaurants and outside the home. Fishermen and processors that supply restaurants and local food systems need support,” the letter reads.

Read the full story at WBSM

Bill to Invest in America’s Working Waterfronts Sails Through House of Representatives

December 19, 2019 — Legislation that would provide grants and low-interest loans to keep America’s working waterfronts in business sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives last week, and will now make its way to the Senate.

The Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act was introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rep. Joseph Whitman (R-Virginia). It was included in a package of bills that passed with bipartisan support. Democrat William Keating, who represents Massachusetts’ 9th Congressional District, was a co-sponsor. The bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act.

In the larger scheme of things, it’s not a lot of money. Under the bill, $12 million each would be authorized for the loan and grant programs. States would be in charge of allocating the funds to eligible local local governments, non-profits and fishing co-ops. The bill would establish a working waterfronts task force within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“To the extent that federal money becomes available, that’s all for the good,” said Edward Anthes-Washburn, executive director of the New Bedford Port Authority. “We are very much in support of the legislation.”

Even in New Bedford, with its thriving working waterfront, serious investment will be needed to secure that status for future generations, according to studies conducted by the Port Authority.

Read the full story at WBSM

Rep. Keating Criticizes Trump Administration for Vineyard Wind Delay

August 13, 2019 — Congressman William Keating is criticizing the Trump Administration after a decision last week by federal regulators to hold off on issuing a key environmental impact statement for the Vineyard Wind project.

The 84-turbine, 800-megawatt wind farm was being planned for South of Martha’s Vineyard and would be able to generate enough energy to power nearly 400,000 homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the agency took the action to delay issuing the EIS after receiving comments “from stakeholders and cooperating agencies” requesting a more robust cumulative analysis that would include projects that have been awarded power purchase agreements, but may not have submitted construction and operations plans.

Keating, a Bourne Democrat, said in a statement that the Vineyard Wind project, and larger off-shore wind industry, is an anchor to a blue economy based in New Bedford and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Congressman’s Visit Focuses on Offshore Wind Jobs

June 17, 2019 — A key member of Congress joined Rep. William Keating (D-Massachusetts) and Mayor Jon Mitchell Friday for a tour of New Bedford Harbor and a discussion on the city’s role in offshore wind development.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal of California chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and is bullish on offshore wind. “This is the future of the nation’s energy supply. This is not some kind of a passing whim, this is where the nation is moving, and we need successful models and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Lowenthal’s committee is considering a bill filed by Keating to provide grants to colleges, universities and labor unions to train workers for the offshore wind industry.

While the bill is expected to make it easily through the House, it could be a tougher sell in the Senate.

Keating says he expects supporters may have to make some concessions, but the Massachusetts Democrat feels strongly that the bill will make it through the Senate and on to the President’s desk. “This is a fuel for new jobs and for business development and secondary investments too. People will see what’s happening in New Bedford and it will help in the expansion of offshore wind development across the country.”

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: Tedeschi says Keating underperforms for fishing industry

October 9, 2018 — Republican Peter Tedeschi, the convenience store magnate and Republican candidate for congress in the Massachusetts 9th District, staged a small rally on the waterfront next to the fishing family sculpture Saturday and took aim at incumbent William Keating for what Tedeschi says are deficiencies in Democrat Keating’s job performance.

About 20 supporters either arrived with him on a district-wide tour, or came out locally to hear him.

He told The Standard-Times in an interview that mirrored his prepared comments, “I don’t believe that the fishermen down here and the fishing industry are getting adequate support from our current congressman. And that manifests itself in several ways.”

One, Tedeschi said, was that Keating had an opportunity to support the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It’s an important act that basically dictates quotas, geographic fishing, what species fishermen are going to catch, and how much they’re going to be able to catch.

“Right now it’s sort of based on an arbitrary 10 year period,” he said. “We want to have it based on data. … So we had an opportunity to support that and he voted against it,” Tedeschi said. “If you’re going to support the fishing industry he should have supported reauthorization and he voted against it.”

He also took aim at the Monuments Act. The Monuments Act essentially put 5,000 square miles of fertile fishing areas off-limits.

“President Obama signed that into law unilaterally without a hearing, period. I would like to see that repealed so our commercial fishermen can start fishing in those regions, ” he said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Five US House Democrats get behind tariff-relief bill for fishermen

July 30, 2018 — In the same week that President Donald Trump announced his plan to offer land farmers in the US $12 billion to help compensate for losses suffered as a result of his trade scuffles with China and other nations, a small group of Democrats in the House of Representatives have put forth a plan to help fishermen.

HR 6528, introduced Wednesday by Massachusetts representative Seth Moulton, would amend a provision contained in the Magnuson Stevens Act that allows for the government to make money available to harvesters in the case of a natural or man-made disaster. It would add language that clarifies that such funds can also be used in the case of “unilateral tariffs imposed by other countries on any United States seafood.”

Co-sponsors of the bill include representatives Chellie Pingree of Maine, Stephen Lynch and William Keating, both of Massachusetts, Jared Huffman of California, and Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

Pingree, an organic farmer, has been particularly vocal about the president’s tough trade stance, writing letters to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Trade Representative.

“Farmers haven’t been the only ones to suffer the consequences of the Trump administration’s sloppy trade actions,” she said in a statement issued this week.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

SAVE Right Whales Act Could Provide $50 Million Grant For Ropeless Fishing Technology

June 15, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The SAVE Right Whales Act of 2018, filed in Congress on June 7, could provide a $5 million annual grant program to allow fishermen, shippers and conservationists to collaborate to protect North Atlantic right whales.

Introduced by U.S. Reps Seth Moulton and William Keating, and by U.S. Senator Cory Booker, the SAVE Act stands for Scientific Assistance for Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales. If it becomes law, the act would provide a total of $50 million dollars in federal funds, distributed as $5 million over 10 years, to aid conservation programs with rebuilding the North Atlantic right whales. Projects would include developing, testing or using technology or other methods to reduce entanglements and vessel collisions, which is the leading cause of right whale deaths. This could include developing and testing more ropeless fishing gear technology, which would remove thousands of ropes from the water.

“If we don’t take immediate action, the storied North Atlantic right whale could go extinct in our lifetime,” Booker said while introducing the SAVE Right Whales Act. “We have a responsibility to find and implement solutions that will help protect endangered species for generations to come.”

The bill needs to garner more support from members of Congress in order to be signed into law. Currently the population of the North Atlantic right whales is estimated to be at about 450.

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