Tag Archives: Senate Appropriations Committee
Fishing Money found for at-sea monitors
As part of a $1.4 trillion spending package, the U.S. Senate passed a $79.4 billion appropriations bill that includes another $10.3 million for NOAA Fisheries — once again secured by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen — to fully fund at-sea monitoring in the Northeast groundfish fishery for the 2020 fishing season that begins May 1. When President Donald Trump signed the bill into law the next day, the mandated shouldering of the full financial weight of at-sea monitoring by the groundfish industry — at a cost of up to $700 per day per vessel — had been deferred for at least another fishing season. >click to read< 12:24
Senator Lisa Murkowski: Investing in seafood industry pays off
Alaskans know just how essential fisheries are to life in the 49th state. The seafood industry is the largest direct employer in our state, providing 60,000 jobs and generating over $5 billion for Alaska’s economy. Over 15 percent of Alaska’s working age rural residents are employed by the industry. And commercial fisheries are a cultural and economic cornerstone in small communities across the state’s 33,000 miles of shoreline. Alaska’s seafood industry also provides for our nation. Catches in Alaska make up more than 60 percent of all seafood harvests in the United States, >click to read< 15:11
New England: Fishing advocates praise allocation of funds for electronic monitoring
Advocates for electronic monitoring technology in the commercial fishing industry are pleased that the Senate Appropriations Committee has secured federal resources to help defray costs associated with regulating catch sizes.On Thursday, U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D- NH) announced that $3 million has been set aside for the development and installation of this technology. Fishermen hope it will replace the current model of in-person monitoring, which costs them approximately $700 per day every time they bring a person out.Josh Wiersma of the Environmental Defense Fund said appropriating the money is a step in the right direction. Read the rest here 07:20
U.S. Senate Pushes Funding for Fishing Industry
It includes $4 million for electronic monitors for the fishing fleet. Alaska fishermen on small boats have asked for cameras as a substitute for some of the human observers that record catch data. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told her colleagues electronic monitors will allow the mission to continue. “But recognizing that our small fishermen just simply cannot put another body on their boat as they’re out working.” Read more here 08:42
“Decentralization” – Senate Appropriations Committee would dissolve NOAA’s Northeastern Regional Office, Provide $150 million in disaster relief, allocated to three regions
A key Senate committee approved a bill that would dissolve NOAA’s Northeastern Regional Office in a proposal some fisheries advocates say could make things easier for the region’s fishermen. “This new approach is seemingly advantageous,” said Jim Kendall, head of New Bedford Seafood Consulting and a longtime critic of NOAA and regulations affecting area fishermen. “Decentralization — it sounds good, and it sounds like it could be very beneficial if it works.” continued@southcoasttoday
Fishermen’s petition: Pull all local NOAA funds
More than 150 members or allies of the fishing industry governed by the Northeast Regional Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have petitioned the Senate Appropriations Committee to stop all funding for the Gloucester headquarters and to reallocate “any salvaged” money for relief of the “disaster” that has befallen the industry as officially recognized more than eight months ago. continued
