January 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Gulf Seafood Institute:
During Washington Mardi Gras in mid-January, the offices of the Gulf Coast Congressional Delegation will once again be filled with members of the Gulf Seafood Institute (GSI) spreading the message of the economic and environmental importance of the Gulf of Mexico and the seafood industries that it supports.
“GSI will conduct our second annual ‘Walk on the Hill’ beginning Jan. 20th and concluding on the 22nd,” said GSI’s executive director Margaret Henderson. “”All told, we’ll be conducting nearly 30 meetings with policy makers representing states and districts from across the entire Gulf Coast.”
“Our days are definitely filled with a lot of walking and talking,” she said about the organization that represents both recreational and commercial fisheries. “There is important legislation coming down the pike and it’s vital the views of Gulf fishermen are expressed and understood by those writing and administering this legislation.”
At the top of GSI’s list is educating Congress about measures designed to improve management of the recreational red snapper fishery in the Gulf, including administration of the recently appropriated funding for the Gulf recreational charter-for-hire sector electronic data collection program, as well as preserving the H-2B visa program which is critical to filling the most labor-intensive staff positions in the Gulf seafood community.
Walking the cold and snowy grounds of Capitol Hill one year earlier, GSI members met with Gulf Coast Congressional leaders encouraging them to consider properly funding the NMFS budget for an electronic data collection program for the federally-permitted charter boat fishery. The organization received strong support for this issue across party lines and on both sides of the Hill.
“With the passage in December of the 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) budget includes $2 million to improve electronic data collection in our nation’s fisheries,” said Troy Frady, captain of The Distraction in Orange Beach, AL, who will join GSI on the walk. “GSI wants to work closely with Congress and NMFS to ensure this program is set in motion ASAP, and the technology is ready to roll out in time for the 2015 red snapper season in the Gulf. Gulf charter-for-hire captains and vessel owners are anxious to get started.”
Read the full story at the Gulf Seafood Institute