WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) September 22, 2011- United States Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) will hold a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation field hearing in Boston on the state of the Massachusetts fishing industry. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will appear.
Participating Members of Congress and the Senate include Senator Kerry, Senator Scott Brown, Congressman Barney Frank. Congressman John Tierney and Congressman William Keating.
According to Senator Kerry's offices in Washington and Boston, the hearing will examine the first year of the catch share fisheries management plan, including its social and economic impacts, and discuss constructive steps forward to improve its outcomes.
"One of the most important things I can do as our state's senior senator is bring together all the stakeholders from our state and the federal government to reason together and talk face to face, and particularly to put a human face on the choices being made for our economy and our fisheries. This hearing will examine current the state of Massachusetts' fishing industry, analyze the impacts of regulations on our local economy, and perhaps most importantly, provide an open forum for dialogue between our state's fishermen and state and federal regulators," said Sen. Kerry. "The panels we've assembled will allow for direct questioning and analysis from the Administration as well as both seasoned and fresh voices from Massachusetts' fishing and science communities."
The hearing will be held at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 3, 2011 in the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston.
In addition to Dr. Lubchenco, others who will testify include Paul Diodati, Director, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries; Dr. Brian J. Rothschild, Montgomery Charter Professor, Department of Fisheries Oceanography School for Marine Science & Technology, UMass Dartmouth; Colin McAllister "Rip" Cunningham, Jr., Chair, New England Fisheries Management Council; Dr. Steve Cadrin, Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries Oceanography School for Marine Science & Technology, UMass Dartmouth, and Stephen P. Welch, Fisherman and Board Member, Northeast Seafood Coalition.