Congressman Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, has written to Commerce Secretary John Bryson, Administrator Karen Mills of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Chairman Martin Gruenberg of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to ask that the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration and NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) work together with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to explore new alternative financial products to meet the financing needs of fishermen. He also asked that they provide their analysis of financing alternatives and identify any legislative barriers that might prevent potential financing mechanisms from helping fishermen.
The need for small fishing businesses to expand their access to capital was one of the findings of the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration evaluation of the economic needs of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The Ranking Member also asked NOAA Fisheries:
• To increase efforts to employ ecosystem-based fishery management,
• To act on the New England Fishery Management Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee recommendations to improve the data streams into the assessment ,
• To evaluate the characteristics of the Gulf of Maine cod stock including structure, spacial distribution and dynamics,
Read the letter from Congressman Markey