On Thursday, Senators John Kerry and Olympia Snowe will introduce legislation to restore the funding of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, which supported fishery research projects, to "help the fishermen and communities for whom it was originally intended."
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 9, 2012 – The Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Act was authored by Senators Leverett Saltonstall (R-Mass.) and John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in 1954 to promote and market domestic seafood.
According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, the Saltonstall-Kennedy Fund has, among other things, supported fishery research and development projects in the 58 years since its passage. However, beginning "in FY1979, increasing amounts of S-K dollars have been transferred to the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF) account, reducing the funds and percentage of funds available for fishing industry projects and the national program. Since FY1982, the S-K program has never allocated the minimum amount (50% after FY1980 and 60% after FY1983) specified by law for industry projects."
On Thursday, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) will introduce legislation to restore this funding to "help the fishermen and communities for whom it was originally intended."
A companion bill, authored by Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Frank Guinta (R-New Hampshire) is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives.
The following was released by Senator Kerry's office:
Background on the Kerry-Snowe Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act
The Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Act directs 30% of the duties on imported fish products to a grant program for research and development projects to benefit the U.S. fishing industry. It is estimated that for 2010, the total duties collected on the imports of fishery products was $376.6 million. The S-K Act directs 30% of that total to be transferred to the Secretary of Commerce. In 2010, that equaled $113 million. Of that $113 million, $104.6 million went to NOAA's operations budget, and only $8.4 million was used by NOAA for grants for fisheries research and development projects. We believe that we should follow the original intent of Senators Leverett Saltonstall and John F. Kennedy and restore this funding to help the fishermen and communities for whom it was originally intended.
Today, our regional fisheries are facing difficult issues such as the recent Gulf of Maine cod crisis in New England and pirate fishing on the West Coast. With federal funds scarce, each region is in need of a reliable source of federal funding to assist them in responding to the many challenges of managing a fishery. The Fisheries Investment Act ensures that the Saltonstall-Kennedy money is spent in coordination with the Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMC) and focused on key priorities identified by both fishermen and NOAA, restoring the original intent of the S-K Act by involving local stakeholders in determining how funds are used.
How priorities are set:
Seventy percent of the funds from the S-K Act would be used to fund a grant program to implement regional fishery investment plans, which would be developed by stakeholder committees of the RFMCs, released in the Federal Register for public comment and approved by the Secretary of Commerce. Each RFMC would oversee the development of an investment plan that would identify needs in the following areas: cooperative research; efforts to improve data collection; analysis of economic impacts of management decisions; economic services to fishermen, including permit banks, and buy-backs; preparation of fishery impact statements; improving quality and value of fish landed; reducing bycatch; and habitat restoration.
The investment plans must be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act five-year research plans and revised at least every 5 years to ensure they include up-to-date critical needs. The plans would be developed by fishery investment committees at each of the Councils. The committees will be made up of no more than 13 members, with at least one spot reserved for a representative from each of the following areas: Commercial fishing; Private recreational fishing; Charter fishing; Public marine conservation (may not derive income from commercial or recreational fishing); Each state government in the region; Relevant interstate commissions; Federally recognized tribes, where applicable; and Research institutions.
Grants consistent with the investment plans would be given to federal, state and private entities, with preference given to public-private partnerships.
Funding breakdown:
Of the funds S-K funds available, up to three percent (2010: $3.39 million) is available to NOAA for administration of the program and three percent (2010: $3.39 million) shall be equally distributed to the RFMCs for administration. Seventy percent of the remaining S-K funds available (2010: $74.354 million) would be divided between each of the eight RFMC's to carry out the regional fishery investment plans. Half of the 70 percent would be equally divided between the Councils. The other half of the 70 percent would be proportionally divided between the Councils based on the combined economic impact of commercial landings and recreational fishing in each region.
Twenty percent of the remaining S-K funds available (2010: $21.244 million) would be reserved by the Secretary for a national program of fisheries research and investment that supports rebuilding and maintaining healthy United States fish populations and promotes sustainable fisheries. Of that 20 percent, up to four percent shall be allocated to the interstate fishing commissions, up to four percent shall be used for seafood promotion, up to four percent for improved fisheries management through research, monitoring or evaluation and modification of regulations and procedures, up to four percent for fisheries disasters, shoreside infrastructure and access needs, and up to four percent for other special needs, including highly migratory species and international fisheries management.
The remaining 10 percent of the funds available (2010: $10.622 million) would remain with NOAA and may be used to offset receipts in the NOAA Operations, Research, and Facilities account.
At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary would prepare a report containing a list of the next year's fishery investment priorities, a description of the projects that had already been funded and an assessment of each project's success. The report would be submitted to the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee.
Other provisions:
The bill also contains a provision regarding the streamlining of current regulations and procedures. In the two fiscal years following enactment, the bill directs the Secretary to use funds available from the S-K program to conduct a review of regulations and procedures used to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The review will seek to identify redundant and inefficient regulations and procedures, make recommendations for streamlining procedures and regulations, in particular ways to reduce paperwork, bureaucratic restrictions, and speed the inclusion of new information into management decisions, and ensure that any modifications to procedures or regulations are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and any other applicable law.