Washington

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS (Seafoodnews.com) — July 31, 2013 — U.S. Senator Mark Begich helped move several pieces of legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee including bills that will eliminate pirate fishing practices, improve international fisheries stewardship, and ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has the resources necessary to recruit and retain a strong workforce his office said in a press release.

"As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairman of the Oceans Sub-committee, I work to make sure the committee focuses on Alaska priorities," said Begich. "As a result of today's committee meeting, Alaska is one step closer to better fisheries protection, more Arctic research and a having a 21st century workforce for ocean research."

Begich is the chief sponsor of two of the bills.

Following is a breakdown of the legislation Sen. Begich is involved with:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioner Officer Corps Amendments Act: Begich introduced this bill to improve NOAA's ability to recruit and retain officers for the uniformed service which operates its research ships and aircraft, the NOAA Corps. New programs, such as educational loan repayment authority are paid for by savings generated elsewhere in the bill.

Pirate Fishing Elimination Act: The Pirate Fishing Elimination Act, with Begich as an original co-sponsor, implements a 2009 agreement to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate ports of entry for imports of seafood and requires ships importing seafood to submit advance information about their cargo. This bill was carried over from the last Congress and is a legacy of the work of former senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI.)

International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act (IFSEA): IFSEA, also originally co-sponsored by Begich, strengthens penalties under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and provides the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authority for searches, inspections, shipment detentions, arrests, and subpoenas to enforce international fishery agreements. It strengthens provisions against pirate fishing, toughens penalties included in several international fishery agreements, and creates an interagency International Fisheries Enforcement Task Force to investigate pirate fishing activity.

Meanwhile Begich is an original co-sponsor of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments of 2013 bill that establishes a national Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) program to deal with HABs which are the cause of red tides and oxygen-depleted "dead zones" in the ocean.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission

July 26, 2013 — Deep-fried catfish served with a side of hush puppies and coleslaw has been a regional specialty for years and a cash crop for states in the Deep South. Now, catfish is at the heart of a dispute as the House and Senate prepare to work out their differences on a new five-year farm bill. The current bill expires on Sept. 30.

At issue is a little-known provision in the 2008 bill that established an office within the Agriculture Department to inspect catfish. But those inspection programs also exist at the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the Commerce Department.

The Agriculture Department has traditionally inspected meat and poultry while the F.D.A. has inspected all other foods, including seafood.

Since 2009 the Agriculture Department said that it has spent $20 million to set up the catfish inspection office, which has a staff of four. The department said that it expects to spend about $14 million a year to run it. The F.D.A. spends about $700,000 a year on its existing office.

Despite the cost, the Agriculture Department has yet to inspect a single catfish.

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said the program reeks of wasteful government spending intended to help one special interest group, and he has vowed to “deep-fry” the catfish program.

Read the full story at the New York Times

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton — July 25, 2013 — WASHINGTON — In an occasionally tense questioning of the National Park Service Director today, Senator Lisa Murkowski convinced him in his public comments to revise the agencies guidelines and take steps to allow wild Alaskan salmon and other wild Alaska seafood back on the concession stands of national parks nationwide.

The issue arose when the Park Service developed its Healthy People Healthy Parks initiative – which has a broad goal of improving public health and sustainability in all areas of the national parks, including foodservice.  The Park service began work on this in 2011.

However, little attention was paid to the seafood sustainability guidelines until the final document was published in June of this year.  At that point, the park service said its vendors could  "provide only [seafood] that are “Best Choices” or “Good Alternatives” on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, or identified by an equivalent program that has been approved by the NPS."

Most people in the park service, not understanding the issues around fisheries sustainability, likely did not realize that Alaska's salmon producers have by and large withdrawn from the MSC program, and the guidelines would prevent many vendors from serving wild Alaska salmon.

Two weeks ago, Senator Murkowski originally called attention to her problems with the National Park Service's flawed June decision to require high priced eco-endorsements from outside interests before selling wild Alaskan salmon at parks nationwide, with the risk that Alaska's world-renowned fish would be excluded.

Some apparent good news appeared earlier this week when Seafood.com News reported the NPS had reconsidered its decision, but nobody within the NPS would confirm this to the Senator. With NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis testifying before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Murkowski seized the opportunity to clear up the confusion.

At first, the Director pointed out that their guidelines were not policies or laws, but mere recommendations to their concessionaires that fish deemed sustainable by the controversial Marine Stewardship Council be sold. Murkowski continued on with her questioning, asking him about the NPS' procedures, the conflicting statements being circulated and why they were reliant on a London-based organization – ending with "it doesn't sound like you are pulling back on this."

He responded "What I am willing to do is to change the guidelines so it includes Alaska wild caught fish. I think that's the simple fix here." The guidelines were drawn broadly to give some guidance to our concessioners. We want a park visit to be a healthy experience. The food was the key component. And you have extraordinary food in Alaska."

Murkowski then said that she wanted to have further discussions with Director Jarvis, to lay out the many harmful and unnecessary impacts this has on Alaskan fisheries.   NPS Director Jarvis has scheduled a meeting with Murkowski to follow-up on the matter.

Here is a partial transcript of the exchange.  The video – well worth watching, is embedded at the end of this article.

Senator Murkowski:  As you know, I sent a letter to you dated July 12th about the Park Service's new policy requiring that seafood that is sold by its vendors and concessionaires have to be certified by this non-governmental third party as sustainable. Everything that I can tell is that this policy was developed without consultation with NOAA, which is the federal agency that is tasked with the responsibility of managing our nation's fisheries sustainably. The NGOs that you are relying on here, in my view, have a troubling record of meddling with at least Alaska fishermen's fisheries management. We have got some real concerns about this.

So, I read yesterday, (in a seafood online site (After criticism National Park Srvc goes back to drawing board on seafood sustainability guidelines – Seafood.com News July 24th) – I thought it was pretty good news, that the Park Service is going to be pulling back on this and meeting with NOAA.

So then when we called your offices to confirm that whether or not this was true, we're told that no, not necessarily in fact that that may be an inaccurate statement that the National Park Service's spokesman made yesterday.

So, I'm trying to figure out what's really going on here… We can save ourselves both from that conversation if you just give me the assurance that you've pulled back and the Park Service is not going down this road. So, if you care to comment on that, I would certainly appreciate it.

Director Jarvis: I don't know how much time you want to take in this hearing, but I would be glad to come down to your office to talk in detail about this. I'm not pulling our national healthy foods sustainability standards over this issue because this is implying and was developed over a year long consultation process.

Senator Murkowski: With who?

Director Jarvis: With the concessioners. With every one of the concessioners. Our food service providers.

Senator Murkowski: Was NOAA involved with this?

Director Jarvis: I do not know whether NOAA was involved. But let me just clarify.

Senator Murkowski: NOAA is the agency that makes the determination in terms of what's sustainable within this country.

Director Jarvis: These are guidelines.

Senator Murkowski: I understand.

Director Jarvis: That's not a policy. That's not a law. That's not a regulation. It's a guideline. It's a recommendation to our concessioners that they use sustainable. Now, we wrote it.

Senator Murkowski: But you're saying that they need to have a certain label that is applied by some NGOs based out of London that says that this is the label that you have to have on your fish and if you don't have this then concessionaries, you shouldn't be using it. What kind of a message do you think that sends?

Director Jarvis: We grew from the industry's standards for guidelines for sustainable foods.

Senator Murkowski: What industry standards?

Director Jarvis: As I said, I'd be glad to come by to your office to get into details on this.

Senator Murkowski: We need to have a further discussion about this because you're giving me the very clear impression that in fact your spokesman [Director Jarvis: He was incorrect] Kathy Cupper, spokesperson for the National Park Service, was incorrect. [Director Jarvis: That's correct.] That you're not pulling back on this.

Director Jarvis: What I am willing to do is to change the guidelines so it includes Alaska wild caught fish. I think that's the simple fix here. The guidelines were drawn broadly to give some guidance to our concessioners. We want a park visit to be a healthy experience. The food was the key component.

And you have extraordinary food in Alaska. I mean I lived up there, I know I lived on the Copper River.  I want that Copper River salmon in those concessions. So this is a simple change to the guideline. It's not a withdrawal of our guideline.

Senator Murkowski: I think we need to have further discussion about this because what I'm concerned about is that the Park Service and HHS doesn't understand that when you go with one certification, again a certification by an NGO that is an internationally based entity coming in and saying that this is the label you have to have, what that does to the Alaska fisheries, as you well know, is limits their ability to market the healthiest, best, and oh by the way, most sustainable fishery that is out there. So we need to make sure that we're not cross-purposes on this because it's too important to my state and quite honestly, when we're talking about healthy, sustainable fisheries, I will take second fiddle to nobody on this issue. So, I want to make sure that we're not locking ourselves in to a standard here that is simply not the right standard.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It it reprinted with permission.

July 25, 2013 — Touting a paper in the Food and Drug Law Institute’s (FDLI) Food and Drug Policy Forum, AquaBounty Technologies of Maynard, Mass., on Wednesday questioned the role of politics in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process for its genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon.

“The delay associated with our approval has damaged the credibility of the FDA as an independent science-based regulatory agency,” said Ronald Stotish, CEO of AquaBounty, in a statement. “The influence of politicians and those philosophically opposed to biotechnology on what is supposed to be an evidence-based process is creating an environment of ‘regulation by referendum’ — a disservice to the health and safety of the American people.”

The FDLI point-counterpoint document, dated 24 July, included one half penned by Food & Water Watch Senior Researcher Tim Schwab and the other by a team of scientists that AquaBounty says have “longstanding relationships” with the food-safety agency.

Schwab argued that, should the FDA approve GM salmon for commercial sale, it would set a precedent for how rigorously the agency will assess biotech food animals. Its approval would, he wrote, “establish a dangerously lax legal and regulatory precedent for a whole new era of biotech animals, whose potential risks to consumer health, animal health, the environment and the economy will not be meaningfully examined by FDA prior to commercialization.” The title of his report is “Is FDA Ready to Regulate the World’s First Biotech Food Animal?”

In contrast, the team of scientists, headed by Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D., University of California-Davis, said the process FDA is using to regulate products from GM animals is overly rigorous, far beyond the legally required scientific analysis of food and environmental safety. No product could withstand this level of “non-science-based scrutiny,” according to the paper.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

July 24, 2013 — Sen. Kelly Ayotte expressed frustration at a Senate commerce subcommittee meeting Tuesday about the drastic effects that cod and haddock catch reductions are having on New Hampshire fishermen.

The hearing was the first in a series being held as the committee takes up the issue of reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which regulates the commercial fishing industry nationally. A small group of senators heard from New Hampshire and Massachusetts fishermen and others about what changes they feel need to be made to the act.

In January, the New England Fisheries Management Council approved a 77 percent cut in Gulf of Maine cod and haddock catch allotments through 2015. That and other measures have all but stopped commercial ground fishing in New Hampshire.

Josh Weirsma, sector manager for New Hampshire‘s fisheries, testified during the hearing that because boats recently had to stop fishing for dogfish, only four total boats were fishing in New Hampshire — down from 36 in 2009.

Ayotte said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is charged not just with protecting fish stocks, but fishing communities, and pressed John Bullard, northeast regional administrator for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, about how he planned to do that.

Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader

July 23, 2013 — During a Senate Commerce Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday Senator Kelly Ayotte recommended changes to the Mid-Atlantic Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Act.

The conservation act dates back to 1976 and is meant to maintain stock and habitat at sustainable levels.

In recent years that’s meant strict catch limits for Atlantic Cod and Haddock.

And many senators agree that catch limitations issued under the act have worked.

Read the full story and listen to the audio from New Hampshire Public Radio

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton  July 24, 2013 — The National Park Service has withdrawn its seafood sustainability guidelines for its vendors that relied solely on Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Marine Stewardship Council for a definition of ‘sustainability.’

Kathy Kupper, a spokesperson for the National Park Service, told Seafood source that the agency is “going to pull back and meet with NOAA” to discuss the issue.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski blasted the Park service for ignoring federal guidelines saying “the government does not endorse any particular labeling or documentation program over another.” 

Also, the seafood coalition, broadly representing most US seafood harvesters and processors, asked the Park service why they rejected using NOAA’s Fishwatch program to determine sustainability.

Next week the Park Service is meeting with NOAA to discuss how to broaden its guidelines to include a range of seafood sustainability measures.

“The guideline was never meant to exclude anyone. It has been brought to our attention that there are other [sustainable seafood guidelines] and we are looking at that now,” Kupper said.

This is a small step in the effort to recognize seafood sustainability is a public purpose, not just the province of private groups who have a financial interest in being ‘gate keepers.’

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

July 23, 2013 — Officials and fishery advocates at various levels in Gloucester and across the state say they’ll fight a provision in a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee bill that would break apart the Gloucester’s Northeast Regional headquarters of NOAA, but they and other agencies are on board with a measure in the same budget bill that would make force NOAA scientists to work with fishermen on stock assessments.

Mayor Carolyn Kirk issued a letter to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey Monday, thanking them for the support of the bill that could also steer up to $150 million in economic disaster aid to fishing fleets, primarily in the Northeast, while urging everyone to have one, unified voice.

“We are particularly pleased to see that largely all of the elements of the ‘Bridge Plan’ that was constructed in Gloucester by a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders have been included in the bill,” Kirk’s letter reads, referring to a part of the bill that would direct 10 percent of federal seafood import tariff revenues toward community-based projects that would modernize fishing fleets and improve waterfronts.

However, citing the financial impact and communication between the fishing industry and Gloucester, Kirk and others also want to curb the idea of closing the regional NOAA office in Blackburn Industrial Park.

Kirk points out the building was only recently constructed at “considerable” cost to the federal government, and serves as a direct link between NOAA and the city’s fishing industry.

“I want to state unequivocably the need for NOAA management to stay in Gloucester,” the letter reads. “A move would not only mean a negative economic impact and job loss or disruptive relocations for the 260 workers in our community, it would also undermine the connections and collaborations the city and (National Marine Fisheries Service) NMFS have begun to make that have led to progressive solutions for the industry.”

Read the full story from the Gloucester Times

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — July 23, 2013 — Today, on Saving Seafood Radio, Executive Director Bob Vanasse interviewed Massachusetts' senior Senator Elizabeth Warren on efforts to bring relief to New England fishermen through provisions in the FY14 Senate Appropriations bill.

When asked about the bill, Senator Warren said that "it is vitally important that we support our fishermen" and that managers "need a two-pronged approach that provides immediate assistance to fishing families in the short term, coupled with the programs and policies that are going to help our communities in the long term"
 
The bill, if approved by the House, would provide $150 million in relief funding for fisheries disasters and also includes provisions that will expand available resources for fishery science and cooperative research efforts.
 
Senator Warren also discussed a provision directing that 10 percent of revenues from seafood import duties under the 1954 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act be used for grants to help coastal fishing communities and industry retool and modernize their fleets, shore services, and port facilities.
 
Another provision directs fishery managers to dramatically expand the chartering of commercial fishing vessels to serve as research and survey vessels for fish stock assessments.
 
Senator Warren mentioned that fishermen helped her identify parts of these solutions and she believes these measures will "improve both the quantity and quality of fishery data." She said these actions are "finally going to incorporate the fishermen's expertise into the scientific collection process."
 
In the face of hardship, Senator Warren reminded those affected by the fishery disaster of the successful turnaround of the scallop industry through cooperative efforts. "The fishing industry has faced tough times before, and through innovation they have found ways not only to survive but to thrive," she said.
 
To that end, she reiterated that "the fishing industry is an essential part of the Commonwealth's economy and it is part of our proud traditions. We are not going to let this go."

Listen to the full interview with Senator Warren here

 

July 22, 2013 — The following is from the Senate Committee on Appropriations report on appropriation (S. 1329) for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014:

"Given NOAA’s lack of cooperation and reversal of commitment, the Committee has no choice but to take action and direct NOAA to close NERO immediately and to dissolve all necessary operations into existing facilities located throughout the region."

The Committee notes with grave disappointment that NOAA has determined that NMFS will not act on amenable direction set forth in the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill to enhance and repair core NMFS functions in the Mid-Atlantic region in the areas of fisheries management, endangered species, habitat protection, and restoration.

Furthermore, NOAA has not delivered, and has no timeline for delivering, a report that was requested by the Committee to be delivered 30 days after enactment of the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill on ways NOAA would: ‘‘(1) streamline procedures to allow Mid-Atlantic fisheries decisions to be made locally rather than remotely, as appropriate and consistent with procedures and practices in other NMFS regions; (2) increase the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s accessibility to NOAA, consistent with the accessibility afforded to other fishery management councils; (3) reduce bureaucracy to allow difficult Mid-Atlantic issues to be brought to the attention of the NMFS Northeast Regional Office [NERO] and NOAA Fisheries leadership in NOAA headquarters on an expedited basis; and (4) improve on-the-ground coordination with Mid-Atlantic fisheries partners.’’

Such direction had been mutually agreed upon by the Committee and NOAA after the Committee has proposed moving operations of NERO to NMFS’s headquarters to more centrally locate regional presence after witnessing years of disproportionate attention across NERO’s vast jurisdiction. However, given NOAA’s lack of cooperation and reversal of commitment, the Committee has no choice but to take action and direct NOAA to close NERO immediately and to dissolve all necessary operations into existing facilities located throughout the region.

Specifically, NOAA is directed to improve outreach and services to the fishing industry by configuring fishery science centers and fishery statistic offices as newly configured and less stove-piped portals to the local fishing communities. With minimal overhead in- vestment, including technology investment and updated staffing plans, these offices could be much better utilized to serve a larger NMFS purpose. Instead of relying on, or having to travel to, the NERO office for direct industry support, fishermen would have better and more immediate access to NMFS support services at exist- ing NMFS offices in their home states, if not their homeports. The Committee directs NOAA to ensure that core NMFS support services be retained and accessible in all regions currently served by NERO, including New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South-Atlantic regions, at these local centers and offices. NOAA, in consultation with the Committee, shall work with the General Services Administration immediately to develop a plan to resolve NERO’s current leased space, and create a plan to redirect an adequate portion of NERO’s larger operational costs to outfit the local regional offices.

Read the full bill from the Committee on Appropriations