WASHINGTON – July 14, 2011 — The House Appropriations Committee reported its 2012 recommendations for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to the House of Representatives yesterday. The NMFS recommendations in full are on pages 25-28 of the report covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. (See link below.)
The Committee made the following recommendations:
National Catch Share Program.—The Committee recommends $21,956,000 for the catch shares program, which is $21,956,000 below fiscal year 2011 and $32,046,000 below the request. Given limited funding and ongoing concerns with this program, the Committee recommends a more modest investment in this program. The Committee directs the Government Accountability Office to review the NOAA catch share pro- gram and provide an assessment of its implementation and impacts on the fisheries where it has been instituted as part of the overall fishery management program for a given fishery. This report, to be submitted to the Committee by January 23, 2012, shall also include an assessment regarding any consolidation that has occurred as a result of implementing catch shares programs. GAO is directed to consult with the Committee prior to beginning this effort.
Stock Assessments.—The Committee recommendation for stock assessments is $63,764,000, which is an increase of $10,371,000 above fiscal year 2011 levels and $3,356,000 below the request. The Committee notes that lack of accurate, up-to-date data for numerous economically vital fisheries has caused significant problems as NMFS works to implement provisions that were incorporated into the Magnuson-Stevenson Act (MSA) in 2006. NMFS has proceeded to implement these provisions, particularly as they relate to setting annual catch limits on all fisheries, in a manner that ignores pro- found shortfalls in requisite data. More robust stock assessments, based on more frequent surveys, are vitally important to improve management of our marine fisheries and meet the requirements of the MSA. The Committee supports targeting and prioritizing stock survey funds to address critical data gaps in fisheries that have suffered dramatically from inadequate data gathering. Additionally, the Committee supports the further utilization of fishery independent data collection efforts and encourages NMFS to take advantage of existing non-Federal resources that are capable of providing timely and reliable data to improve stock assessments of critical fisheries. As such, the recommendation includes $7,035,000 for cooperative research programs, which is $3,015,000 below fiscal year 2011 levels and $204,000 below the request.
Enforcement and Observers Training.—The Committee recommends $105,747,000 for Enforcement and Observers Training, which is the same as the fiscal year 2011 level and $460,000 below the request. The Committee provides this level of funding in response to the recent IG investigation into NMFS enforcement activities. The IG is directed to provide an update to the Committee by December 12, 2011, regarding implementation of recommendations from the IG’s 2010 review of NOAA’s Fisheries Enforcement Asset Forfeiture Fund.