April 4, 2014 — In the face of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) request for increased spending of $2,000,000 to develop and implement new catch share – or Individual Fishing Quota – programmes, a bipartisan group of 22 Members of Congress have made a stand for the nation’s small-scale fishermen.
Last week, the Members, led by Representative Steve Southerland, sent a letter to the House Committee on Appropriations requesting there be no funding allocated for new catch share programmes in the FY2015 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriation bill, reports FoodandWaterWatch.