Saving Seafood

Congress Reauthorizes National Harmful Algal Bloom Program

January 7, 2019 — The following was released by the American Sportfishing Association:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) of 2018 before the holiday break. The vote was the final step toward sending the bipartisan legislation to the President’s desk.

“This legislation is critically important to advancing the scientific understanding and ability to monitor and assess harmful algal blooms,” said American Sportfishing Association (ASA) Policy Director Clay Crabtree. “With the ongoing frequency of harmful algal blooms and their devastating impacts on fisheries, we are grateful that Congress moved this bill across the finish line.”

In August, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held a hearing on harmful algal blooms and discussed this legislation. ASA Member Patrick Neu, President of the Future Anglers Foundation and Executive Director of the National Professional Anglers Association testified before the subcommittee about the impact harmful algal blooms have on anglers and fisheries habitats, and highlighted the risks posed to businesses, like local fishing tackle shops.

“Given what we’ve witnessed this year in South Florida, the Great Lakes, and in many other parts of the country, this legislation is crucial in providing federal resources to communities as more local businesses that depend on access to healthy aquatic systems are negatively impacted,” said Kellie Ralston, ASA’s Southeast Fisheries Policy Director. “We applaud Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and the other bill authors for championing this important legislation and securing its passage through Congress.”

Read the full release here

Florida declares a state of emergency as red tide kills animals and disrupts tourism

August 16, 2018 — Florida’s governor this week made official what residents of southwest Florida already knew: The bloom of toxic algae that has darkened gulf waters is an emergency. The red tide has made breathing difficult for locals, scared away tourists, and strewn popular beaches with the stinking carcasses of fish, eels, porpoises, turtles, manatees and one 26-foot whale shark.

Gov. Rick Scott (R) late Monday declared a state of emergency in seven counties stretching from Tampa Bay south to the fringe of the Everglades. Scott promised $1.5 million in emergency funding.

The governor is facing Sen. Bill Nelson (D) this fall at the ballot box in a contest for the senate seat Nelson has held for three terms. Each man has accused the other of failing to tackle the red-tide calamity and the simultaneous bloom of a different type of algae that is clogging rivers and canals and putting a scum on top of Lake Okeechobee.

Citizens in retirement communities are reporting respiratory distress from the vapors of the microscopic red-tide organism called Karenia brevis. A recent study found a 50 percent spike in hospital visits due to respiratory problems during red-tide blooms.

The red tide has been gradually moving north, to the mouth of Tampa Bay, according to state tracking data. For many places, the daily reports continue to say “Water Color: Dark” and “Respiratory Irritation: Intense.” Worst of all are the reports that state “Dead Fish: Heavy.”

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Florida commercial fishers could get $200 million in aid

February 15, 2018 — Florida’s commercial fisheries, hit hard by Hurricane Irma, should pull in a $200 million boost from the two-year federal budget passed last week.

The $200 million will be included as funding for the “catastrophic regional fishery disaster for Florida” in the proposed $300 billion increase in the federal budget, Florida U.S. senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio announced.

Florida Keys commercial fishers were among the most affected by the Category 4 Hurricane Irma Sept. 10, the strongest storm in 57 years to make landfall in Monroe County.

“The hardworking folks in the Keys and throughout our state who rely on Florida’s bountiful marine fisheries can finally begin to rebuild their livelihoods and businesses following Hurricane Irma,” Rubio said in a Feb. 9 statement.

“When it came to securing the funding in Congress to help fishermen and communities get back on their feet, we fought hard to ensure they would be taken care of,” Nelson said in his statement.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross endorsed the fishery-disaster declaration that allows “fishermen and fishing communities to apply for Small Business Administration disaster loans, Federal Emergency Management Agency public assistance, Economic Administration Development grants and Housing and Urban Development community development block grants,” Nelson said.

“Fishermen, aquaculturists, and harvesters have suffered extensive damage or outright destruction of vessels, facilities, equipment, traps and gear,” the state’s senators wrote in a joint appeal sent in October. “Florida’s waters have provided family-owned businesses with income for generations but these businesses and people who depend on them are now at risk.”

Part of that federal money could go toward ongoing trap-recovery efforts, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association executive director Bill Kelly said Monday.

Read the full story at the Florida Keys News

Doug Clark: North Carolina deserves the same protection as Florida

January 10, 2018 — North Carolina deserves the same consideration as Florida when it comes to offshore oil and gas drilling.

The Trump administration said Tuesday it will remove the Florida coast from its plan to open virtually all U.S. offshore waters to fossil fuel development.

“I support the governor’s position that Florida is unique and its coast is heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said, according to a news release from Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office.

Florida’s coast certainly is “heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,” but it is not unique in that.

So is North Carolina’s coast, a point made by N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper last week:

“Offshore drilling represents a critical threat to our coastal economy. Protecting North Carolina families and businesses is my top priority, and we will pursue every option to prevent oil drilling near North Carolina’s beaches, coastal communities, and fishing waters.”

In his statement, Zinke noted:

“President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice.”

That voice, as represented by North Carolina’s governor and the elected leaders of many coastal communities, says don’t drill. The North Carolina voice also deserves to be heard in Washington.

Read the full opinion piece at the Greensboro News & Record

 

Commercial fishing interests support Barry Myers to lead NOAA

December 14, 2017 — A consortium of commercial fishermen is calling on the U.S. Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Coalition for Fishing Communities wrote the letter in support of Barry Myers to U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chairman, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida), the committee’s ranking minority member. The group represents 71 commercial fishing companies and organizations as well as 31 vessels.

Trump announced his selection of Myers back in October. Myers’ history differs from most who have been picked to head the organization in the past – whereas most have been scientists, Myers, the CEO of weather prediction service AccuWeather, comes from a business background.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Barry Myers, Trump’s pick to run NOAA, declares humans are main cause of climate change

November 29, 2017 — In his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday morning, Barry Myers, President Trump’s choice to run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said he agrees humans are the primary driver of recent climate change.

Myers’s unambiguous acceptance of the human role in climate change marks a clean break from other members of the Trump administration, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Trump himself — all of whom have questioned the extent of human contributions.

Myers, the chief executive of the private weather forecasting company AccuWeather, was first questioned about human contributions to climate change by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass). Markey asked Myers if he agreed with the climate science report released by 13 federal agencies earlier this month which stated it is “extremely likely” human activities are the dominant cause of recent climate warming. “I have no reason to disagree with the reports,” Myers said.

Markey pressed Myers further. “So you agree humans are the main cause of climate change?” he asked. Myers responded, “Yes.”

In a written response to questioning from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Myers also said he accepted the federal report and a supportive statement from the American Meteorological Society “as the current state of the articulated science.”

Despite these authoritative reports, efforts to publicize climate change science research findings have been undermined at a number of federal agencies, probably reflecting the dismissive stance of their leadership. The EPA, for example, took down its climate change website and blocked researchers from presenting scientific results at a recent conference.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

 

Rubio’s Florida Fisheries Improvement Act Gets Widespread Support From Different Sectors

August 9, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson are receiving widespread support on the Florida Fisheries Improvement Act, which was introduced last week.

Rubio had initially introduced the bill in 2014 to “begin outlining Florida’s priorities for the eventual reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act,” which was first passed in 1976. The Magnuson-Stevens Act was created to “prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, increase long-term economic and social benefits, and ensure a safe and sustainable supply of seafood.” The senator reintroduced the Florida Fisheries Improvement Act in 2015.

“Fishing remains an integral part of Florida’s history, economy and allure for residents and visitors alike,” Rubio said in a statement. “This bipartisan bill reflects the best ideas from Florida’s commercial, charter and recreational fishing communities, and would ensure federal laws reflect the realities of our unique Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regions while continuing to promote research and conservation efforts. As Congress works towards a reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens, I remain committed to ensuring Florida’s fisheries are well represented.”

The latest version of the bill would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act to “enhance, protect and sustain Florida’s fishery resources and the communities that rely on them.” Specifically, the legislation would force the U.S. secretary of commerce to make “fishery disaster designations within 90 days of receiving information from the state.” The bill would also “resolve inconsistencies between the Capital Construction Fund and Fisheries Finance Program,” among other things.

The bill is being supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the American Sportfishing Association, the Southeastern Fisheries Association, the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholder’s Alliance, the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman’s Association, Wild Ocean Seafood Market and the Billfish Foundation.

“We must be sure to address a suite of issues in the next MSA reauthorization and the Florida Fisheries Improvement Act is a helpful first step,” said Southeastern Fisheries Association executive director Robert Jones. “We look forward to working with Senator Rubio and his staff to provide balanced management in mixed-use fisheries and to resist changes in the law that might reduce commercial fishing access which is an important part of the food supply to Floridians and citizens all across this great country.”

Eric Brazer Jr., deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, shared similar sentiments about the bill.

“The Florida Fisheries Improvement Act proposes a number of welcome improvements that will ensure a well balanced and more transparent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, improvements to the stock assessment process, and more timely critical relief in response to fishery disasters,” said Brazer. “We look forward to working with the Senator to address some of the challenges we see that could trigger unintended consequences in our nation’s successful core system of annual catch limits and mandate perpetual and disruptive allocation debates in the region.”

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

Senate Commerce Committee Advances Fishing, Maritime Commerce Bills

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — May 19, 2017 — Yesterday, the Senate Commerce Committee approved several bills affecting fisheries and maritime commerce, including a bill that would streamline vessel discharge rules and a bill that would ban the commercial trade of shark fins in the U.S.

The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), approved as part of the U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2017, would replace a patchwork of federal and state rules regulating incidental vessel discharges, such as ballast water, with oversight by the Coast Guard. It would require commercial vessels to apply the best available technology to meet discharge standards set by the Coast Guard, and would carve out an exemption for commercial fishing vessels from the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) vessel discharge permits.

The approval of VIDA was a major step forward for the maritime commerce industry, which has pushed for changes to discharge regulations since 2007. The Coast Guard Reauthorization Act received bipartisan support, with Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) serving as sponsors.

Another bill, the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2017, was approved by a voice vote. The legislation, which was introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and is backed by the environmental group Oceana, would prohibit the commercial use of shark fins in the U.S. It is strongly opposed by commercial fishermen, as well as by many shark biologists.

While the bill was approved by a voice vote, Sen. Sullivan, who serves as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries, registered a formal “No” vote – the only one to do so. Sen. Nelson also indicated he had received feedback from many Floridians who were concerned that the bill would harm commercial fishermen in Florida. Commercial fishermen are expected to continue fighting the legislation as it moves through the Senate and House.

In addition to VIDA and the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act, the Committee approved four bills, including an amendment to the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998. Introduced by Sen. Nelson, this bill aims to fight harmful algal blooms that have plagued Florida in recent years.

The Committee also approved the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2017, the Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act for Fiscal Year 2018, and a bill to make technical amendments to certain marine fish conservation statutes.

ALEX RILEY: The Shark Fin Ban That Should Be Banned

September 23, 2016 — Every year, fishers haul up to 73 million sharks onto boats across the world’s oceans and trim their fins. In many cases, the rest of the body is thrown overboard to swim without propulsion. And without propulsion, no life-giving water flows over the sharks’ gills. They drown.

This is shark finning, a cruel practice that feeds the demand for the Chinese delicacy of shark fin or fish wing soup. From boat to bowl, it is tasteless.

To curb the death toll [of sharks], the US Congress plans to introduce the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2016. The bill was originally outlined to Congress by the advocacy organization Oceana* as part of a growing movement to outlaw all shark fins across the US. If passed, to sell or possess shark fins would be a punishable offense. It’s the ultimate protection from being made into soup.

Strange, then, that people who dedicate their lives to protecting sharks are vehemently opposed to the bill.

In a letter to Senator Bill Nelson, Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, outlines his objections. At best, it’s unnecessary, he says. At worst, it harms rather than helps shark populations.

For one, shark finning is already illegal in the United States (as well as in Canada, Australia, and Europe). Returning to shore with fins that have no corresponding body is like docking straight into a court hearing. According to Lindsay Davidson, a PhD candidate from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, this fins-attached policy “is the gold standard for ensuring finning is not occurring.”

But fishing for sharks within a set quota is completely legal, at least for now. This allows commercial fishers to sell the meat just like any other fish, as well as the skin, liver oil, and, yes, the fins. It’s not finning, it’s heavily managed fishing; a practice that is sustainable and makes use of the entire shark rather than just its most coveted cuts.

The proposed ban would change that. The meat could still be eaten or sold, but any fins would have to be tossed overboard, thrown into the trash, or used for display or research purposes by a museum, college, or university, to avoid breaking the law. “It’s going in the opposite direction from the goal of any fishery,” says Hueter. That is, to “utilize as much as you can, and throw away as little as you have to.”

Read the full opinion piece at Hakai Magazine

Shark scientist opposes fin trade ban

August 8, 2016 — On Friday, Dr. Robert E. Hueter, Director of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research, wrote to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in “strong opposition” to S. 3095, The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act.

“S. 3095 will be ineffective in making a dent in the global problem of shark overfishing,” Dr. Hueter wrote. “Instead, it will punish the wrong people by putting American commercial fishermen, who are fishing for sharks legally and sustainably, out of business.”

Dr. Hueter added that the U.S. has “one of the best systems in the world for shark fisheries management and conservation,” and that S. 3095 would promote wastefulness in the U.S. shark fishery.

Read the full letter here