Saving Seafood

Florida’s Senators, Congressmen Urge Commerce Department to Help Fisheries Hurt by Red Tide

June 4, 2021 — On Wednesday, members of the Florida delegation sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo urging that the Department approve Florida’s request for disaster assistance for fisheries that were harmed by severe red tide events that occurred between 2015 and 2019.

Florida’s two U.S. senators–Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–and Republican U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, Byron Donalds, Carlos Gimenez and Greg Steube signed the letter.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Secretary Raimondo:

We write to bring your attention to a pending request by the State of Florida for the declaration of a federal fishery resource disaster in response to severe red tide events that occurred between 2015 and 2019.  We respectfully urge you to expeditiously consider the State of Florida’s request, and approve the disbursal of disaster assistance to fishing and seafood businesses that were harmed by the impacts to sea life that were caused by red tide.

On May 24, 2019, the State of Florida submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a federal fishery resource disaster pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1861a, and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act, 16 U.S.C. § 4107, in response to the severe red tide events that occurred in the state between 2015 and 2019.  As noted in the initial request, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that 1,300 licensed charter fishermen, 1,700 commercial fishermen, and 273 wholesalers were economically harmed by the impacts of the severe red tide blooms.

Read the full story at Florida Daily

Soon-to-be Vacated Seat on Fisheries Council Should Be Held By A New Yorker, Lawmakers Say

May 14, 2021 — A seat on an interstate fisheries council that manages fish allocations among mid-Atlantic states will be vacated this summer, and top New York lawmakers are urging the federal government to keep a New Yorker in the post, Newsday has learned.

In a May 7 letter, Sen. Chuck Schumer told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo it was “crucial” that she appoint a New Yorker to soon-to-be vacated seat on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The at-large seat is currently occupied by veteran sports fisherman and longtime council member Anthony DiLernia, whose term expires in August. Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said keeping a New Yorker in that seat is important because of “historically inequitable [council] rulings based on flawed science that have disproportionately harmed New York.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘America’s leader in offshore wind’: What Vineyard Wind final approval means for New Bedford

May 12, 2021 — Vineyard Wind received final federal approval on Tuesday to construct its 800-megawatt offshore wind project off the coast of Southern Massachusetts. It will be the first large-scale offshore wind project in the country.

The U.S. Department of the Interior called it a “major milestone” that would “propel” the country toward a clean energy future. Project approval had stalled during the Trump administration, but picked up in the first months of the Biden administration, which set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

“Today’s offshore wind project announcement demonstrates that we can fight the climate crisis, while creating high-paying jobs and strengthening our competitiveness at home and abroad,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a statement. “This project is an example of the investments we need to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and I’m proud to be part of the team leading the charge on offshore wind.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Bipartisan bill in US Congress aims to better protect forage fish

April 30, 2021 — Two U.S. senators on Thursday, 29 April, filed a bill that calls on the federal government to increase protections for smaller fish that serve as an essential food source for ecosystems across the country.

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) have filed S.1484, called The Forage Fish Conservation Act. The legislation would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to mandate that that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce come up with a definition for forage fish as well as take steps to improve monitoring and management for fish that serve as prey to larger fish, birds, and other mammals.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seacoast Leaders And Commerce Secretary Talk Visa Workers, COVID Funding, Climate Change

April 27, 2021 — Seacoast tourism and business leaders want federal officials to approve more foreign visa workers and economic aid to support what they hope will be a busy summer on the tail end of the pandemic.

They spoke at a roundtable Monday in Hampton Beach with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, was on her first official trip as U.S. Commerce Secretary. She asked what the Seacoast wants out of the latest round of pandemic stimulus money and President Biden’s proposed jobs and infrastructure plan.

New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association CEO Mike Somers said he’s optimistic for any small tourism businesses that made it this far through the pandemic. But he said continued federal support – for visa workers and other aid – will be crucial in the next few months.

To lower emissions and mitigate the warming trend, Raimondo said she’s confident the nation can scale up offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine without hurting the region’s fisheries.

She was asked about it by David Goethel, a Seabrook-based commercial fisherman and member of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a fisheries advocacy group with concerns about wind growth.

Raimondo said she was proud of how Rhode Island worked with its fishing industry to build what’s currently the nation’s only utility-scale wind farm, Block Island Wind.

“They were super anxious, as you are, about what would happen to fish migration patterns when you put the turbines in the middle of the ocean,” she said. “It worked out because we listened to them and we really looked hard at all the data.”

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

NOAA awards contract to rebuild the agency’s Ketchikan, Alaska port facility

April 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA has awarded a contract to Ahtna Infrastructure & Technologies, LLC for a project to revitalize its port facility in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Under the terms of the $18,771,041 contract, the Alaska-based company will make major improvements, including the construction of a new office building, large floating pier, steel access trestle, and updated power and water utility systems for servicing visiting ships. The project will begin with the removal of the existing pier and related structures.

“This NOAA port revitalization project is a great example of building back better by investing in modern and sustainable infrastructure,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “The improvements to NOAA’s Ketchikan facility will enable the agency to support safe navigation and commerce in Alaska and the region more effectively than ever.”

Upon completion of this project, NOAA will have a fully functioning homeport in Alaska capable of supporting Ketchikan-based NOAA Ship Fairweather and other visiting NOAA and government vessels. NOAA expects the project to be completed by December 2022.

“We look forward to serving Alaska and the nation from this greatly improved facility,” said Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, deputy director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). “This represents a major milestone in NOAA’s effort to recapitalize the agency’s fleet and supporting infrastructure.”

NOAA’s fleet of research and survey ships is operated, managed and maintained by OMAO, which is composed of civilians and officers with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, one of the nation’s eight uniformed services.

Read the full release here

Washington Delegation Pushes Department of Commerce to Accelerate State’s Fishery Disaster Requests

April 6, 2021 — The entire Washington congressional delegation issued a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo asking to expedite the department’s review of disaster declarations for nine pending federal economic fishery disaster declaration requests for salmon fisheries in the state.

“Salmon fisheries are essential for the economy, culture, and way of life of many coastal and Tribal communities in Washington state,” the members wrote to Raimondo. “Fisheries are economic drivers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Prompt action by the Department of Commerce is a critical step needed to secure financial relief for these communities.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Secretary of Commerce Announces Allocation of an Additional $255 Million in CARES Act Funding to States and Territories

March 30, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announced the allocation of an additional $255 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The funding will support activities previously authorized under Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). It will be allocated to states and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19.

“Our priority is to award these funds as quickly as possible using existing processes established under the CARES Act,” said Paul Doremus, Acting Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “As a next step, we will use these allocations to provide additional funds to our partners—the interstate marine fisheries commissions, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—to disburse funds to address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial impacts related to COVID-19.”

The commissions then will work with each state and territory to revise their prior spend plans to be consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the CARES Act, and NOAA’s guidance. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will submit spend plans to the agency directly. All spend plans must describe the main categories for funding, including direct payments, fishery-related infrastructure, and fishery-related education. The funding will address direct and indirect COVID-19 impacts to eligible fishery participants, including:

  • Commercial fishermen
  • Charter businesses
  • Qualified aquaculture operations
  • Subsistence, cultural, and ceremonial users
  • Processors
  • Other fishery-related businesses

Congress also designated $30 million for all federally recognized Tribes in coastal states and the Great Lakes and $15 million for Great Lakes states. We will work with our state partners and Tribes to determine the approach we will use to allocate this funding to eligible fishery participants as quickly as possible.

Read the full release here

Gina Raimondo confirmed as US Commerce Department secretary

March 4, 2021 — By an 84-15 vote on the afternoon of Tuesday, 2 March, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo as the next U.S. secretary of Commerce. In that position, Raimondo will be the top official in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to oversee the federal government’s policies concerning the fishing industry.

Raimondo was nominated for the position on 7 January and testified before the Senate on 27 January. She was sworn into her new position in the evening of Wednesday, 3 March.

Read the full story at Seafood Source