Saving Seafood

Congressmen MacArthur, Smith, and LoBiondo Announce Major Victory for New Jersey Fishing Community

February 3, 2017 — Washington, D.C. — The following was released by the office of Representative Tom MacArthur:

Today, Congressmen Tom MacArthur (NJ-03), Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02) announced a major victory for New Jersey’s fishing industry. After congressional opposition led by Congressman MacArthur, the Baltimore Aquarium has withdrawn their nomination for the Baltimore Canyon to be named a national marine sanctuary, a controversial designation which could have prohibited or restricted fishing access near South Jersey.

“This is a big win for our fishing industry and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to protect New Jersey’s fishermen,” said Congressman Tom MacArthur. “Too often, our commercial and recreational fishing industry has been stifled by too many regulations from nameless, faceless and unelected bureaucrats in Washington D.C. This will make sure that a burdensome designation won’t stand in the way of our fishermen’s success.”

“With our recreational and commercial fishing industry under constant attack from Washington bureaucrats, this is certainly welcome news for our region,” said Congressman LoBiondo. “I remain committed to fighting against such arbitrary restrictions on our fishermen and appreciate Congressman MacArthur’s leadership on this critical economic issue for South Jersey.”

“If implemented, a reduction of this magnitude will have harsh and immediate economic consequences for families and businesses along New Jersey’s 130 mile shoreline—many still struggling to fully recover from Superstorm Sandy. The impact will be felt not only in fisheries and fishing communities, but by the local businesses that rely upon the industry, the governments that depend on the revenue generated by these activities and other industries—such as tourism—that are a staple along the Jersey Shore,” said Rep. Chris Smith. “The Delegation is working on a full court press that we hope will delay, and ultimately severely alter, the implementation of this devastating decision.” 

In December, Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-03) along with Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-03), Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), and Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) sent a letter to the NOAA Administrator against the potential designations of Baltimore, Hudson, and Norfolk Canyons as Marine Sanctuaries.

The original letter can be viewed here

Mid-Atlantic Congressmen: No to Marine Sanctuaries in Baltimore, Hudson, and Norfolk Canyons

WASHINGTON — December 8, 2016 — In a recent letter to NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Members of Congress representing five Mid-Atlantic states expressed trepidation regarding the potential designations of Baltimore, Hudson, and Norfolk Canyons as Marine Sanctuaries. Those signing the letter included Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-03), Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-03), Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), and Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01).

In their letter, the Members of Congress argued the Canyons are already protected by the groundbreaking Deep Sea Coral amendment passed in 2015 by the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA), which took a leading role in the amendment effort, opposes the new designations, noting they are unnecessarily burdensome and fail to incorporate the voices of all ocean stakeholders.

“The GSSA does not believe a sanctuary designation is necessary as the canyons are already sufficiently protected by the Deep Sea Coral amendment,” said GSSA Executive Director Greg DiDomenico. “Designation of these canyons as marine sanctuaries would unjustifiably and unnecessarily extend prohibited fishing areas for hundreds of miles. Most egregiously, the unilateral nature of a marine sanctuary designation runs counter to the cooperative and participatory nature under which the Deep Sea Coral amendment was developed.”

Read the full letter here

House Water, Power and Oceans Newsletter August 2016

September 6, 2016 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans:

Over the past few months, the House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans worked towards enhancing water and power supplies, instilling federal transparency and accountability and promoting fishing access in domestic and international waters. In the final months of the 114th Congress, the Subcommittee will continue these efforts through legislative and oversight activities. For additional information about the Subcommittee please visit our website.

PROTECTING FISHING ACCESS

NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY HAS FISHING AND FARMING INTERESTS CONCERNED

The Subcommittee held a May hearing on President Obama’s National Ocean Policy. Following unsuccessful efforts to pass major national ocean policy legislation during three successive Congresses under both Democrat and Republican majorities, the Administration initiated the development of a sweeping multi-agency federal management plan for oceans, which culminated in July 2010 when President Obama issued Executive Order 13547. This Executive Order created the National Ocean Council, which includes the heads of 27 different federal agencies. The National Ocean Policy imposes a new governance structure over agencies to ensure to the fullest extent that all agency actions are consistent with the objectives laid out in the Executive Order, including marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management.

The Subcommittee heard from witnesses representing fishing interests in the Northeast and Gulf of Mexico and a western farming and ranching witness. The Administration refused to provide a witness for the hearing to help clear up many unanswered questions. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) successfully offered an amendment preventing federal funds from being used to execute actions under the National Ocean Policy to the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior Department appropriations bill.

CHAIRMAN BISHOP VISITS NEW ENGLAND COMMERCIAL FISHERIES PORT

Following the one-year anniversary of the House passage of H.R. 1335, legislation reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop spent June 2, 2016 touring one of the Nation’s leading commercial fishing ports in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Accompanied by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, Representative Bill Keating, and fishing industry leaders, Bishop spent the day touring the harbor and shore-side facilities that support this robust working waterfront.

Chairman Bishop also participated in a roundtable discussion with dozens of industry representatives at the historic New Bedford Whaling Museum. While the roundtable initially focused on the work of the Committee and efforts to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the conversation quickly turned to the proposed Marine National Monument off the coast of Massachusetts currently under consideration by President Obama. During the roundtable, industry representatives noted the lack of transparency and presented an industry alternative to the proposal. This alternative mirrors the unified stance taken by state fisheries directors from Maine to Florida outlined in a May 9 letter to President Obama from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Following this visit, Chairman Rob Bishop penned an op-ed in the Boston Herald discussing the Administration’s Marine National Monument proposal and highlighting the lack of transparency and stakeholder input in the Antiquities Act process. The Chairman’s op-ed can be found here. In response to widespread local opposition to this proposal, Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY) successfully offered an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior Department appropriations bill that prevents federal funds from being used to designate a Marine National Monument in U.S. federal waters (three miles from shore out to 200 miles). This followed the House’s June passage of Zeldin’s H.R. 3070, the “EEZ Zone Clarification and Access Act.” The bill allows recreational striped bass fishing in the Block Island Transit Zone and is the result of grassroots efforts by Long Island fishermen who testified at Natural Resources Committee hearings.

Read the full newsletter at the House Committee on Natural Resources

REP. LEE ZELDIN: To Protect the Antiquities Act, Don’t Abuse It

August 25, 2016 — The Antiquities Act was passed by Congress in 1906 and signed into law by President Teddy Roosevelt in an effort to preserve American land after the pillage and destruction of a number of Native American and archaeological sites in the Southwest United States. The Antiquities Act is one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation in our nation’s history, providing the President with the sole power to declare National Monuments on federal land for the purposes of historical and natural preservation and waters. These sites often become part of the National Parks Systems under the care of the National Parks Service which is tasked with the protection of all of our valuable monuments.

Throughout its history, the Antiquities Act has had bipartisan support and has been used by 13 Presidents. The preservation of the Statue of Liberty, Death Valley and Grand Canyon are just a few of the monumental and historic American sites that were saved through the Antiquities Act. However, for fishermen on Long Island and nationwide, the current administration’s overzealous and overly broad interpretation of this law is causing great concern.

Recent Marine Monument designations proclaimed by the Obama Administration have been the largest in U.S. history, locking out fishing in perpetuity—a severe departure from the original intent of the Antiquities Act to preserve historical sites and archeological treasures. In 2014, President Obama declared a 490,000 square mile area of water in the Pacific Ocean as a National Marine Monument after receiving little public input and through a process where transparency was severely lacking. As a result of this new monument, recreational fishing was severely limited and commercial fishing was completely banned, hurting fishermen in the Pacific Ocean. Now, important fishing areas in the Northwest Atlantic, where fishermen from Greenport, Montauk, and throughout the entire New York and New England region have worked for centuries, are under consideration for a National Marine Monument designation by the current administration. As the President is pushing to apply this power to large areas of ocean in the Northwest Atlantic, he is threatening to shutdown thousands of square miles of ocean from Long Island fishermen through abuse of the Antiquities Act.

Read the full op-ed at Rep. Lee Zeldin’s House Website

Rep. Zeldin Secures House Passage of Proposal to Protect LI Fishermen

July 15, 2016 — Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) announced today that an amendment he introduced in the House of Representatives to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2017 (H.R. 5538) passed the House with a vote of 225 to 202. The Zeldin amendment bars funding for the designation of any National Marine Monuments by the President in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Marine Monuments are massive areas of ocean where fishing would be banned without consulting the local community, fishermen, or regional fisheries managers. You can watch the Congressman discuss his amendment on the House floor, by clicking here.

Congressman Zeldin said, “The Antiquities Act has been an effective tool in the past to preserve historic sites like the Statue of Liberty, but the overly broad interpretation of this law held by the current Administration is threatening to shutdown thousands of square miles of ocean from fishing through a Presidential Proclamation. My amendment ensures that this President, or the next President, does not abuse the Antiquities Act to lock out thousands of fishermen on Long Island and nationwide from portions of federal waters that contain essential fisheries. We must protect our oceans and the solution is clear—any efforts to create a marine protected area must be done through the transparent process laid out by the Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation law, not through executive fiat that threatens to put thousands of hardworking men and women out of business. Recent Marine Monument designations proclaimed by the Obama Administration have been the largest in U.S. history, locking out fishing in perpetuity—a severe departure from the original intent of the Antiquities Act to preserve historical sites and archeological treasures. Protecting the seafood economy, coastal communities, and the hardworking men and women of the seafood industry who provide for their families through fishing is a top priority for my constituents on the east end of Long Island. I will keep fighting to get this proposal signed into law on behalf of fishermen on Long Island and throughout the nation.”

Read and watch the full story at Long Island Exchange

U.S. House Makes Strong Statement Against Marine Monument

July 14, 2016 — The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

WASHINGTON (NCFC) — The U.S. House of Representatives made a strong statement against the declaration of marine monuments last night, passing an amendment offered by Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-New York) to bar funding for the designation of any National Marine Monuments by the President.  The amendment to H.R. 5538, the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, passed the House by a vote of 225-202. Congressman Zeldin represents a coastal district and the fishing hub of eastern Long Island, N.Y.

Yesterday, National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) members the Garden State Seafood Association (NJ), the Red Crab Harvesters Association (MA), the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, and Blue Water Fisheries Inc. (NY) asked fellow NCFC members to reach out to their representatives to support the amendment. The Montauk Tilefish Association (NY) and the Monkfish Defense Fund joined them in calling for support for the amendment.

Mr. Zeldin explained that he offered the amendment to keep commercial fishermen from losing access to important fishing areas through Marine Monument Designations. Opposition to the amendment was led by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-Massachusetts) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).

“As we heard at a field hearing in Riverhead, New York, unilateral marine monument designations override the current public process of established fisheries management and threatens the livelihood of the U.S. fishing industry,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah).

“Congressman Zeldin’s amendment brings us one step closer to protecting local economies while safeguarding local input in management decisions,” Chairman Bishop continued. “Many Presidents—but not all—have used the Antiquities Act, but they use it sparingly. Only a few Administrations, including this one, have abused the Act. President Obama has a long history of abusing the Antiquities Act, locking up land and water with the stroke of a pen.”

“We applaud Congressman Zeldin for his leadership on protecting fishermen both in his district here on Long Island, and across America,” said Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.

Marine Monuments are large areas of ocean where commercial fishing would be banned without consulting the local community, fishermen, or regional fishery managers. Mr. Zeldin’s amendment mandates that, “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to declare a national monument under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, in the exclusive economic zone of the United States established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983.”

The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate. Any differences between the House and Senate bills must be worked out between the two bodies, and a final bill is expected to be passed by both chambers before Sept. 30. Should the amendment survive the conference process, it will complicate the Obama Administration’s ability to act. While it would not stop a declaration, it would not allow funds to be spent to implement a declaration.

In 2014, President Obama declared a 407,000 square mile National Marine Monument in the Pacific Ocean where commercial fishing was banned and recreational fishing was severely limited.

Now important fishing areas in the Northwest Atlantic, on the West Coast, and in Alaska, where fishermen have worked for centuries, are under consideration for Monument designations with little public input and no transparency.

In a letter to House colleagues, Mr. Zeldin stated that there is an emerging national consensus that “any efforts to create marine protected areas in the EEZ must be done through the transparent and consultative process laid out by the landmark Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation law. No one is more invested in protecting America’s waters from overfishing than the hardworking families who rely upon fishing for their livelihoods.”

Rep. Zeldin’s Bill for Long Island Fishermen Passes House of Representatives

June 13, 2016 — On Tuesday, June 7, 2016, Congressman Lee Zeldin’s (R, NY-1) EEZ Transit Zone Clarification Act (HR 3070) unanimously passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. You can watch passage of the bill here. The Congressman’s bill, which passed the House Natural Resources Committee with unanimous support on Wednesday, March 15, 2016, would clarify federal laws governing the management of the striped bass fishery in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Montauk, New York, and Block Island, Rhode Island, permitting striped bass fishing in these waters.

Between New York State waters, which end three miles off of Montauk Point, New York, and the Rhode Island boundary, which begins three miles off of Block Island, there is a small area of federally controlled water that is considered part of the EEZ. The EEZ, which extends up to 200 miles from the coast, are waters patrolled by the Coast Guard, where the United States has exclusive jurisdiction over fisheries and other natural resources. Striped bass fishing has been banned in the EEZ since 1990. Congressman Zeldin’s EEZ Transit Zone Clarification Act would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to open this area to striped bass fishing.

Read the full story at Long Island Exchange

On Long Island Sound, Discord Over Push for Fishing Rights

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — February 26, 2016 — The proposal: to open part of Long Island Sound, the sliver of ocean separating New York’s Long Island from Connecticut and Rhode Island, to striped bass fishing by shifting it from federal to state control.

The problem: The New York congressman who’s pushing the idea didn’t check first with Rhode Island or Connecticut, where lawmakers say the proposal is pointless at best and environmentally dangerous at worst.

Striped bass fishing is allowed in state waters but banned in the federal area, and Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York says he wants to restore local control and common sense to fishery management. He introduced a bill to change the boundary for 150 square miles.

Though Rhode Island would get control over a slice, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, said the notion of removing federal jurisdiction just doesn’t make sense here.

“I’m not sure the rationale for it,” Cicilline said.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, another Rhode Island Democrat, called the bill “an odd little thing.” He said his office contacted Rhode Island fishermen and regulators and “nobody’s very interested in it.”

Recreational anglers who catch striped bass legally in state waters sometimes stray into, or travel through, the federal exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, between areas south of Montauk, New York, and south of Point Judith, Rhode Island.

According to Zeldin’s office, some have been fined for having striped bass on board because they couldn’t prove the bass were caught legally in state waters. Zeldin, whose district encompasses eastern Long Island, is responding to concerns from local fishermen, his office said.

Zeldin is a vulnerable freshman lawmaker who has been targeted by Democrats in a swing district that President Barack Obama narrowly won twice. Passage of the legislation could help him in his re-election bid.

Joe McBride, of the Montauk Boatmen & Captains Association, publicly thanked Zeldin for his leadership on the issue. Sport fishing is important to the Long Island economy, especially in Montauk, McBride said.

Connecticut’s entire congressional delegation signed a letter opposing the “misguided bill,” citing the potential for “major economic losses” to the Connecticut fishing industry and a “major blow” to efforts to rebuild the striped bass stock.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

Proposed Bill Could Put Connecticut Fishermen Out of Business

February 20, 2016 — New York Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin has introduced a bill to divide Block Island Sound between New York and Rhode Island.

Currently, there is a federal area three miles out from Block Island, R.I.

Zeldin says, “For recreational anglers or charter boat captains, this shift in jurisdiction can mean the difference between a nice day on the water and committing a federal offense.”

The problem? Connecticut commercial fishermen wouldn’t be able to fish the waters.

Read the full story at Wide Open Spaces

 

Congressman Joe Courtney Tells Congressional Subcommittee that Plan Would Bankrupt Lobstermen

February 2, 2016—U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District told a congressional subcommittee Tuesday that a proposal to transfer control of 155 square miles of federally controlled ocean to Rhode Island and New York jurisdiction would bankrupt Connecticut lobstermen, including those from Stonington and other southeastern Connecticut towns.

“This is damaging people’s livelihood and I think we have to be a lot more careful in terms of how we as a Congress treat federal jurisdiction and people’s rights … .” he told the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans of the Committee on Natural Resources.

If the plan passes, Courtney said Connecticut lobstermen would be shut out of fishing in Rhode Island waters because they are not residents while in New York they would have to try and obtain a non-resident permit through a costly auction process.

Courtney told the subcommittee that there was no consultation with the Stonington-based Southern New England Fishermen and Lobstermen’s Association about the plan and there was no biological analysis to back up the change.

Courtney explained to the subcommittee the economic importance of Long Island Sound and the balancing act needed to protect its fragile ecosystem.

He said he has worked closely in the past with New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, who introduced the bill before the subcommittee, which is aimed at striped bass management, on issues such as the restoration of Long Island Sound and the preservation of Plum Island.

But in this case, he said Connecticut was not represented in the development of the plan, despite the impact on its fishermen.

Read the full story at The Day