Senators support fisheries in the face of climate change
Published onU.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to modernize outdated regulations governing commercial fishing along the Atlantic Coast. Even with fish locations changing drastically in response to warming ocean temperatures, the restrictions on species and the number of fish caught in Atlantic waters have not been updated in decades. According to the release, commercial fishermen have been forced to travel further distances to access fish populations and are often forced to throw landings back, which results in higher mortality rates. The Supporting Healthy Interstate Fisheries in Transition Act (SHIFT) will require the Department of Commerce to consider changing geographic ranges of fish populations as it oversees federal fishery management plans and quota allocations for Atlantic states. Senator Murphy of Connecticut has focused on job creation within his state, and in May 2023, he was a proponent of increasing federal ...
Read More
Unifying Efforts: Bipartisan Legislators Introduce Bill Ensuring Protection and Welfare of Commercial Fishermen
Published onU.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Dan Sullivan (R-AL), and Edward Markey (D-MA) led a bipartisan group of Senators introducing the Fishing Industry Safety, Health, and Wellness Improvement (FISH Wellness) Act. This legislation will build upon the success of the Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research Training Program to further address the range of occupational safety and health risks that fishermen face, which include worker fatigue and substance use disorder. Authorized funding for the program will increase, and research and training grants will become more accessible by eliminating match requirements. At this years Pacific Marine Expo, a group of commercial fishing industry members came together to discuss strategies for addressing commercial fishermens mental health. Generations of fishermen have indirectly dealt with mental health challenges, and the new generation wants to see these issues explored in a much more direct manner. Providing our next generation of fishermen and women ...
Read More
Senators Collins and Reed Introduce Bill to Preserve Vital Working Waterfronts
Published onOn November 13, Senators Susan Collins and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced the Working Waterfront Preservation Act. The bipartisan bill would help preserve access for the nations fishermen and maritime workers to the waterfronts in coastal communities, supporting the commercial fishing, aquaculture, boatbuilding, and for-hire recreational fishing industries that are vital to culture, heritage, and economies of coastal towns and cities. Senator Collins has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving senator. She has advocated and secured funding for numerous fisheries in the state for over two decades. She has worked on many acts with Maine's Senator King, who has also actively supported Maine fisheries with bipartisan legislation such as the Fishing Industry Credit Enhancement Act. Senators King and Collins have worked to help keep the fishing industry alive from coast to coast. The hardworking men and women of Maines maritime industries continue to ...
Read More
Controversy swirls over Japan's Fukushima water disposal
Published onJapan announced on Aug. 15 that nuclear plant operators plan to start releasing Fukushima water into the Pacific Ocean. More than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the nuclear power plants are said to have begun on Aug. 24. This amount of water is equivalent to filling about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The water was used to cool the fuel rods of Fukushima Daiichi, located on Japans east coast, after it melted down after the earthquake and huge tsunami back in 2011. This was reported as the second-worst nuclear disaster in history. The Japanese government approved this plan two years ago. The decision to decommission the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company has faced criticism from the public and local fishing groups. Fishermen fear the damage to the ocean and marine species and the effects this will have on their livelihood. Prime Minister Fumio ...
Read More
Mississippi opens financial aid for fishermen affected by 2019 Bonnet Carré diversion
Published onMississippi is accepting applications for financial relief from commercial fishermen hurt by the 2019 Mississippi Bonnet CarrSpillway disaster. The spillway is designed to divert floodwater away from the city of New Orleans and into the Mississippi Sound, but the surge of freshwater spillover into the ocean can shock oysters, crabs, and other aquatic life. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carr Spillway twice in 2019 the first time it was ever opened twice in one year it severely damaged area fisheries. In 2020, the Department of Commerce declared the 2019 spillway releases a fishery disaster, allocating $88 million to Gulf of Mexico fisheries in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to compensate for lost revenue from lower oyster, shrimp, crab, and finfish landings. Of that $88 million, Mississippi received $21 million. The total was significantly less than the $500 million in financial relief the three states asked ...
Read More
Naval tensions rise: Chinese and Russian vessels approach Aleutians
Published onIn a recent development, heightened international focus turns towards the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea. Eleven military vessels from China and Russia have been spotted operating near the Aleutian Islands, prompting a quick and determined reaction from the U.S. Navy. Four U.S. Navy destroyers were swiftly dispatched, signaling a decisive move in the region. Alaska's Republican Senators, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, issued a joint news release on Saturday evening, shedding light on the comprehensive briefings they received from Alaska Command leadership about the operation. Both Senators stressed their direct involvement with the situation, with Murkowski stating, "We've remained in close contact with Alaska Command's leadership for several days and have received detailed classified briefings about the foreign vessels." Senator Sullivan further highlighted the seriousness of the event, describing it as a vivid symbol of a new era marked by authoritarian aggression orchestrated by ...
Read More
World's largest dam removal project gets approval
Published onIn a historic move, U.S. regulators have given the green light to a groundbreaking plan to demolish four dams on the lower Klamath River in California, paving the way for the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's unanimous vote on the proposal represents a major milestone for the $500 million demolition plan, which has been ardently supported by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. The ambitious initiative aims to restore the lower half of Californias second-largest river to its natural free-flowing state, effectively opening up hundreds of miles of critical salmon habitat. For Native tribes that have relied on the Klamath River and its salmon for their way of life, the dam removal represents a long-awaited victory. Situated in a wild and remote area straddling the California and Oregon border, the dams' presence has hindered ...
Read More
Tuna suppliers say they support Pacific management proposals
Published onWith international tuna regulators headed for a major meeting in November, a coalition of seafood suppliers and environmental activists are supporting proposals for the first Pacific-wide harvest strategy to manage albacore stocks jointly. The 101st Session of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) will be held Aug. 7-11 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The commissions agenda includes an amendment to the North Pacific albacore harvest strategy, a measure for South Pacific albacore, and proposals on electronic monitoring, FADs, harvest control rules, and a Vessel Monitoring System. Albacore tuna accounts for a significant chunk of the $40 billion-per-year global tuna market, and demand for this species is projected to grow. Thats why it is vital that fisheries managers work to ensure the sustainability of the albacore population, wrote Esther Wozniak and Katy Hladki of the Pew Charitable Trusts international fisheries project in a recent commentary. Together ...
Read More
Bristol Bay processors hit fishermen with 50-cent price, protests coming
Published onBristol Bay processors lowballed fishermen with ex-vessel prices of 50 cents on July 17, and the fleet wasnt happy about it. As the season unfolded in early July the fleet began fishing on an open ticket, meaning that prices hadnt yet been announced by major processors. When major processors came out with the announcement of a base price of 50 cents some members in the fleet proposed a friendly protest near Naknek. The protest has been staged for July 20, but the looming question is whether thousands of fishermen could band together with enough solidarity and force processors to nudge up the prices. There are too many variables out here, says Harry Moore, a lifelong drift fisherman who was raised on the beach at Naknek. The fish came in later this year and didnt really hit until last week (July 10). It was slow developing; so there are a ...
Read More
Rep. Hoyle supporting backbone of Oregon coastal communities with new legislation
Published onOn Thursday, July 13, U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) introduced legislation to ensure ports can apply for infrastructure grants that support commercial fishing, bolster jobs, and drive the economies of our coastal communities. The current law in place does not make it explicitly clear whether ports can apply for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grants that support commercial fishing. This has left a gap open for interpretation that overlooks the commercial fishing communities which are the backbone of the U.S. coastal economies. Rep. Hoyles legislation would clarify that ports may apply for federal funding through the Maritime Administrations Port Infrastructure Development Program (MARADs) for projects that specifically support commercial fishing, and local jobs that come with it. Rep. Hoyle stated, Prior to the pandemic, Oregons commercial fisheries generated an estimated $558 million in income for Oregons economy Id like to see us get back there. We ...
Read More
