Amanda Leland - Vice President, Oceans, EDF

Yesterday, the House and Senate passed a minibus appropriations bill that funds NOAA for the remainder of fiscal year 2012.  Today the President signed the measure into law.

Notably, the bill does not include a misguided measure that would have robbed local fishermen in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico of one of the most effective fishery management options available: catch shares.  The bill also includes $28 million in catch shares funding that will go to support existing catch share fishermen, including those in the Pacific, New England, and Gulf of Mexico.

Opponents had made a last-ditch effort to add this anti-environmental rider onto the must-pass funding bill, but Members of Congress who represent fishermen who operate under catch shares pushed back.  That’s because they know that catch shares aren’t just good for stewarding our marine resources, they’re also good for fishermen.

Just this week, more than 100 New England fishermen sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to reject the “series of increasingly dangerous proposals that truly put the future of our businesses and fisheries at risk.” Read More »