Guinta Meets with Fishing Co-ops About New Federal Fees

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-NH, joined New Hampshire fishermen at their cooperative in Seabrook yesterday to address their concerns about proposed National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fees that could further cripple their suffering industry.

New fees, he stated in a press release, in addition to several other issues raised, threaten to significantly diminish the capacity of Granite State fishermen to earn a living.

“We have a long, proud fishing tradition in New Hampshire along our coastline,” said Guinta, after his visit. “It’s the shortest on the East Coast, but our fishermen work the hardest and supply America with the seafood we love. But their way of life is declining. We must preserve it and good jobs that support Granite State families.”

Local fishermen’s numbers shrunk by half this summer, according to NOAA personnel. Co-op members say their disappearance is due largely to NOAA regulations cracking down on what the agency terms over-fished of Gulf of Maine stocks. NOAA is proposing that remaining fishermen pay the cost of their own at-sea monitoring.

Currently, the agency pays that figure, amounting to an average of $710 per vessel per day. “NOAA has decided to charge fishermen themselves for this unfunded government mandate, when most are struggling to make ends meet,”said Guinta.

This spring, Guinta introduced the bipartisan Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2106) to re-direct existing federal money to U.S. fisheries and strengthen local control.

“We’re giving people more power and security, while making sure taxpayer money goes to its intended purposes,” he said.

Also in 2015, Congress passed the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act (H.R. 774) and the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act (H.R. 1335). Respectively, the bills would increase oversight of foreign seafood industries’ possibly illegal trade practices and assist U.S. fishing communities to adapt to changes.