Whereas the Secretary of Commerce may provide fishery
disaster assistance under section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)) if the Secretary
determines that there is a commercial fishery failure due to a fishery resource
disaster as a result of natural causes, man-made causes beyond the control of
fishery managers to mitigate through conservation and management measures,
including regulatory restrictions imposed to protect human health or the marine
environment, or undetermined causes;
Whereas the Secretary of Commerce has not proposed or
promulgated regulations to implement such section 312(a);
Whereas during 2007, the Governors of each of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the State of Maine, and the State of Rhode
Island requested that the Secretary of Commerce declare a commercial fishery
failure for the groundfish fishery under such section 312(a) and the Governor
of the State of New Hampshire has indicated his intention of submitting a
similar request;
Whereas since 1996, the Secretary of Commerce has had
regulations in place that require significant restrictions and reductions on
the catch and days-at-sea of New England fishermen in the groundfish
fishery;
Whereas New England fishermen in the groundfish fishery
have endured additional restrictions and reductions under Framework 42, which
has resulted in many fishermen having just 24 days to fish during a
season;
Whereas Framework 42 and other Federal fishing
restrictions have had a great impact on small-boat fishermen, many of whom
cannot safely fish beyond the inshore areas;
Whereas, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, each
day-at-sea a fisherman spends in an inshore area reduces that fisherman's
number of available days-at-sea by 2 days;
Whereas the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has provided
information to the Secretary of Commerce demonstrating that between 1994 and
2006, overall conditions of groundfish stocks have not improved and that
spawning stock biomass is near record lows for most major groundfish
stocks;
Whereas the Commonwealth of Maine has provided additional
information to the Secretary that between 2005 and 2006, total Massachusetts
commercial groundfish vessel revenues (landings) decreased by 18 percent and
there was a loss for related industries and communities estimated at
$22,000,000;
Whereas the State of Maine has provided information to the
Secretary of Commerce indicating that since 1994, the impact of groundfish
regulations have eliminated 50 percent of Maine’s groundfish fleet, leaving
just 110 active groundfish fishermen;
Whereas the State of Maine has provided additional
information to the Secretary indicating that between 1996 and 2006, there was a
58 percent drop in groundfish landings in Maine and a 45 percent drop in
groundfish revenue from approximately $27,000,000 to $15,000,000 and that
between 2005 and 2006, groundfish revenues decreased 25 percent;
Whereas the State of Rhode Island has provided information
to the Secretary of Commerce indicating that, since 1994, there has been a 66
percent drop in Rhode Island’s groundfish fishery landings and, between 1995
and 2007, groundfish revenue decreased 20 percent from approximately $7,500,000
to $6,000,000;
Whereas the Secretary of Commerce rejected requests from
Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island to declare a commercial fishery failure
prior to establishing any appropriate standard to implement section 312(a) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and
Whereas for centuries, growth in New England's commercial
fishing industry has been intertwined with the history and economic growth of
the New England States and has created thousands of jobs in both fishing and
fishing-related industries for generations of New England residents: Now,
therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the Senate
that the Secretary of Commerce should—
(1)reconsider the
October 22, 2007 decision to deny the requests of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, the State of Maine, and the State of Rhode Island for a
groundfish fishery failure declaration;
(2)look favorably
upon the request of the State of New Hampshire for a groundfish fishery failure
declaration; and
(3)immediately
propose regulations to implement section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(a)).