[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 92 (Thursday, June 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. FRANK A. LoBIONDO

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 16, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2847) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, 
     and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2010, and for other purposes:

  Mr. LoBiondo. Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to the Campbell 
Amendment. This amendment would bar funds in the bill from being used 
to fund a $600,000 project for the Partnership for Mid-Atlantic 
Fisheries which I requested along with Reps. Bishop, King and Pallone. 
In addition, it reduces by $600,000 funding for the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.
  The Partnership for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries is a multi-state 
partnership comprised of commercial and recreational fishing 
organizations and academic institutions in New Jersey and New York. It 
is dedicated to the design and implementation of scientific projects 
addressing critical needs to improve the assessment and attainment of 
sustainability for the most important fisheries of the Mid-Atlantic 
region.
  The project the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations 
Subcommittee has chosen to fund and which this amendment bars funding 
for is titled ``Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Initiative.'' The 
goal of this initiative is to gain data to address the most urgent 
scientific issues limiting successful management of the summer flounder 
and black sea bass fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic region. This data will 
then be provided to the National Marine Fisheries Service, regional 
councils, and state regulatory bodies to be used in the assessment 
process carried out by these groups. This assessment process is used to 
estimate maximum sustainable yield, and from this, yearly fishing 
quotas.
  Summer flounder and black sea bass are among the most valuable 
commercial and recreational fish species in the Mid-Atlantic region. A 
reduction in total allowable catch for summer flounder since 2004 
decreased the commercial and recreational fisheries by over 37.7 
percent with an economic impact in excess of $47.3 million per year. In 
2008, the Partnership for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries provided necessary 
data leading to a relaxation of quota reductions in 2009. This was an 
important first step in improved management of this species which can 
continue with funding for this project.
  In 2009, the black sea bass quota was cut 44 percent, costing the 
economies of the Mid-Atlantic an estimated $92 million. Without 
additional research on critical data inadequacies the continued 
viability of this vital fishery is endangered.
  Cape May, New Jersey in my Congressional District is the second 
busiest commercial fishing port on the East Coast. The data this 
initiative could produce and the yearly fishing quotas it could impact 
have direct effects on the economy of my district. This would impact 
not only the commercial fishermen and their families, but recreational 
anglers and the shore-based infrastructure both groups rely on--docks, 
packing houses, bait and tackle shops, marinas, etc., as well as the 
restaurant owners and seafood markets.
  The $600,000 set aside by the Commerce, Justice, Science 
Appropriations Subcommittee for the ``Summer Flounder and Black Sea 
Bass Initiative'' for the Partnership for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries will 
provide essential data which has the ability to directly impact the 
economy of my Congressional District. For this reason, I join Reps. 
Bishop, King and Pallone in strongly opposing the Campbell Amendment to 
the Commerce, Justice, Science FY 2010 Appropriations bill and urge my 
colleagues to do the same.

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