[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E839-E840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DAVID W. JOLLY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2578) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Commerce and Justice, 
     Science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2016, and for other purposes:

  Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Chair, I want to compliment the Chairman for a good 
bill that responsibly invests in law enforcement, space, the sciences, 
research, our oceans and marine resources, and our weather sciences.
  I also want to thank the Chairman for his support in this bill for an 
innovative data collection initiative to improve fish stock assessments 
and research of the fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico. As we discussed in 
our hearings, we as a nation need to utilize all available tools and 
technology, and work with all fisheries' sector participants, including 
recreational, for-hire and commercial, to provide the most accurate 
assessment of the health of our fish stocks, including the Red Snapper 
species so critical to our quality of life in our Gulf states like 
Florida and Texas, and so critical to our regional economy. This 
innovative data collection initiative will better enable the National 
Marine Fisheries Service and the regional council to make the most 
informed decisions possible about the length of various fishing 
seasons.
  Mr. Chair, without constantly improving, more accurate, quantifiable 
data--data that is believed to reliably reflect the fisherman's 
experience on the water--our commercial and recreational fishermen 
alike find it difficult to understand decisions made by government to 
shorten fishing seasons and limit catches.
  To be clear, this important new provision included in this year's CJS 
bill is intended to provide the National Marine Fisheries Service 
Southeast Regional Office new tools to utilize data collection efforts 
from our recreational, for-hire and commercial fishermen, state and 
local officials, third party researchers, and academia--data collection 
and research focused on the unique stock assessment challenges of Gulf 
fisheries.
  By working with our recreational, for-hire and commercial fishermen, 
and engaging them directly in data collection, the NMFS Southeast 
Regional Office will ultimately accumulate more and better data, and 
will begin to restore trust between the sectors and regulators.
  This public-private effort will allow officials tasked with managing 
our fishery resources to reach the right balance, balance for our 
recreational fishing community's quality of life and right to fish on 
our waters, balance for our regional economy fueled by the commercial 
and

[[Page E840]]

for-hire fishing industry, and balance for our strong interest in stock 
rehabilitation, species preservation and protecting our critical 
natural resources.
  Mr. Chair, the Florida Institute of Oceanography estimates that 
Florida's ocean economy generates almost $30 billion dollars per year 
in economic activity, more than that generated by citrus, cattle, 
ranching and the space industry of Florida combined. It is critical 
that we get this right.
  I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Culberson through 
the appropriations process, and with NOAA and NMFS Southeast Regional 
Office during implementation of this funding, to stand up this 
critical, innovative stock assessment initiative and make it a success 
for Florida and for all five of our Gulf States, including the 
Chairman's home state of Texas.

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