Stevens Fish Rider Defeated!
The recent omnibus appropriations bill passed contained two important victories for ocean advocates everywhere:
- The Stevens fish rider was defeated. Language by Senator Ted Stevens (AK) was removed from the act that would have eliminated federal funding to protect ancient deep sea coral gardens in Alaska. Additionally, the fishery management process of the Magnuson-Stevens Act was restored, allowing federal fisheries managers to allocate the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands pollock fishery as they deem fit. Although some troubling provisions remained in the final bill.
- Federal funding for fishing observers was doubled. These observers provide critical data that fishery managers use to understand the health of the various species they manage. The omnibus bill increased funding for the observer program from $14 million to $29 million, which will allow a much more detailed picture to be created of the state of our fisheries.
Thank you for communicating to congress the importance of healthy ocean management, it is helping to make a difference!
For additional background information on the marine riders, related media and ocean conservation efforts visit the National Environmental Trust website.
Background — Senator Stevens' Anti-Environmental Riders on Oceans
Despite recently published studies and reports concluding that United States oceans are in a severe collapse, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) added a package of anti-environmental riders to this year’s Commerce-Justice-State (CJS) appropriations bill (S. 1585).
Senator Stevens’ rider sought to:
- Eliminate funding for important ocean protections in the North Pacific Ocean, including efforts to protect ancient deep sea corals and sponges and ongoing scientific research needed to comprehensively assess vital ocean habitats.
- Establish quotas for processors, a controversial measure that will dictate where crab fishermen will sell most of their catch.
- Shut out the public from participating in key fishery management decisions, and
- Directly mandate fishery allocations, the current job of the National Marine Fisheries Service and regional councils.
- This package seeks to set alarming precedents for current ocean regulations nationally.
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