Hurricane Relief for Louisiana Coastal Fishing Sectors

Folks along the Louisiana coast who have ties to fishing have been wondering if anyone outside the state has noticed what the hurricanes did in 2005. In fact, early estimates of damage to recreational fisheries have been as high as $359 million, and damages of up to $585 million were seen in commercial fishing. An emergency appropriations bill is now under debate in the U.S. Senate that would address many of the storm impacts to these industries and activities.

In March, the House passed an emergency supplemental bill with funds for the Iraq war and for hurricane relief. The Senate is now debating the $1.135 billion that will go to repairing Gulf of Mexico fishery damages. While there will be efforts to strip some or all of these funds from the bill, many think it likely that most sections will be passed.

The bill includes:

• $200 million to replace fishing gear damaged or lost in the hurricanes and deploy advanced versions of turtle exclusion devices and by-catch reduction devices;
• $50 million to develop temporary marine services centers to cluster docking facilities, fuel, ice and provisions, offloading, processing and distribution and marine repair facilities for seafood industries;
• $300 million for re-development of marinas, piers, docks, wharves and warehouses to support commercial and recreational fishing - especially investments in public facilities supporting working waterfronts;
• $20 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) expertise to assist in rebuilding coastal communities - especially focusing on fisheries infrastructure, zoning to mitigate against future catastrophes and natural disasters and building standards for coastal structures;
• $100 million for the National Marine Fisheries Service to provide technical assistance to states and industry for oyster bed and shrimp ground rehabilitation;
• $10 million to coordinate and help implement planning efforts that will lead to capacity and effort reductions in federal and state waters;
• $15 million to develop and implement a seafood promotion strategy for Gulf of Mexico fisheries;
• $15 million for job retraining programs for displaced fisheries workers;
• $50 million for planning and support for fishing-related marine industrial parks to cluster processing and marine support businesses;
• $90 million for replacement of private fisheries infrastructure other than boats;
• $10 million to implement rules where appropriate, and purchase and provide one year of associated fees to equip the offshore shrimp and reef fish fishery with electronic vessel monitoring systems;
• $10 million to equip federally permitted fishing vessels with electronic logbooks to record haul-by-haul catch data;
• $20 million for 1 percent coverage of the shrimp and reef fish fisheries with at-sea observer coverage to document catch, by-catch and profitability of these fisheries for three years;
• $50 million to develop and fund a cooperative research program to test various gears and to monitor the recovery of Gulf of Mexico fishery resources and fisheries;
• $100 million for direct assistance to fishers and seafood workers to undertake cleanup activities and begin repairing damaged facilities;
• $20 million shall be provided to assist shell fishermen in New England’s coastal communities who suffered severe economic impact from last year’s toxic red tide outbreak; and
• $25 million to employ fishers and vessel owners in marine debris and living marine resource assessment activities.

Efforts to Reduce Shrimp Fishery Capacity

The NOAA Fisheries Service is now seeking public comments on a new rule to stabilize participation in the shrimp fishery of the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and to provide better information to manage the fishery.

The part of the rule that most affects Louisiana is the Penaeid Shrimp Vessel Permit Moratorium, which would establish a 10-year moratorium on the issuance of new federal shrimp vessel permits. Permits under the moratorium would be fully transferable, allowing permitees the flexibility to enter or exit the fishery as they choose, but to be eligible for a permit, vessels must have been issued a valid commercial shrimp vessel permit prior to and including Dec. 6, 2003.

Another section of the proposed rule would establish a similar permit endorsement for boats trawling for deepwater royal red shrimp, and one section will establish standardized reporting to monitor the catch, effort and gear used in the shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. This program would provide that a sample of federally-permitted shrimp vessels would be equipped with electronic logbooks (ELBs) provided by NOAA Fisheries Service and a sample of federally-permitted shrimp vessels would carry observers. New reporting requirements would include mandatory reporting of landings and vessel and gear characteristics.

Copies of the proposed rule are available from NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701. Electronic copies of the proposed rule may be obtained from the Federal Register at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

Limited Access for Charter Boats and Headboats in Federal Waters

The NOAA Fisheries Service is very close to finalizing another rule that will implement a limited access system for charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) permits for the coastal migratory pelagic and reef fish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the Gulf of Mexico and would continue to cap participation at current levels. Across the Gulf, problems are arising from having too many boats in the charter fishery and the resulting declining catches and impacts to fish populations. While Louisiana is certainly behind Florida and Texas in the number of boats, the charter industry has been booming everywhere, and the fisheries of federal Gulf waters are managed as a whole.

Written copies of the proposed rule may be obtained from NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Fla. 33701. Electronic copies of the proposed rule may be obtained from http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ fr/index.html.

Back to Top