WASHINGTON – As members of Congress all along the Gulf Coast battle with the Obama administration over its efforts to micromanage red snapper season, the beleaguered fishing industry could be getting a big boost from Congress, spearheaded by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa.
In a letter released on Thursday, the Northeast Seafood Coalition applauded Shelby and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, for their efforts to secure $150 million in fishery disaster assistance in the FY2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related agencies appropriations bill.
According to a release from the Northeast Seafood Coalition, the appropriations were a reaction to the Obama Commerce Department’s September 2012 fishery disaster declaration, which resulted in “unprecedented reductions of up to 78 percent in the amount of groundfish fishermen are able to harvest.”
The $150 million would be split between the northeast, Alaska and Gulf Coast fisheries, with the House of Representatives determining the allocation. It is not clear at this time what share of that disaster relief Alabama fisherman may be entitled to.
The administration’s strict limit on red snapper in Alabama coastal waters was a major issue for former Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, as well as the candidates now looking to become his successor.
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