The omnibus spending bill the U.S. Congress is expected to pass before the end of 2022 contains several provisions that touch on the seafood and fishing industries.
The bill, which would authorize all non-defense-related government spending through the rest of the fiscal year, contains USD 1.09 billion (EUR 1.03 billion) to cover NOAA Fisheries operations, according to a statement from the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. That’s an increase of USD 77.4 million (EUR 72.9 million) from last year.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee provided 10 pages of notes detailing how that money will be spent. According to the document, NOAA Fisheries is getting USD 13 million (EUR 12.3 million) more than it did in the last fiscal year “to address consultation and permitting, stock assessment, management, and protected resources needs related to the expansion of offshore wind energy projects.”
The spending plan also contains USD 19 million (EUR 17.9 million) for aquaculture spending, and NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research will also receive USD 14 million (EUR 13.2 million) for aquaculture through the Sea Grant Program.
The Seafood Import Monitoring Program is also getting a USD 1 million (EUR 942,425) increase from last year.
“Effective implementation of SIMP is necessary to enforce the ban on imports of Russian seafood, which may be relabeled after foreign processing, hiding its Russian origin,” the senate document said.
NOAA Fisheries will also receive USD 750,000 (EUR 706,820) for a project tied to combating illegal fishing. The project will test if American “commercial space-based radio frequency data collection” efforts can track foreign-owned boats illegally fishing in U.S. waters, as well as “other remote maritime regions of economic, environmental, and national security significance.”
The bill also contains a provision that requires NOAA Fisheries to provide Congress an update within six months of its passage on how the agency would help to create a national seafood council. That report would include a cost estimate of the cost and an explainer of how the council's seafood marketing program would differ from other government programs already in existence.
In August 2022, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies backed a bill that directed NOAA to begin detailing how to facilitate a national seafood marketing board, dubbed the National Seafood Council. That bill was introduced for debate by the U.S. Senate, but was ultimately not voted on.
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