A bill introduced by U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) would open federal fishery resource disaster funding to American fisheries devastated by foreign competition, such as the domestic shrimp sector.
"Our domestic fisheries are under assault not only from illegal and subsidized foreign competition but also from bureaucratic red tape failing to protect American industries,” Mace said in a statement. “The Protect American Fisheries Act takes a stand against these harmful practices and the inefficiencies in our system allowing them to persist. This legislation ensures we can cut through the red tape, defend the livelihoods of hardworking American fishermen, and strengthen our coastal economies by targeting illegal fishing, predatory pricing, and foreign market distortions.”
Devastated by competition from imported shrimp, the domestic shrimp sector has sought financial relief from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery resource disasters program, which provides financial relief to commercial fishers and related businesses impacted by some sort of resource-related disaster. Funding has been awarded to states affected by hurricanes, closed fisheries, and mass die-offs.
“The overwhelming volume of heavily subsidized farm-raised shrimp imports has driven the price of shrimp down so low that our domestic shrimp producers are finding it difficult to compete and make a profit,” Texas Shrimp Association President Chris Londrie said of the situation. “More than half of the shrimp fleet throughout Texas and the United States are unable to fish due to the low market price and high production costs. Vessel crews are unemployed, and their families are unable to make ends meet. We need the help of our government to support the domestic shrimp harvesting industry to survive and continue operations and production.”
Pressured by the Southern Shrimp Association and other industry groups, both Alabama Governor Ivey and Louisiana Governor Edwards asked the department to issue a fishery resource disaster determination for their states’ shrimp fisheries last year. Both requests were denied, with NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit informing the governors that they were ineligible under the current law.
“In this instance, because the resource exists and is accessible, and the decision not to fish (i.e., not to access the resource) is based on economic factors, rather than inaccessibility of the resource, the allowable cause criteria for a fishery resource disaster are not satisfied,” Coit told Edwards in a letter.
According to NOAA Fisheries, a fishery resource disaster can only be declared “due to an unexpected, large decrease in fish stock biomass or other change that results in significant loss of access to the fishery resource” – not for disasters caused by economic conditions. Under that definition, American shrimpers, beset by a flood of cheap foreign shrimp that makes their operations unprofitable, are ineligible.
Now, lawmakers are looking to expand the definition NOAA Fisheries uses to adjudicate fishery resource disasters, making economic-related losses of revenue eligible for financial relief. The Protect American Fisheries Act would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to include economic causes such as “foreign interference in U.S. fishery markets” as an allowable cause for a fishery resource disaster.
“By addressing market distortions, predatory pricing, and illegal fishing practices, this legislation helps safeguard the economic viability of our fishing communities,” U.S. Representative Troy Carters Sr. (R-Louisiana) – one of the bill’s cosponsors – said. “It will help ensure a sustainable future for Louisiana fisheries and preserve jobs in coastal economies.”
The bill has the support of more than 20 fishery-related organizations and eight other federal lawmakers.
“We are so grateful to Congresswoman Mace for recognizing what NOAA apparently did not – that fishery disasters can be caused just as much by the economic impacts of cheap illegal imports and predatory pricing as by a hurricane or fish stock collapse,” Southern Shrimp Association Executive Director John Williams said. “In either case, shrimpers can’t go fishing – leaving their families and entire communities in a state of crisis. We really need this bill at this crucial time and appreciate having the opportunity to work with the Congresswoman and her staff on it.”
The legislation is also backed by the head of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC).
“One of the major issues in the Southeastern United States are fisheries disasters that can cause sudden and unexpected losses, leading to serious economic impact for fishermen and their communities,” Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Executive Director Dave Donaldson said. “By permitting economic causes, such as market manipulation by foreign entities, as an allowable reason to declare a federal fishery resource disaster, it improves the fishery disaster determination process and makes it more inclusive. This improvement will help ensure the longevity of the seafood industry and the communities that it supports.”