SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, OCEANS AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
2:00 p.m.

• Official hearing transcript

OVERSIGHT HEARING ON:

• "NOAA's Fishery Science: Is the Lack of Basic Science Costing Jobs?"

OPENING STATEMENT:

The Honorable John Fleming
Chairman

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

The Honorable John Mica (R-FL)
Member of Congress

The Honorable Walter Jones (R-NC)
Member of Congress

Panel II

Eric Schwaab
Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Duane Harris
Member and Former Chairman
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Julie Morris
Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
Office of the Provost
New College of Florida
Former Member, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and
Member of the Secretary’s Marine Fish Advisory Committee (MAFAC)
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Dr. Steve Cadrin
Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries Oceanography
School for Marine Science & Technology
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Member of the Science and Statistical Committee for both the South Atlantic and
New England Fishery Management Councils
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Panel III

Harlon H. Pearce, Jr.
LA Fish
Member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and
Chair of the Council’s Data Collection Committee
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Jefferson Angers
President
Center for Coastal Conservation
(Truth in Testimony Form)

David Nelson
Charter Captain and Commercial Fisherman
Port Orange, Florida
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Gregory DiDomenico
Executive Director
Garden State Seafood Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

John Gauvin
Fishery Science Projects Director
Alaska Seafood Cooperative
(Truth in Testimony Form)

George Geiger
Recreational Fisherman
Sebastian, Florida
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

The hearing will examine how NOAA’s fishery research affects jobs and impacts the economies of coastal communities that rely on commercial or recreational fisheries. Tight budgets and new initiatives at NOAA have taken funding away from critical research activities such as fishery surveys, stock assessments, and cooperative research - all of which provide important information to fishery managers. Adequate funding for basic surveys and research could eliminate some of the scientific uncertainty and allow fishery managers to set higher quotas for many fisheries - providing more economic activity for commercial and recreational fishermen and fishery dependent communities.