South Carolina Fishing Reports - Fisheries Information - Congress kills Jones amendment, refuses to halt catch share - Congress kills Jones amendment, refuses to halt catch share programs U.S. Senate members of a conference committee have blocked an exten

Capt_Keith

Congress kills Jones amendment, refuses to halt catch share programs

U.S. Senate members of a conference committee have blocked an extension of the Jones amendment through the rest of fiscal 2012, setting aside a measure that would have barred the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continuing to use catch shares as one of several fisheries management tools, multiple sources said Wednesday.

The final appropriation bill for NMFS included a $28 million line item for 'catch share programs.'

Supported by 100 votes on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last February, the amendment by Congressman Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, was not added to an appropriations bill for Commerce, Justice and Science.

The spending bill was approved initially by the Senate without the Jones amendment. Jones' measure would have blocked any NOAA funding for expanding its catch share management policies, which have drawn fire in New England and are blamed by many fishermen and Massachusetts lawmakers for forcing fishing industry consolidation and job losses.

Working on the so-called "mini-bus" spending bill since early November, the conference committee sealed the fate of the growing opposition to catch shares by closing the appropriations bill to floor amendments.

The Jones amendment was supported by Speaker John Boehner, according to Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, who was in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the amendment.

"It's a shame (the Jones amendment) was done in by the House of Lords," said Donofrio.

He said Boehner began blogging about fishing as a "jobs issue" in recent weeks.

Among Jones' House allies across the aisle are Massachusetts Democrats John Tierney and Barney Frank.

But NOAA officials Wednesday stood by blocking the Jones amendment as a means of giving fishermen in different fisheries a choice of trying to make catch shares succeed.

"America's fishermen today need more opportunities to succeed, not fewer," said Lubchenco's spokesman, Justin Kenney. "Catch share programs are simply one tool in the toolbox of fisheries management, and when designed properly have proven to be effective."

The conference committee report emerged late Monday, a day before Gov. Deval Patrick introduced two new socio-economic studies of the New England groundfishery, noted that they demonstrated that "catch shares have had a devastating impact on the groundfishery" and asked for a federal disaster declaration and $21 million in federal assistance.
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