Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you this
morning. My name is Brian Rothschild. I am the Montgomery Charter Chair of Marine
Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I also chair the Mayor’s Ocean
and Fisheries Council in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the largest fishing port in the
Nation in terms of value. Our Council is a sounding board for much of the Massachusetts
fishing industry. I bring you their greetings.
I have been asked to address, “…how NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) is handling money allocated to assist New England fisherman transition to a new
catch share fishery management system.” I recognize that this subcommittee focuses on
federal financial management so I will focus my testimony, as requested, on the
performance of the catch-share fishery management system in the northeast to show how
funding for the catch-share system could be used more effectively. Finally, I will provide
advice on strategies that should be adopted to redirect programs and minimize fiscal
waste.
There is no way to completely isolate NOAA northeast fisheries catch-share funding
from NOAA northeast fisheries management funding. Funding for stock assessments,
research vessel operations, cooperative research, Council operations, regional fishery
management operations, etc. are all part of NOAA fisheries management and its catch-
share orientation. Thus, “handling money” vis-à-vis catch shares should really relate to
the entire NOAA fisheries operation in the northeast… To read the remainder of Dr. Rothschild’s testimony, please click below
How is NOAA Managing Funds to Protect the Domestic Fishing Industry?
This testimony was originally given by Dr. Rothschild on June 20, 2011 to the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.
