Ayotte Welcomes Announcement of Funding for At-Sea Monitoring Program, Renews Call for Full Funding

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today released the following statement regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) announcement that it would pay for an estimated 85 percent of sea days required for its at-sea monitoring (ASM) program for the current fishing year:

"While I have fought for and continue to strongly believe that NOAA should fully fund its at-sea monitoring program, I am pleased the Administration will reimburse fishermen for a percentage of the costs incurred for the program. These unfair fees place an impossible burden on our small business fishermen and going forward, I will continue my efforts to support New Hampshire fishermen in their fight against these fees," said Senator Ayotte.

Ayotte has long been a strong and consistent voice for New Hampshire's small boat fishermen in fighting against onerous federal regulations and over the past year she has repeatedly called on NOAA to fully fund the ASM program. In February, she pressed NOAA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs Samuel Rauch on the Administration's decision to require fishermen to fund the ASM program. Last September, she introduced legislation to terminate NOAA's independent third-party ASM program unless NOAA fully funds the program using dollars within its existing budget. Ayotte and Senator Jeanne Shaheen also previously called for a full investigation into NOAA's ASM program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire's coastal region.

Ayotte hosted a roundtable discussion in Portsmouth last September with NOAA officials, fishermen, and business leaders to discuss concerns regarding fishing regulations, federal catch-share limits, NOAA's process for determining fish stocks, the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the imposition of fees for at-sea monitors on commercial fishing vessels.

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