On the recordMay 9, 2012
In lieu of an amendment, I would like to take this time to engage the subcommittee chairman in a colloquy about the importance of our Nation's fisheries management commissions. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my support for funding our Nation's fisheries management commissions and the good work they do to help keep more fish in our waters. NOAA's Inter-Jurisdictional Fisheries Act, IJFA, program supports the conservation and management of fish species which occur in both Federal and State waters. Funding for this program is used to support conservation and management tasks not currently being undertaken by NOAA or the Regional Fishery Management Councils. Similarly, fisheries commissions on the Atlantic, Pacific, and gulf coast represent an important bottom-up stakeholder approach to managing our Nation's many fisheries and often develop innovative programs to enhance America's fisheries resources. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.
