Political Quotes

“I was going to submit an amendment today regarding surveys on the red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, but instead, I rise to engage Chairman Wolf in a colloquy. I am pleased that the committee has recognized in its committee report the shortcomings of current methods used by NOAA fisheries to conduct stock assessments, specifically affirming the inadequacy of generated data, infrequency of surveys, and the insufficient use of independent research in developing these stock assessments. However, I am inclined to stress that further efforts must be taken to address the agency's faulty data. In the Gulf of Mexico, for example, stock assessments meant to provide data for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Reef Fish Management Plan, which includes the red snapper, do not include data retrieved from reef structures on which these fish live and thrive, nor do they acknowledge that reef structures, both natural and artificial, are even relevant to conducting stock assessments. I have personally spent time with scientists from the Gulf Coast, including scientists from the University of South Alabama and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and have seen for myself the overabundance of fish which live on these reefs, of which there are 17,000 off the coast of Alabama alone. Last Friday, Congressman Scalise and I went out and fished in the Gulf of Mexico. It took us 45 minutes to go out. We fished for 15 minutes and caught our limit, and it took 45 minutes to go back.…”