Bill Keating: “My amendment requires the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, to develop a strategy for how…”

“My amendment requires the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, to develop a strategy for how they plan to implement electronic monitoring in the Northeast Multi-Species Fishery by 2021. Today, the majority of monitoring is conducted by at-sea, in-person monitors who NOAA sends on only about 30 percent of the trips. What is more, vessel owners must pay the cost of this in-person monitoring, at a cost of $900 a day. Not only is this a financial burden, especially on the small boat fleet owners, but it is also less effective because it leaves massive gaps for bad actors to exploit the system. Modernizing fisheries monitoring programs by the full-scale adoption of electronic monitoring is critical for the future sustainability and the development of the North Atlantic's multi-species fishery. Full implementation of electronic monitoring will mean better data for making stock assessments and making sure that every fishing trip is monitored. This means better protections for our environment and more sustainable fisheries so that our fishing industry can remain strong for the generations to come. This is why, in my district, there is already broad support among fishermen for moving to an electronic monitoring regime. It costs less. It rewards fishermen who play by the rules. It ensures that sustainability of the fisheries that their industry depends upon goes forward.…”