Frank Pallone: “I was a Sea Grant coastal law specialist. I mention that, because I learned a lot about the Sea Grant Program and…”

“I was a Sea Grant coastal law specialist. I mention that, because I learned a lot about the Sea Grant Program and particularly how it benefits the average person. Sea Grant really is a very valuable program because it reaches out to help so many people in very positive ways. I think that many Members of Congress and certainly the public at large are not aware of how far-reaching its positive efforts are. When I was a coastal law specialist, basically I worked with various user groups, if you will, whether it was marina owners or commercial or recreational fishermen or longshoremen, anyone really who was involved in the coastal environment took advantage of what we called the New Jersey Marine Advisory Service, which was basically an outreach program financed through Sea Grant to help those people, working people mostly, who made their living from the sea or from the coastal area. It was a very unique program in a way because it is one of the few times, I think, when people who are in the Federal employ actually are in the working area, if my colleagues will, and actually helping people on a daily basis with their problems.”