12-R284
2012 -- S 2959
Enacted 05/17/12
S
E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
RESPECTFULLY
REQUESTING A FULL REVIEW OF ALL BUTTERFISH SCIENTIFIC
DATA
Introduced By:
Senators Sosnowski, Sheehan, Algiere,
Bates, and Felag
Date Introduced:
May 17, 2012
WHEREAS, The fishing industry is a vital part of
WHEREAS, According to 2010 estimates, the total contributions of
landings to the state’s economy for all sectors equated to
$150.4 million in sales; $106.4 million
in income; and the employment of 4,968 individuals; and
WHEREAS, The Butterfish,
Peprilus triacanthus, of
the Atlantic seaboard is an important
species for numerous predators at all of its ages and sizes
and is an important marine resource of
commerce for the State of
WHEREAS,
Fisheries Management Council (Mid-Atlantic), with
forty-eight percent of total landings for
butterfish; and
WHEREAS, The management of butterfish must be done in a timely
manner, as the
species matures at a younger age than other oceanic species
of fishes. By the time an assessment
is done, the population may already be past its peak or
valley; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA)
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued the
status of butterfish stock as “unknown,”
due to the fact that biomass reference points could not
be specifically determined at the Northeast
Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) 49; and
WHEREAS, As a result of
a review of partial but not complete scientific evidence by the
Mid-Atlantic Council, the NMFS established new 2012
quotas for the butterfish fishery
management plan that will have an economically devastating
impact on the
fisheries industry; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
hereby strongly urges the United States Department of
Commerce and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
examine all available data and scientific evidence, in collaboration
with stakeholders, to reconsider the recommendations in
regards to changes in butterfish
harvesting quotas; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That this Senate respectfully requests the
Delegation’s support in
urging the Department of Commerce to refrain from issuing specific
short-term rules regarding butterfish quotas until all
scientific data are thoroughly considered to
ensure the evidence supports the recommended quotas; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby
is authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable
Jack Reed and Sheldon
Whitehouse, United States
Senators, the Honorable James R. Langevin and David
N. Cicilline,
Director of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Acting Director of the
the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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LC02611
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