Harvesters' President Among White House Honorees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2016

Award honors “Champions of Change” for Sustainable Seafood

Washington, D.C (October 5, 2016) – Rhode Island commercial fisherman Christopher Brown will be among those honored by the White House on October 7th as a Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood. Chris serves as president of the Seafood Harvesters of America.“I’m looking forward to accepting this award on behalf of commercial fishermen,” said Brown. “In recent years we’ve made significant progress in rebuilding US fisheries and advancing accountable, sustainable fishing practices. There’s more to be done, but we’re light years ahead of where we were when I got into this business.”The Seafood Harvesters represent fishermen from the Bering Sea to the West Coast, and from the Gulf of Mexico to Maine. In addition to serving as the Harvesters’ president, Brown fishes some 200 days per year aboard his vessel, Proud Mary, based out Point Judith, RI. He also serves as president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association and the East Farm Commercial Fisheries Center.“Here in New England we have an overhang of mistrust between fishermen and the National Marine Fisheries Service,” added Brown. “The mistrust prevents us from obtaining accurate stock assessments of our fish stocks, so catch limits are set artificially low. Fishermen resent the low limits, and it builds a negative feedback loop. There are proven, constructive ways to get around this, including electronic monitoring and more reliable assessment methodologies for catch accounting, but it takes time. We’re working hard on this.”“Our foundational fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provides the platform to protect sensitive areas while creating world-leading fisheries management structures, new fishing opportunities and vibrant port communities,” continued Brown. “Unfortunately, Magnuson-Stevens was bypassed in recent decision-making regarding a marine monument site selection off New England, and that is a message I will bring to the White House. Harvesters’ members understand the components of sustainable fisheries and we know they are attainable. Through our widespread membership and with the support of forward-looking decision makers at the federal level, we are spreading the word.”

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