Seafood Harvesters Applaud House Passage of Coast Guard Authorization Act

MEDIA CONTACT: Leigh Habegger, leigh@seafoodharvesters.org, (336) 414-2681

Seafood Harvesters Applaud House Passage of Coast Guard Authorization Act

(WASHINGTON – November 27, 2018) On Tuesday night, the House of Representatives passed the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, and commercial fishermen across the country breathed a sigh of relief. This bill, identical to one that passed the Senate on November 14th, provides owners and operators of commercial fishing vessels and vessels under 79’ long with long-sought relief from unnecessary and burdensome regulations for incidental discharges and provides updates to safety compliance measures. House passage of this bill signals the strong bipartisan support it enjoys in both chambers of Congress.Seafood Harvesters of America applauds the work done by Representatives and Senators alike to see this bill to the finish line. “This legislation authorizes our seagoing partners in the Coast Guard to continue their important safety and enforcement work, it provides for the EPA to continue critical scientific research, it maintains strict environmental protections for our waters, and it frees up our members from unwarranted and unreasonable regulations,” said Leigh Habegger, Executive Director of Seafood Harvesters of America, a national group representing commercial fishermen. “We are grateful for the hard work of our champions in both the House and Senate and we urge President Trump to sign it into law in short order.”

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The Seafood Harvesters’ earlier statement on Senate passage of the Coast Guard Authorization bill can be found here. The Seafood Harvesters of America represents 17 commercial fishing organizations from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Mexico and north to New England. Find more at www.seafoodharvesters.org.