Where: Fishermen's Terminal
The Annual Blessing of the Fleet is to wish our Homeport Fishing Fleet a safe and prosperous Fishing
| UFA pushing Alaska legislature to establish national seafood marketing program with import tax |
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SEAFOOD.COM
NEWS [Laws for the Sea] by Bob Tkacz - Juneau - March 4, 2010 -
Sen. Dennis Egan's resolution endorsing the United Fishermen of Alaska's
effort to establish a national seafood marketing fund, was heard and held
in the Senate Resources Committee. Chairman Bill Wielechowski (D-Anch.)
invoked committee policy against moving any measure after its first
hearing. He said the resolution should be advanced next week. 'The idea is to take import duties that
are collected on fish and fish product already and invest a percent into a
nationwide domestic seafood marketing program,' Julie Decker, head of the
UFA project told the committee. She emphasized that the state's position
as the leading US seafood producer gives it a special opportunity to
spearhead the project. UFA has taken
the initiative to form this coalition partly because Alaska is uniquely
positioned to lead this project since we are national leaders in the
production of seafood, processing of seafood and marketing of seafood,'
Decker said. The resolution was
amended to note that over 80% of seafood now consumed in the US is
imported. The original resolution was drafted with older data indicating
the US imports over 50% of its fish.
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http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kial/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1619399/Local.News/Grants.available.for.states.impacted.by.OCS.drilling
| Cong. rep calls on NOAA enforcement chief Jones to be removed after widespread document shredding |
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SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [House Ctte on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife] March 4, 2010 - Washington, D.C. - House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Chairwoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU) today, during a hearing of the Subcommittee, called for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement Director Dale Jones to be temporarily relieved of his duties, amid allegations of unauthorized document destruction during an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Inspector General (IG). According to the office of Commerce IG Todd J. Zinser, Jones initiated and authorized the destruction of documents and records at the NOAA law enforcement headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, while his office was simultaneously under investigation by the IG for allegations of heavy handed, unfair, and poorly managed fisheries law enforcement operations. The document disposal effort was not approved by the IG's office or by his superiors at NOAA. 'As the top cop at NOAA and a long-time investigator himself, Dale Jones must be acutely aware that shredding documents during a federal investigation raises serious questions about his commitment to a full and fair look at all the facts,' Bordallo said. 'At a time when transparency and accountability in the way our government operates is of utmost importance, this type of behavior cannot be condoned, and Mr. Jones should step aside until the IG's investigation is completed.' Zinser confirmed to the Committee that his investigation of NOAA law enforcement programs was already underway, and his staff had met with Jones to discuss the nature of the review and the processes that would be followed, when Jones allegedly initiated an office-wide paper shredding effort. The latest revelation regarding Jones comes on the heels of the initial findings of the IG's investigation, released in January 2010, which uncovered 'systematic, nationwide issues' affecting fishing industry law enforcement. The findings and recommendations of the IG's initial report were the subject of a Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife hearing, which was planned in an effort to provide an in-depth discussion of the findings and recommendations of the IG. |