On June 27 at 9:30 am ET, the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing to discuss four ocean-related bills, two of which undermine species protection and fisheries management and two of which will advance public access and coastal resilience. Voicing support or opposition early and consistently throughout the bill process will be essential to advancing these bills towards, or preventing them from becoming law.
We urge ocean advocates to speak up against the following bills:
H.R. 8704 (Rep. Carter, R - GA), To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to foster enhanced coexistence between ocean users and North Atlantic right whales and other large cetacean species.
This bill blocks agency action on seasonal vessel speed rules for multiple years, preventing agencies from implementing one of the most effective tools for reducing the chance of North Atlantic right whale.
Without protections from vessel strikes and entanglements, the North Atlantic right whale is predicted to become extinct within 15 years.
H.R. 8705 (Rep. Graves, R - LA), Fisheries Data Modernization and Accuracy Act of 2024
This bill undermines fisheries management by forcing fisheries managers to only consider recreational fishing data collected at a state level, rather than both state and federal data.
Reducing the amount of data, without addressing quality control issues and discrepancies between state collection and correction methods will increase uncertainty in key metrics that inform fishery management, especially in the face of a changing climate.
And we urge ocean advocates to support the following bills:
H.R. 6841 (Rep. Levin, D - CA), To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to allow the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Coastal and Estuarine Resilience Program, and for other purposes
This bipartisan bill reauthorizes two critical pieces of the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS).
This bill offers a chance to reinforce our nation’s coastal and estuarine ecosystems and support coastal communities through conservation, research, training, and education.
H.R. 7925 (Rep. D’Esposito, R - NY), Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans Act
This bipartisan bill will improve public access to ocean waters by requiring NOAA to create a map and standardize, publish, and maintain public access to data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waters.
Please use this toolkit to advocate for the protection of ocean and coastal resources and urge Members of Congress to support bills that advance ocean climate action and oppose bills that undermine species protection and fisheries management.