Fishing & Working Waterfront
Supporting Rhode Island’s Fishermen and Revitalizing Our Working Waterfront
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Rhode Island’s fishing industry is critical to our economy and our communities.
Senator Reed has worked to support Rhode Island fishermen and lobstermen, who face significant challenges and risks as they work hard to earn a living.
A member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, which oversees federal spending on the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Reed has secured millions of dollars in federal funding to boost collaborative research between fishermen and researchers to address challenges facing Southern New England fisheries. He also introduced the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act to give Rhode Island fishermen a seat at the table of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), a government board that establishes fishery management rules for federal waters off the mid-Atlantic coast.
Read More »Reed has worked to conserve Rhode Island’s coastal waters so that our families, fishermen, and visitors can continue to enjoy the state’s natural resources. And recognizing the important role the marine industry plays in Rhode Island, Senator Reed has supported efforts to help grow Rhode Island’s marine workforce and revitalize our working waterfront, which supports boating and fishing jobs.
Key Priorities & Accomplishments
- Healthy fish populations depend upon strong science-based catch limits and Senator Reed has worked to secure over $6 million in federal funding for collaborative fisheries research to collect more accurate fisheries data along the northeastern United States.
- Reed has worked at the federal level to help protect the health of Narragansett Bay and secured over $1 million for researchers to study hypoxia, or “dead-zones” that have resulted in large fish kills, and develop strategies to prevent and control the problem.
- Senator Reed secured federal funding in the fiscal year 2009 Appropriations bill to help the Rhode Island Rural Development Council (RIRDC), DEM, and Farm Fresh Rhode Island market and promote Rhode Island locally grown and harvested goods -- including seafood -- and build stronger ties between fishermen, farmers, and consumers.
- To strengthen Rhode Island’s marine heritage and revitalize Newport’s working waterfront, Reed secured $500,000 to help the non-profit International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) expand its vocational training facilities and help provide sustainable careers for more Rhode Islanders.
The Latest
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R.I. wants voice on council
The logic’s lacking, according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed. Posted on 4/5/2013 |
Reed, Langevin Seek to Give RI Fishermen a Say on Squid Management
Posted on 4/4/2013 |
Reed Introduces the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Fairness Act
Senator Jack Reed joins U.S. Representative Jim Langevin, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit, and local fisherman in pushing for legislation to give Rhode Island a seat at the table of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), a regional management board that establis...
State lands $2.9M to rebuild fisheries infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $2.9 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management to “rehabilitate critical infrastructure” at the port of Galilee, lawmakers announced Friday....
Reed, Murkowski Urge Emergency Federal Funding for Fisheries Disasters
In an effort to help Rhode Island fishermen and fishing communities across the country, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are leading a bipartisan effort calling on the Obama Administration to support emergency federal funding for fisheries disasters that were...
U.S. Senate Approves $60.4 Billion Emergency Relief Bill
The U.S. Senate voted 61 to 33 for a $60.4 billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill to help Rhode Island and other states clean up and recover from damage left in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse voted for the legis...
Reed, Whitehouse Urge Emergency Federal Funding for Fisheries Disasters
In an effort to help Rhode Island fishermen, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that $150 million is included in the Senate Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill for several fisheries disasters declared in the past year. The Northeast commercia...
