2012 -- S 2959

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LC02611

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING A FULL REVIEW OF ALL BUTTERFISH SCIENTIFIC

DATA

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Sheehan, Algiere, Bates, and Felag

     Date Introduced: May 17, 2012

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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     WHEREAS, The fishing industry is a vital part of Rhode Island’s economy; and

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     WHEREAS, According to 2010 estimates, the total contributions of Rhode Island

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landings to the state’s economy for all sectors equated to $150.4 million in sales; $106.4 million

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in income; and the employment of 4,968 individuals; and

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     WHEREAS, The Butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus, of the Atlantic seaboard is an important

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species for numerous predators at all of its ages and sizes and is an important marine resource of

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commerce for the State of Rhode Island; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island lands significant amounts of fish managed by the Mid-Atlantic

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Fisheries Management Council (Mid-Atlantic), with forty-eight percent of total landings for

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butterfish; and

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     WHEREAS, The management of butterfish must be done in a timely manner, as the

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species matures at a younger age than other oceanic species of fishes. By the time an assessment

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is done, the population may already be past its peak or valley; and

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     WHEREAS, In 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)

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National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued the status of butterfish stock as “unknown,”

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due to the fact that biomass reference points could not be specifically determined at the Northeast

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Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) 49; and

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     WHEREAS, As a result of a review of partial but not complete scientific evidence by the

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Mid-Atlantic Council, the NMFS established new 2012 quotas for the butterfish fishery

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management plan that will have an economically devastating impact on the Rhode Island

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fisheries industry; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby strongly urges the United States Department of Commerce and the National Marine

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Fisheries Service (NMFS) to examine all available data and scientific evidence, in collaboration

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with stakeholders, to reconsider the recommendations in regards to changes in butterfish

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harvesting quotas; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate respectfully requests the Rhode Island Congressional

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Delegation’s support in urging the Department of Commerce to refrain from issuing specific

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short-term rules regarding butterfish quotas until all scientific data are thoroughly considered to

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ensure the evidence supports the recommended quotas; and be it further

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      RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Jack Reed and Sheldon

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Whitehouse, United States Senators, the Honorable James R. Langevin and David N. Cicilline,

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United States Representatives, the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, the

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Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Acting Director of the

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     the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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LC02611

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