NOAA Budget Continues Misplaced Priorities – Fishupdate.com

NOAA Budget Continues Misplaced Priorities Published:  14 February, 2012

“While we applaud the Obama administration for seeking an increase in funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fisheries’ Annual Stock Assessments, this budget still displays misplaced priorities,” says a atstement from US Food an Water Watch.

“The administration is seeking to maintain funding of $28,000,000 for the unpopular National Catch Share Program that consolidates fishing fleets, pushing fisheries towards industrial production while destroying jobs and traditional fishing communities. The administration should not be funding a program that is driving small fishermen out of business.

“NOAA also continues its misguided promotion of open ocean aquaculture. The administration is seeking $5,682,000 for aquaculture projects. This is an increase of 1.6 percent over FY 2012, despite the fact that farming fish in the ocean has been shown to be destructive to local ecosystems and has yet to be proven economically viable without government support.”

Food & Water Watch says it works to ensure the food, water and fish consumed in the US is safe, accessible and sustainable.

“So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control,” says the organisation.