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- By Native News Online Staff
Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) this week introduced the Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA), legislation to help address food security in communities historically reliant on coastal and marine resources by helping them build seafood processing capacity for local use.
Peltola’s bill would prevent rapid offshore finfish aquaculture permitting and its harmful effects on the environment and local ecosystems by prohibiting permitting or construction of offshore fish farms in U.S. Federal waters in the absence of Congressional authorization.
The bill encourages research on the effects of finfish aquaculture on the ecosystem and potential offshore locations that may be least impactful to the marine environment and commercially important fish stocks.
"In Alaska, so many communities rely on fish and seafood production both for subsistence and good-paying jobs,” Rep. Peltola said. “My bill would support our local fishing and maritime communities while strengthening our domestic seafood supply chain.”
Ronalda Angasan, a commercial fisherwoman of Ugashik and Kanatak descent, serves as agriculture program director at Alaska Village Initiatives welcomes the legislation.
“My community has been fishing for sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay for hundreds of years. I started at nine years old on my grandfather’s boat. Our fish is high-quality, high-nutrition, and the best in the world. And it’s very sustainable. I know that word is thrown around a lot now, but it truly is. Now I’ve been told there’s a glut of our fish, and they can’t be sold. Yet people say they want to build more fish farms because there’s not enough food. That doesn’t compute with me,” Angasan said,
Commercial fisherman Ryan Horwath of Kodiak, Alaska welcomes says the legislation is needed to protect shared oceans in Alaska and beyond.
“It was through commercial fishing in Alaska that I came to deeply value how strong seafood systems are tied to the wellbeing of coastal communities, which directly ties to the wellbeing of the ocean. This bill provides much-needed support to communities that have long been rooted in fisheries for resilience, security, and cultural heritage. It also helps protect our shared oceans in Alaska and beyond,” Horwath said.
View the full text of the Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA) HERE. View a one-pager on the bill HERE and a fact sheet HERE.
Support for the legislation:
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