Fishing industry members and their allies are invited to fill in a form to express support for the contents of “Fishery Fuel Cost Relief & Energy Efficiency Investments: A Fishing Industry Policy Platform”. This sign-on opportunity will support fishing industry-led organizing and advocacy to expand federal efficiency and relief programs and make them more accessible to commercial fishermen. Now is the time to make our voices heard!

In recent weeks, I have joined fishermen across New England, Washington, and California to meet with Senate offices and the new USDA Seafood Office. The purpose of those conversations was to explore current and near-term opportunities for fishermen and their representatives to shape policy outcomes related to fuel cost relief, investments in vessel efficiency and energy innovation, or both. This blog is a report to the fleet about what we’ve learned.

Tim Rovinelli and Dean Karoblis are Fishing Fleet Energy Resilience Fellows with the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign. In this blog, they share takeaways from two workshop in early June—one in Wakefield, Rhode Island and one in Chatham, Massachusetts—focused on this season’s high fuel prices and what fishermen and their partners in government can do to counter the crisis.

What kinds of short-term fuel cost relief mechanisms are available to get the fishing industry to the end of this fishing season without crippling losses? This blog reviews models from NOAA fishery resource disaster relief, recent USDA agricultural relief programs, the 2020 seafood trade relief program, and the early 2000’s trade adjustment assistance program.

In fishing ports worldwide, fishermen are feeling the pinch of high diesel prices. How can the fishing industry advocate for policy packages that marry (1) short-term price relief to get us through the year with (2) longer term investments in fishing vessel energy efficiency and potentially even exploration of non-petroleum based fuels, to buffer our industry from the price shocks of the future?

Thank you to everyone who joined the webinar on January 23 about “The “Transition to a Low Carbon Fishing Fleet” Initiative: A Tour of Recent Publications and a Preview of Next Steps”!

Working with Roger Williams University, we procured an analysis of state and federal programs that can support a transition to a low carbon fishing fleet. Learn about DERA, REAP, and California’s Carl Moyer program, and how fishermen can organize for change.