Senate Approves Wyden-Smith Amendment to Implement Groundfish Buyback Program
Senators continue bipartisan effort to help fishing families survive

January 23, 2003

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) today applauded Senate approval of their legislation to implement a fishing capacity reduction program for the West Coast groundfish fishery. The Wyden-Smith proposal was included in an amendment package passed today by the Senate as part of the FY2003 omnibus spending bill. The amendment provides for the creation of the capacity reduction or "buyback" program and specifies which fishers are eligible for buybacks and how their bids will be considered.

"It's about time Congress took decisive action to help the fishing families up and down Oregon's coast who are still hurting as a result of this fishery disaster," Wyden said. "Together, Senator Smith and I have been fighting for this buyback program for a long time, and today's vote in the Senate moves this effort one step closer to securing some compensation for fishers trying to leave the fishery."

"The fishing industry is an important part of Oregon's economy, particularly for the families who depend on it to provide for their basic human needs," said Smith. "This legislation is a good step towards protecting the environment and bringing much needed relief to Oregon's fishing families."

In recent years, landings of West Coast groundfish have dropped drastically and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has listed eight species as "overfished." In 1999, the Pacific Fishery Management Council imposed drastic cuts on the amount of allowable groundfish catch, ranging from 14 to 85 percent depending on the species. In January 2000, then-Secretary of Commerce William Daley declared the groundfish fishery a disaster. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has called for a 50 percent reduction in fishing capacity to ease overfishing.

The Wyden-Smith plan speeds up implementation of a capacity reduction program by requiring the Secretary of Commerce to implement a program within 90 days after the bill becomes law, beginning with an invitation for permit holders to submit bids to leave the fishery. The bill sets out how the bidding process and scoring of bids will occur, as well as what will happen with the permits and boats after a bid is accepted. Fishers who voluntarily leave the involved fisheries will relinquish their permits and have the titles on their vessels restricted. The vessels will not be able to fish in any fishery worldwide and will either be scrapped or used for non-fishing purposes.

The fisheries included are the West Coast groundfish fishery (except factory trawlers in the whiting sector and fixed gear fishers) and pink shrimp and Dungeness crab. Requiring retiring fishers to relinquish their pink shrimp and Dungeness crab permits in addition to their groundfish permits will prevent shifting capacity from the groundfish fishery to other fisheries. The pink shrimp and the Dungeness crab fisheries, in particular, could be seriously affected if capacity was shifted from the groundfish fishery to these fisheries.

The bill also expresses the sense of the Congress that the States of Washington, Oregon and California should revoke all relinquished pink shrimp and Dungeness crab permits after the fishers have received payment so that capacity in those fisheries remains at the reduced level.

The Wyden-Smith plan also lays a framework for setting fees for fishers who stay in the fishery and keep their permits. The majority of the funding for the buyback plan is coming from the fishing industry in the form of a $50 million government-backed loan, for which Wyden and Smith won funding last year and which will be repaid by fishers who remain in the industry. Under this legislation, eligible parties will have a chance to vote on the final fee system to pay back the government's loan over the next 30 years. The omnibus spending bill also provides $10 million in additional Federal funds to supplement the industry-financed portion of the loan program.

Following passage of the full spending bill by the Senate, the House and Senate will then hold a conference to agree on final spending levels for FY2003. After those final numbers are approved by both chambers, the spending bill will move to the President's desk for his signature.

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