{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-announces-43-million-rural-development-grant-for-passamaquoddy-tribe-to-build-eel-farm", "King Announces $4.3 Million Rural Development Grant for Passamaquoddy Tribe to Build Eel Farm", "2024-06-10", "2024", "2024-06", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today announced that the Passamaquoddy Tribe has been awarded $3.4 million from the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing (IAG) grant program \u2014 part of the United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Rural Development program \u2014 to build an eel farm.\n\nThe IAG program was designed to support the priorities of Tribal Nations that utilize traditional harvesting methods and indigenous animals such as bison, reindeer, salmon and eels. The grant \u2014 one of eight awarded across the nation \u2014 will help the Passamaquoddy Tribe fund the latest technology to grow eels in a controlled aquaculture facility, as opposed to relying on wild eel harvesting.\n\n\u201cThis $4.3 million grant for the Passamaquoddy Tribe to further bolster their eel aquaculture work is not only an economic investment, but also an investment in the Tribe\u2019s rich tradition of eel harvesting,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cWith the current wild eel harvesting quotas remaining in place, this grant is even more important as the Passamaquoddy looks to sustain and build on their eel fishery. This funding from the USDA\u2019s Rural Development program will help further modernize our state\u2019s seafood industry and ensure the Tribe has the tools and resources to thrive.\u201d\n\nSenator King is a strong advocate for Maine\u2019s coastal communities and ocean economy. He worked to secure the future of Maine\u2019s lobster fishery as they faced an \u201ceconomic death sentence,\u201d preventing the industry from facing devastating regulations. He\u2019s introduced legislation to spur economic development in coastal Maine communities and to boost marketing efforts and overseas sales for American agricultural products, including seafood, as well as introduced a bipartisan bill to create an aquaculture office to better support farmers and harvesters.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:11:47Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-announces-43-million-rural-development-grant-for-passamaquoddy-tribe-to-build-eel-farm"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3859220780432224, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}