{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-speaks-out-against-noaa-summer-flounder-quotas", "Pallone Speaks Out Against NOAA Summer Flounder Quotas", "2016-12-22", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Frank Pallone", "P000034", "pallone.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "LONG BRANCH, NJ\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06)\u00a0voiced strong opposition to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) final rule on 2017 and 2018 summer flounder quotas released today. \u00a0 Under the rule,\u00a0the summer flounder Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) would be reduced 29% in 2017 and 16% in 2018. The recreational and commercial limits would both be reduced by approximately 30% in 2017 and 16% in 2018. Pallone will continue his fight against this reduction, and intends to request that the Secretary of Commerce overturns this decision.\n\u201cI am extremely disappointed with NOAA's decision to dramatically cut summer flounder quotas. These reductions will harm many coastal communities in New Jersey that rely on the\u00a0commercial and recreational fishing industries,\" said Congressman Pallone. \"The damage will go beyond the New Jersey fishing industry; the tourism and boating industries will be hurt as well.\"\n\"NOAA has relied on inaccurate data to finalize these reductions.\u00a0 Fishermen have sacrificed for years to improve summer flounder biomass, and flounder populations have rebounded.\u00a0 Instead of putting onerous regulations on fishermen just trying to make a living, NOAA should be focused on rebuilding trust and ensuring that the science it uses to guide stock assessments is accurate. I am committed to continuing to work to protect New Jersey fishermen and the valuable economic impact they have on the state.\"\nPallone has long been a supporter\u00a0of fisheries and the economies of coastal communities. Last week,\u00a0\u00a0Pallone appeared before the\u00a0Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to reiterate his opposition to NOAA\u2019s quota reductions because of the harm they would cause New Jersey coastal communities. Also last week Pallone and Senator Cory Booker sent a letter to\u00a0NOAA Fisheries about its proposal to reduce the ABC recreational and commercial quotas for summer flounder in 2017 and 2018. The New Jersey lawmakers requested that NOAA Fisheries postpone any decision on reducing summer flounder\u00a0quotas\u00a0until it conducts a new benchmark summer flounder assessment.\u00a0\nEarlier this year, Congressman\u00a0Pallone sent a letter\u00a0to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission calling for fair and less restrictive policies relating to summer flounder.\u00a0Last year,\u00a0the Congressman decried\u00a0NOAA\u2019s final rule on 2016 summer flounder \u2013 which also reduced catch limits.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-speaks-out-against-noaa-summer-flounder-quotas"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8884971030056477, "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"}