Shaheen, Hassan & Bipartisan Group Introduce Legislation to Support Fishing Safety Programs

*Bipartisan FISH SAFE Act restores and extends federal funding for fishing safety programs for 2018-2021*

(Washington, DC) – On Friday, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to introduce the Funding Instruction for Safety Health, and Security Avoids Fishing Emergencies (FISH SAFE) Act. The bipartisan bill restores the federal share of fishing safety training and research grants back to 75 percent, which had been unfortunately cut to 50 percent in 2018 legislation. The bill would also reauthorize the safety training and research programs for $6,000,000 per year for 2019-2021.

“Our fishermen routinely face daunting conditions on the job, which is why support for safety training is so important,” said Senator Shaheen. “Ensuring our fishermen are kept out of harm’s way is a critical priority, and I’m glad to work on this bipartisan effort to strengthen federal resources to help keep them safe.”

“Safety training is important for any job – but it is absolutely essential to fishermen who have one of the most dangerous professions in the country,” Senator Hassan said. “Increasing federal funding for fishing safety training will help ensure that more workers will safely return home to their families after a long day on the open water.”

A copy of the FISH SAFE Act can be found HERE. 

Shaheen has been a tireless advocate for New Hampshire’s fishermen. Over the past couple years, Shaheen, the lead Democrat of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, secured more than $20 million to completely reimburse New Hampshire and New England fishermen for costly at-sea monitoring fees. Shaheen had negotiated the federal funding to relieve fishermen of the costly fee.  In addition, over the past two years, Shaheen secured $4 million for Northeast groundfish research and $2 million for lobster research.