Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-03), Vice Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee and Co-Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, to introduce the bipartisan Mitigation Action and Watermen Support (MAWS) Act alongside Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02). The bill takes aim at one of the greatest predators threatening the ecology and economy of the Chesapeake Bay: the invasive blue catfish. The MAWS Act will establish a pilot program within the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office to facilitate a new market for Chesapeake Bay blue catfish in the pet and animal food industry in an effort to take millions of pounds of these harmful fish out of our waterways. NOAA will administer grants to pet and animal food manufacturers to ensure watermen are properly incentivized to catch blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay and establish transportation, processing, and manufacturing structures for a long-term market. Throughout this two-year pilot, NOAA will collect data on the ecological and economic impacts of this program on the population of invasive blue catfish and other species in the Chesapeake Bay, the economic impact on watermen, and the market response and processes from pet and animal food manufacturers. NOAA will […]
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