In a November 22, 2017, letter to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Southern Shrimp Alliance Executive Director endorsed on behalf of the organization, Mr. Barry Myers as President Trump’s nominee to be the next Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The agency plays a central role in the conservation and management of U.S. fisheries including the Gulf and South Atlantic shrimp fishery, and the regulation of international seafood trade.
The Committee has scheduled a vote to recommend confirmation of the nomination to the full Senate on December 13, 2017 at 10:00am.
Referring to the long and constructive partnership SSA and NOAA have enjoyed with respect to the management of the U.S. shrimp fishery, Mr. Williams stated; “Under Mr. Myers’ leadership, we believe this highly successful partnership will continue to ensure that the US shrimp fishery is the most sustainable shrimp fishery in the world.”
With respect to illegal shrimp imports that have inflicted severe damage to the economics of the U.S. shrimp fishery and threaten the health of U.S. seafood consumers, Mr. Williams stated; “Once again, SSA enjoys a highly constructive partnership with NOAA and other Federal agencies to combat these sources of fraud in the shrimp import supply chain. We are confident that Mr. Myers is committed to continue these efforts including the need to implement the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) with respect to shrimp imports in a timely manner.”
Recognizing Mr. Myers longtime leadership as CEO of Accuweather, a company he and his family created and have run for more than 5 decades, Mr. Williams added; “Overall, we believe Mr. Myers’ experience and skills will enable him to be a highly successful NOAA Administrator and that his leadership will serve to further strengthen NOAA fisheries policies and programs. We urge you to support his confirmation.”
SSA’s letter can be found here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SSA-letter-of-support-B.-Myers-11-22-17.pdf