After U.S. Congressman Garret Graves repeatedly pushed for the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to declare a "Fishery Disaster Determination" due to the impacts of Hurricane Ida in 2021, the agency announced today that they would finally make the disaster declaration more than two years after the storm occurred.
“Immediately after Hurricane Ida, we secured $200 million in… Read more »
U.S. Representatives Garret Graves (Louisiana) and Kathy Castor (Florida) introduced legislation to stop unsafe, illegally-produced shrimp from reaching consumers. Much of the shrimp that floods the U.S. market are foreign, farmed seafood packed with illegal antibiotics or are products of illegal fishing operations. These low-quality and illegally-sourced shrimp are sold at artificially… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana’s fisheries were crushed by several disasters in 2019 and are finally receiving $58 million in federal aid to offset impacts.
In 2020, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves worked to secure $58 million in federal assistance for an impacted fishing community.
But, despite the disasters occurring five years ago, the federal bureaucracy has taken nearly… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – For years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forced the management of recreational fishing limits based on an inaccurate federal data collection program. Many states, including Louisiana, have developed their own, more accurate data collection systems. Earlier today, NOAA announced what we all knew to be true: their data… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – Nutria are an invasive species that threaten Louisiana's coastal wetlands, hurricane protection and economy. U.S. Congressman Garret Graves is using this week – National Invasive Species Awareness Week – to bring national attention to the nutria-related damage and the need for additional resources.Invasive species impact communities in various ways,… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is purchasing up to $25 million of Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Wild-Caught Shrimp. This will help provide relief to Louisiana's shrimp industry which has faced several hardships in a row: Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters, repeated openings of the… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) released the following statement in response to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Jack Montoucet signing again a declaration to re-open the recreational red snapper season on Friday, October 7 through Friday, October 14 and increasing the bag limit to four fish per person, per day.… Read more »
BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana's shrimpers and crawfishers are struggling to stay afloat amidst record high energy costs, inflation, a crumbling supply chain, workforce shortages, and the disaster recovery process. U.S. Congressman Garret Graves is putting pressure on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase Louisiana shrimp and crawfish for its food aid programs.… Read more »
Nearly 40 Members of Congress from across the southeastern United States have asked U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary Gina Raimondo to direct the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to allow better science and improved access to red snapper fishing opportunities.
The letter expresses strong concerns from dozens of Members of Congress that NMFS is attempting to use flawed… Read more »
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) attempted to add amendments to the U.S. House government funding bill in an effort to create accountability and improve the bill. Graves' amendments would have ensured Louisiana's disaster recovery, flood insurance and other priorities were addressed.Graves introduced the below amendments: An amendment that would have required the FEMA… Read more »
