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“SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY GRANT PROGRAM AND CREATION OF THE ALASKA FISHERIES MARKETING BOARD” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S2439 on Feb. 13, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY GRANT PROGRAM AND CREATION OF THE ALASKA FISHERIES
MARKETING BOARD
Mr. STEVENS. Madam President, the Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Grant Program is a competitive program administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Department of Commerce. The S-K program was established by the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act of 1954 to promote U.S. seafood products around the world and generally support our Nation's fisheries. For the first time in 1979, S-K receipts from import duties on fishery products were transferred to NOAA's base budget to fund an industry/government partnership. However, without my amendment in fiscal year 2003 NOAA would transfer $75 million to it's base budget, leaving only $220,000 for the original purposes of this program--
promoting domestic seafood production. This provision ensures that a little less than 15 percent of those receipts transferred to NOAA will be used for their intended purpose--promoting domestic seafood from Alaska, home to half of the U.S. domestic seafood production.
This bill includes $10 million from the S-K program to market Alaska seafood products and creates the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board to administer these funds. This program will help develop and promote high-value fresh and fresh-frozen Alaskan seafood products, allowing Alaska fishermen to better compete in the global and domestic markets.
The Secretary of Commerce will appoint the members of the board and the executive director. In appointing members to the board, the Secretary shall fully consult with and seek recommendations from the Governor of Alaska. The membership should reflect the various aspects of seafood production, distribution, State oversight and the retail of Alaska seafood products. This would include three individuals with experience in harvesting Alaska seafood, two individuals with experience in fish processing, one individual from the Alaska transportation industry, one individual from the Alaska State legislature -preferably with experience on the State of Alaska's Salmon Task Force, one individual with experience in mass market food distribution, one individual with experience in mass market food retailing, one individual with experience in niche marketing of Alaska seafood products, and one individual recommended by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
The board will solicit grant proposals for marketing Alaska seafood from the public, review them, and fund those that will do the most to help reinvigorate struggling sectors of the Alaska seafood industry. These proposals can promote region-specific or species-specific marketing programs that do not undermine existing statewide ``Alaska Seafood'' marketing efforts.
The board may choose to promote the development of new processing technologies to insure the commercial viability of Alaska seafood and improve related transportation costs in delivering these products to market, and will work to improve the overall marketability of Alaska seafood.
I look forward to working with the Secretary of Commerce on establishing the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board and helping the Alaska seafood industry get its message out to the world.
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