Hi friend,

Danielle from NAMA here, and I wanted to share this recent ProPublica article that came out exposing what is happening regarding consolidation and privatization of fishing rights. 
Although the story focuses on the New England fisheries Catch Share program, it’s emblematic of what’s happening with these scenarios everywhere and why we continue to focus on it as a priority for us at NAMA.

Please donate today to elevate our efforts to fight the corporate takeover and privatization of the ocean. Your support helps us do the work of creating federal legislation that ensures fisheries access is a public resource. And it allows us to keep our finger on the pulse so we can inform more groundbreaking stories like this.
Photo credit: Tony Luong, special to ProPublica

NAMA’s National Program Coordinator, Brett Tolley, shared his family’s story in the article. His isn’t the only voice. Many folks from our vast network got to share their voices with ProPublica as they dug into the story.
Here's a little taste of what you can expect to dive into when reading:

"Owned by a billionaire Dutch family, Blue Harvest Fisheries has emerged as a dominant force in the lucrative fishing port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Its business model: benefit from lax antitrust rules and pass costs on to local fishermen."

This report is not only validating to the fishing men and women who for decades warned decision makers of this inevitable result of privatization policies such as Catch Shares. But it is also providing a swell of momentum behind our national advocacy toward Catch Share reform and stopping the corporate takeover of the ocean. 
When you donate to NAMA you help keep fishing people at the policy decision-making table. Just last month nearly a dozen commercial fishermen from AK, OR, MS, LA, FL, and RI joined us in DC in order to continue our organizing efforts.
 
There is much on the horizon (and much to be done!) in the fishermen-led fight for the health of our oceans, fisheries, coastal communities, and seafood system.
 
 
 
In solidarity,
Danielle Tolley,
Development Coordinator
#BlockCorporateSalmon
BOYCOTT GMO Salmon




#BlockCorporateSalmon Webinar
On Tuesday, July 12th the #BlockCorporateSalmon team presented at the Community Alliance for Global Justice's Summer Camp! The presentation was facilitated by Carl Wassilie and Estefania Narvaez, two members of our organizing community at NAMA.

The presentation included a timely review and recent updates on the campaign as well as a visionary fiction workshop! Visionary fiction is a way to imagine the future we are building toward as organizers. It has been made popular amongst social movement spaces by the late author Octavia Butler, and Black leaders Walidah Imarisha and Addrienne Marie Brown. In this workshop, folks grappled with the Salmon crisis and transformed solutions into thriving paradigms.
If you want to find other ways to plug into this organizing, contact blockcorporatesalmon@gmail.com and fill out this form: bit.ly/unrocean

For updates on recent development be sure to follow @blockcorporatesalmon on Instagram as well as the Williams County Alliance on Facebook (@wmscoa)
Some other organizations that do great work around salmon preservation are:
Boston Jerkfest
On July 2nd, a handful of us at NAMA attended the Boston Jerkfest, a Caribbean-style food festival. See our Instagram post to check out some highlights of the event! One of the events we helped run, unsurprisingly, was a Seafood Throwdown featuring two amazing Boston area chefs, Chef Kwesi of Comfort Kitchen, and Chef Mills! Brett and Jon emceed the event while Jamey Lionette from Red’s Best, Reggie Jean of the Haley House, and Kerry Bowie of Msaada partners helped judge the cooking. Did we mention, the surprise fish of the event was fileted Skate caught by partners of Red’s Best just the day prior to the event?
Public Comment Opportunity
NOAA Seeks Public Input
Deadline: August 1

NOAA is seeking public input on nine “aquaculture opportunity areas” throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Open through August 1, the public comment period will be used to create a “programmatic environmental impact statement.” Electronic comments can be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov/ by searching for NOAA-NMFS-2022-0044. Enter NA in the required field if you want to remain anonymous. Comments can include the type of aquaculture for a site, potential adverse, beneficial, or cumulative impacts of the aquaculture programs, and monitoring and reporting requirements.
NAMA is a fishermen-led organization building a broad movement toward healthy fisheries, and fishing communities.

We build deep, and trusting relationships with community based fisherman, crew, fishworkers, and allies to create effective policy, and market strategies.

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