Several U.S. senators want to be able to track fishery disaster determinations the same way consumers track packages throughout their shipping process.
The Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from NOAA Fisheries on how the agency makes determinations of fishery disasters – a designation that makes communities and industries eligible for federal financial relief.
In a 21 December 2023 joint letter to NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Janet Coit, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida), U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) asked the agency to create an online tracking system that would allow policymakers and other stakeholders to follow along as disaster-assistance requests make their way through NOAA’s decision-making process…