The practice has been criticized in recent years as the number of sharks caught and finned has risen dramatically from 2,289 sharks in 1991 to 60,857 in 1998, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The amendment, supported by Democrats and Republicans, is intended to answer the concerns Hawaiian fishermen that the bill would have no impact on the number of sharks finned by foreign fishermen. Argo will provide 100,000 temperature and salinity profiles and reference velocity measurements per year at 3-degree spacing. On May 19th, eight Congressional staffers traveled to Baltimore at the invitation of NOAA, Maryland Sea Grant, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute . While there, they toured aquaculture facilities in the city and received briefings on various aspects of aquaculture science and policy.
Commercial fishermen engage in one of the most dangerous professions in America.
They have a higher fatality rate than even firefighters, police officers, truck or taxi drivers. Sen. Collins bill provides also for income averaging for fishermen Until 1986, fishermen were covered by this provision, but the provision was dropped as part of the 1986 tax restructuring.