Fishing Coalition Hails Funding for Young Fishermen’s Development Act
A national coalition of community-based, small-boat commercial fishermen is hailing a congressional decision to include $1 million to fund the Young Fishermen’s Development Act (YFDA) in the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package for fiscal year 2023.
Members of the Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC) worked with members of Congress for more than seven years to develop the YFDA, which is modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program.
The YFDA is itself a workforce development program administered by NOAA’s Sea Grant program.
The funds are expected to help fishermen of the future tackle increasing challenges facing commercial fishermen in the United States. With the nation’s commercial fisheries generating more than $200 billion in sales and su...