Shareholders' Alliance - News Stories

“Real change doesn’t come from a single meeting or handshake. It comes from building relationships, showing up consistently, and making our voices heard...” - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director 

July 21, 2025

"Florida has long held one of the Gulf Council’s “at-large” seats - a position not tied to any one state, but one Florida has used for decades to represent both commercial and recreational sectors. This year, that seat is up for grabs, and Louisiana is trying to take it."

June 20, 2025

“Bad data, or no data, or gaps in the data, means disruption for commercial fishermen down the road.” - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director  

May 22, 2025

“The devil is in the details, and that’s why it’s really important to have a funded and functioning NOAA and regional fishery management council system in place to implement the president’s vision.” - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director  

May 15, 2025

"I'm a fishing-boat captain in Galveston. Cuts to NOAA put the U.S. fishing industry at risk." - Scott Hickman, commercial and charter fisherman

April 30, 2025

“NOAA and the Gulf Council have built relationships with fishing communities and, when their core mission and essential roles are functioning efficiently, are uniquely positioned to help deliver results that benefit fishermen and the economy alike." 

April 22, 2025

The Shareholders' Alliance looks forward to our role in the process as this Executive Order is implemented. We stand ready to work with federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Gulf Council so that all Gulf commercial fishermen have a seat at the table.  The Shareholders' Alliance looks forward to our role in the process as this Executive Order is implemented. We stand ready to work with federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Gulf Council so that all Gulf commercial fishermen have a seat at the table.
 

April 18, 2025

“Cost of living is getting much, much more expensive, and it’s harder and harder for fishermen to live near their boat, so some of them either have to live on their boat or travel quite a ways to get to their boat.” - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director

April 14, 2025

“I just felt like I had to do something... I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore.” – Lisa Schmidt, Shareholders' Alliance Board Member 

March 27, 2025

"Our nation’s commercial fishing and seafood businesses wish to be a key part of the President’s efforts to bolster domestic food production, nutrition, and self-sufficiency. We represent American businesses that can help Make America Healthy Again by increasing U.S. consumption of nutritious, domestically produced seafood. " 

March 4, 2025

"The time has come to plan for the future – to put the fish first and make some hard decisions that ensure that all fishermen have enough fish to sustain their businesses, their communities, and their hobbies." - Glen Brooks, Board Member 

July 13, 2024

The appointments “are a positive step in the right direction by maintaining a balance of interests on the Gulf Council, with three of the 17 members making a living in the commercial or charter/for-hire fisheries under the Gulf Council’s purview,” according to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance.

July 8, 2024 

The new Gulf appointments “are a positive step in the right direction by maintaining a balance of interests,” according to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance. 

July 2, 2024

“We applaud this effort to improve the systems we need to maintain and grow resilient and competitive seafood businesses and sustain resilient fisheries for today and future generations.”  - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director  

 June 18, 2024

"First and foremost, fisheries management decisions must be based on science, not politics. Especially in mixed-use fisheries here in the Gulf of Mexico." - Gary Jarvis, commercial and charter captain    

June 10, 2024 

"We need to know that the diversity of our fisheries and communities have fair representation, and that the entities charged with developing the regulations that we must live under are balanced and diverse in a way that reflects the people and communities they impact." - Jason DeLaCruz, Vice President of the Shareholders' Alliance 

June 4, 2024

“Wayne was a skilled fisherman and a visionary who believed deeply in the importance of building bridges between fishermen and scientists. His commitment to bridging the gap between the commercial fishing and scientific communities was instrumental in advancing sustainable fishing practices and preserving our marine ecosystems for future generations.”  

March 25, 2024

In this episode of the National Working Waterfront Podcast, host Ashley Bennis delves into the significance of sustainable seafood, a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, facing stiff competition globally. With October being designated as Seafood Month, the episode aims to bring you up to speed on how the U.S. is advocating for sustainable fisheries. Special guests Ashford Rosenberg, from the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance, and David Aparicio, a Texas Oyster Farmer and Shrimp Fisher, join us to unpack NOAA Fisheries' groundbreaking 2023 National Seafood Strategy. Discover actionable insights on how you can directly contribute to strengthening local seafood industries. This episode is a must-listen for anyone invested in the future of U.S. seafood, from policy to plate.  

October 31, 2023 

"It is imperative the Gulf Council return to fair, balanced, and impartial representation that prioritizes science-based management and conservation. Diverse perspectives and expertise are essential in promoting effective resource management and decision making." 

 "Successful management of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico is best achieved by a management body whose membership – and decisions – balance the diversity of stakeholders who rely on the Gulf’s fisheries. Instead, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s seats and decision-making are dominated by private anglers and their supporters. "  - Hugh Cipparone, Policy Fellow

June 15, 2023

"I’m worried about the future of fishing in the Gulf. A big part of my concern can be tied to the lack of balanced representation on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council."  - Rachal Hisler, commercial fishing owner/operator. Chambers County, TX

June 7, 2023

Deputy Director, Eric Brazer, was a guest on "Waterside Chats" with the Marine Fish Conservation Network. He discussed the work the Shareholders' Alliance is doing in the Gulf of Mexico to promote conservation and the livelihoods of commercial fishermen. 

May 5, 2023

"It’s clear that we need some creative thinking. The current tools in the management toolbox aren’t working." - Jane Black Lee 

October 24, 2022

"Whatever direction the shifting climate takes us, we do know one thing: that commercial fishermen will be there, taking to sea as they have for generations, doing what they do best – being our eyes and ears on the water, catching fish, feeding people, and supporting our coastal communities." - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director

June 8, 2022

the IFQ program adds another expense to a commercial fishing trip. But it’s made great strides in protecting the Gulf from overfishing while ensuring that commercial fishermen can make a living.

June 2, 2022

"The point is – whether it’s my data, Alabama’s data or the federal government’s data – all of this data needs to be speaking the same language. " - Captain David Walker

November 11, 2021

"Guindon guarantees that every fish he sells was legally and domestically harvested through Gulf Wild, a program started by a regional alliance of commercial fishermen."

November 9, 2021

"I think our fishermen are frustrated that there are no more opportunities for Mexican fishermen to help create a better fisheries management system for themselves, like the one we have, something that involves fishermen, and that they can build a system that protects fish and their businesses according to their ways of life." - Eric Brazer, Deputy Director 

August 30, 2021

"Guidance proposed by the act would provide fishery managers a roadmap for incorporating a changing climate, dynamic oceans, and the growing importance of the intersection between land and sea into more meaningful policy.” - Eric Brazer, Shareholders' Alliance Deputy Director 

July 26, 2021

Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii) introduced the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, a bill to amend and reauthorize the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, on Monday, July 26. 

July 26, 2021

 "This work began as a way to address one of the challenges often faced in technology development: economy of scale. Technology that is designed for the fishing industry for a specific problem, region, and/or issue may be too costly to develop because the user group or scale is too small.” - Leigh Habegger, executive director of the Seafood Harvesters of America.     

June 11, 2021

Shareholders' Alliance Policy Analyst, Ashford Rosenberg, was featured by Seafood Nutrition Partnership, along with other women in the seafood industry, for International Women's Day.

March 8, 2021

Teche matters covers how COVID-19 is impacting the commercial seafood industry in the Gulf of Mexico with Eric Brazer, Deputy Director of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance.  

April 10, 2020