Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL. I would have offered an amendment to actually control the cormorants, which are an invasive species that affect the catfish farmers. I understand that due to technical reasons, I can't. But I was hoping the chairman would allow me to engage in a colloquy regarding it.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, APHIS as it's known, is an agency within the USDA which plays a critical role in helping farmers to handle losses as a result of wolves, coyotes, birds, and other invasive species. This agency is especially important to our catfish farmers because it helps to protect and control the livestock from cormorants, which are birds that prey upon catfish.

In the South, especially in Alabama, the southern catfish production has seen phenomenal growth over the last 30 years. The continued growth of the catfish industry has really been limited by the growth of these cormorants and other invasive species that feed upon the livestock.

The State of Alabama has roughly 22,000 water acres of fish farms where nearly 200 commercial farmers produce 25 different species, most of which are catfish. In Alabama, farmers are quite concerned that in the committee record it looked as if the control of these invasive species would be limited only to the Southeast. I don't think that was the original intent of the committee report.

I really was hoping the chairman would address that issue and just clarify, if he would, whether or not the cormorants funding would be limited.

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