The Subcommittee is responsible for all issues pertaining to wildlife resources, fisheries, oceanography, and insular areas. The Insular areas of the U.S. include the territories of American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), as well as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Republicans on the Subcommittee are committed to implementing commonsense policies to protect wildlife and ensure public access to our public lands. The Subcommittee is also working to ensure the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have sufficient resources to effectively manage their programs and keep our ocean resources thriving and sustainably managed.
Hot Topics:
Did You Know?
- The U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends 200 nautical miles offshore and is the largest in the world, spanning over 13,000 miles of coastline and containing 3.4 million square nautical miles of ocean—larger than the combined land area of all fifty states.
- U.S. ports handle more than $700 billion in merchandise and the cruise ship industry and its passengers raise another $12 billion in spending, with the maritime industry producing more than 13 million jobs. The U.S. coastline is 12,383 miles and its shoreline is 88,633 miles.
- According to 2000 estimates, ocean-related activities generated more than $117 billion and supported over two million jobs. When including coastal activities, the numbers increase to more than $1 trillion or one tenth of the nation’s annual gross domestic product is generated in the nearshore area adjacent to the coast referred to as the nearshore zone. When the coastal watershed county economies are included, the contribution swells to over $4.5 trillion, half of the nation’s gross domestic product and accounting for some 60 million jobs.
- The National Wildlife Refuge System is comprised of 550 units located in all 50 states and U.S. territories that provides hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and other recreational opportunities to the more than 40 million Americans who visit at least one refuge each year.
Membership:
The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs consists of 16 Members, 9 Republicans and 7 Democrats.
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John Fleming
Chairman
Louisiana, 4th District
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Don Young
Alaska, At-large
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Rob Wittman
Virginia, 1st District
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Jeff Duncan
South Carolina, 3rd District
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Steve Southerland, II
Florida, 2nd District
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Bill Flores
Texas, 17th District
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Andy Harris
Maryland, 1st District
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Jeff Landry
Louisiana, 3rd District
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Jon Runyan
New Jersey, 3rd District
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Doc Hastings
(ex-officio)
Washington, 4th District
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Jurisdiction of the Subcommittee:
- All matters regarding insular areas of the United States.
- All measures or matters regarding the Freely Associated States and Antarctica.
- Fisheries management and fisheries research generally, including the management of all commercial and recreational fisheries (except for the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act), interjurisdictional fisheries, international fisheries agreements, aquaculture, seafood safety and fisheries promotion.
- Wildlife resources, including research, restoration, refuges and conservation.
- All matters pertaining to the protection of coastal and marine environments, including estuarine protection.
- Coastal barriers.
- Oceanography.
- Ocean engineering, including materials, technology and systems.
- Coastal zone management.
- Marine sanctuaries.
- U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Sea Grant programs and marine extension services.
- Cooperative efforts to encourage, enhance and improve international programs for the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources otherwise within the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee.
- General and continuing oversight and investigative authority over activities, policies and programs within the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee.
Referred Legislation:
Recent Activity:
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UPDATED: Chairman Hastings Announces Republican Members of the House Natural Resources Committee
Dec 14, 2012 |
Press Release
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Hastings Statement on Obama Administration's Proposed Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken
Nov 30, 2012 |
Press Release
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Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Legislative Hearing on H.R. 511
Nov 29, 2012 |
Hearings
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Hastings Selected as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee
Nov 28, 2012 |
Press Release
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Chairman Hastings Letter to Director Ashe and Administrator Lubchenco Requesting Extension of Comment Period of USFWS and NOAA Fisheries Proposed Revisions to Critical Habitat Economic Impact Analyses
Oct 19, 2012 |
Letters
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Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Legislative Hearing on H.R. 6040 and H.R. 6147
Sep 10, 2012 |
Hearings
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Committee Report on H.R. 6007, the "North Texas Zebra Mussel Barrier Act of 2012"
Sep 10, 2012 |
Committee Reports
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Committee Report on H.R. 2706, the "Billfish Conservation Act of 2012"
Sep 10, 2012 |
Committee Reports
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Full Committee Oversight Field Hearing on "Fishing = Jobs: How Strengthening America’s Fisheries Strengthens Our Economy"
Aug 25, 2012 |
Hearings
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Chairman Hastings Calls on the Obama Administration to Provide Transparent Answers to Outstanding Questions, Disclose Documents on National Ocean Policy Prior to Imposing Final Implementation Plan
Aug 15, 2012 |
Press Release
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