The marine industry is facing a massive workforce shortage and one reason behind it is the lack of quality education options. Apprenticeships help bridge that gap by allowing students to learn from experienced employees, in a real world environment. There’s a new apprenticeship bill moving in the Senate that needs your support. Last week, Senator Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the […]

Currently, U.S. marine industry is facing a triple threat when it comes to tariffs: Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese aluminum sheet, and 301 tariffs on nearly 300 marine related products. As a result, our industry is experiencing rising manufacturing costs, retaliatory tariffs, and order cancelations.   As […]

A workforce bill that would allocate $100,000 of funding to the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association to build and support workforce development programs has passed the Massachusetts state Senate. The recreational boating industry in Massachusetts has an economic impact of over $2 billion dollars and employs over 11,000 men and women, according to the MMTA. “This […]

President Donald J. Trump has proclaimed June as Great Outdoors Month® – marking the 16th time a President has recognized the importance of the Great Outdoors with a Presidential proclamation.  He is the third President to celebrate Great Outdoors Month® and the fifth to take action on either the Month or its predecessor, Great Outdoors […]

The U.S. Department of the Interior, along with the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently published a new free booklet to help kids get hooked on fishing. Those who are interested can download the Junior Ranger “Let’s Go Fishing!” activity booklet, which will introduce them and their families to fishing […]

U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to abide by all legal and regulatory requirements as the Trump administration reportedly considers the year-round sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol by volume (E15). As the lawmakers noted, the EPA has previously and […]

Boating United has issued an alert encouraging all industry stakeholders to take action and tell the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support Amendment 43 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The NMMA, MRAA, and other industry supporters have worked diligently alongside our fishing coalition partners […]

MRAA and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable offered enthusiastic support for Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s recent recognition of outdoor recreation in his Secretarial Orders #3365 and #3366 in a letter.   Secretarial Order 3365 creates the position of Senior National Advisor to the Secretary for Recreation.  ORR noted that is the first time in nearly 40 years that […]

Congressman Austin Scott and Congresswoman Lois Frankel, members of the Congressional Boating Caucus, introduced the Consumer Protection and Fuel Transparency Act of 2018. The bipartisan legislation would more clearly label harmful and corrosive E15 ethanol blended gasoline at pumps across the country, which would better protect engines in boats, motorcycles, pre-2001 model year vehicles and […]

Continuing his efforts to increase access to public lands, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced yesterday a proposal to open more than 248,000 acres to new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at 30 national wildlife refuges. Opportunities include places like Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in Illinois and Wisconsin, and deer hunting in […]