May 20, 2025 — Walmart CEO Doug McMillon recently said that the massive global retailer will likely have to raise prices due to tariffs instituted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In response, Trump said that Walmart should just “eat the tariffs.”
MASSACHUSETTS: Commercial fishermen welcomed Trump’s promise to roll back ‘overregulation.’ Months into his term, what do they think of him?
May 20, 2025 — Here, in America’s oldest port of its kind, where the squawk of gulls offers a constant soundtrack to life on the docks, the iconic, centuries-old commercial fishing industry used to be much, much better. There were, fishermen recalled, more boats making more money, fewer rules, and more opportunity.
In their telling, federal authorities overstepped in a misguided effort to protect fish stocks, with rules that have strangled their beloved way of life. So President Trump’s promise to roll back “overregulation” had been broadly welcomed by those in commercial fishing, even as industry veterans, burned by generations of politicians, approach any cause for optimism with caution.
Now, four months since Trump took office, some fishermen and businesses that rely on them question whether the Republican’s rhetoric will translate into tangible benefits.
In Reversal, Trump Officials Will Allow Huge Offshore N.Y. Wind Farm to Proceed
May 20, 2025 — The Trump administration on Monday allowed construction to restart on a huge wind farm off the coast of Long Island, a month after federal officials had issued a highly unusual stop-work order that had pushed the $5 billion project to the brink of collapse.
In a statement, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat of New York, said she had spent weeks pressing President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to lift the government’s hold on the wind farm.
The project, known as Empire Wind, is being built by the Norwegian energy giant Equinor and when finished is expected to deliver enough electricity to power 500,000 New York homes.
“After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward,” Ms. Hochul said on Monday evening.
When the Trump administration halted work on Empire Wind last month, it stunned observers and sent shock waves through the wind industry.
US Wind proposes $20 million for fisheries fund
May 19, 2025 — Offshore wind developer US Wind Inc. is proposing a $20 million fund “to support commercial fishing” under agreements with Maryland and Delaware state officials.
The memoranda of understanding reached with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control were “developed in response to feedback from the local commercial fishing industry, (and) will provide funding to commercial fishermen above and beyond what is required by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,” according to a May 14 joint statement from the company and state agencies.
The fund would include $13.5 million for the “Maryland Fishing Community Resilience Fund,” aimed at maintaining the commercial fishing infrastructure at Ocean City, Md., where US Wind plans a base of operations. The company holds an 80,000-acre federal lease off the Delmarva coast with potential for developing turbine arrays with a nameplate rating up to 1,800 megawatts.
MAINE: Trump’s executive order on fishing industry draws support from Maine fishermen
May 19, 2025 — As the Trump administration continues to reshape federal policy, a recent executive order targeting the U.S. fishing industry is making waves along Maine’s coast.
The order, which seeks to ease regulations and promote domestic seafood production, is drawing both support and concern from those closely tied to the industry.
Alaska officials forecast improvements for the state’s commercial salmon harvest
May 19, 2025 — After a poor showing last year, Alaska’s statewide commercial salmon harvest appears poised for a rebound, according to projections by state biologists.
This year’s total salmon harvest is expected to be more than twice as big as last year’s total, thanks primarily to stronger returns of pink salmon, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s annual statewide run forecast and commercial harvest projection. The report was released this week.
The department’s projected 2025 total harvest is 214.6 million fish, above the 2000-2023 average of 175 million fish, though well below the record 280 million salmon harvested commercially in 2013. This year’s projected total is much higher than the 103.5 million salmon harvested commercially last year.
If the harvest occurs as projected, it would be the 10th-largest on record, said Forrest Bowers, director of the department’s Division of Commercial Fisheries.
A ‘worthwhile effort’ to address trawl bottom contact
May 19, 2025 — Jon Kurland, Alaska regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, agreed to take questions on the issue of trawl gear touching bottom and the pollock industry’s Gear Innovation Initiative. Here are his responses.
NF: It seems the issue of pollock trawl gear contacting the seafloor has taken on a higher profile lately. Is this true, and if so, why?
Jon Kurland: It’s been gaining attention for a while. A number of stakeholders have raised concerns about unobserved mortality of crabs from pelagic trawls contacting the seafloor as well as impacts to bottom habitats. It was a big topic during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s review of potential new management measures for the Red King Crab Savings Area in the Bering Sea – an area that is closed to bottom trawling but open to pelagic trawling.
NF: What role have you and Alaska’s fish and game commissioner, Doug Vincent-Lang, played in elevating this issue?
JK: Commissioner Vincent-Lang and I have met with members of the pollock industry about this a number of times. We told them this is an important issue and that we’d like to see the industry take a leadership role in exploring and devising viable solutions to reduce bottom contact in areas where that’s a concern due to potential consequences for unobserved mortality of crabs or impacts to bottom habitats.
NF: Do we know enough now about the actual impact of trawl gear on the bottom and benthic habitat?
JK: It’s important to distinguish between bottom trawls and pelagic trawls. We know that bottom trawls are designed to fish on the bottom, and managers have closed some areas to bottom trawling specifically to avoid those impacts. Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about how much pelagic trawls contact the bottom. We know that fishermen sometimes fish these nets very close to the bottom and make contact with the seafloor, but we don’t have much quantitative data about that.
MARYLAND: Maryland governor signs law supporting water quality and aquaculture in Chesapeake Bay
May 19, 2025 — Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed into law legislation designed to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and simplify reporting for the state’s aquaculture sector.
“We have a responsibility to hand over the state to the next generation better than we found it. That’s not just a moral priority; that’s an economic imperative,” Moore said in a statement. “The Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act will uplift every sector of our bay economy, from agriculture to aquaculture. Together, we will protect and preserve our natural heirlooms and drive economic growth. Those missions aren’t in conflict; they’re in concert.”
Read the full article at SeafoodSource
ALASKA: Alaska fishing groups denounce ongoing effort to list Chinook salmon under ESA
May 19, 2025 — Alaska’s commercial fishing sector is up in arms again over ongoing efforts to have the state’s Chinook salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a determination that could have massive impacts for the state’s fisheries.
Last year, Wild Fish Conservancy, a conservation group based out of Duvall, Washington, U.S.A., petitioned NOAA to list Alaskan Chinook salmon under the ESA, arguing that the once-abundant species had suffered chronic declines. An initial review by the agency found that ESA protections may be warranted; however, the government has yet to complete its review, completely missing its 12-month deadline for issuing a determination.
Endangered whales gave birth to few babies this year as population declines
May 19, 2025 — A vanishing species of whale gave birth to few babies this birthing season, raising alarms among scientists and conservationists who fear the animal could go extinct.
The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370 and has declined in population in recent years. The whales give birth to calves off the southeastern United States from mid-November to mid-April, and federal authorities have said they need to have at least 50 calves per season to start recovering.
The whales didn’t come anywhere near that number this year. The calving season produced only 11 mother-calf pairs, scientists with the New England Aquarium in Boston said.
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