Saving Seafood

Council Actions

American Lobster Board Initiates Draft Addendum XXXII to Repeal Gauge and Escape Vent Measures of Addendum XXVII

February 4, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXXII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum will consider repealing all Addendum XXVII measures pertaining to gauge and escape vent size limits. This action responds to fervent industry concerns about the potential economic impacts of an increase to the minimum gauge size in the Gulf of Maine and uncertainty with trade issues with Canada.

“Rolling back the resiliency measures in Addendum XXVII results in increased risk to the long-term viability of the lobster fishery,” states Board Chair Patrick Keliher of Maine. “This action being considered by the Board will require the Gulf of Maine lobster industry to develop management strategies to ensure the long-term health of the resource and the coastal communities that it supports.” The Gulf of Maine states also reiterated their commitment to the sustainability of the lobster fishery and working closely with the lobster industry to develop alternative conservation measures.


Addendum XXVII was approved with the goal of providing additional protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) spawning stock biomass through proactive conservation measures. Under Addendum XXVII, changes to the current gauge and escape vent sizes in Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs) 1, 3, and Outer Cape Cod were triggered based on observed declines in recruit abundance indices, with the original implementation date of June 1, 2024. In August 2024, the Board approved Addendum XXXI to push back the implementation date so that the series of changes to gauge and vent sizes would begin July 1, 2025. While the overall stock condition remains favorable, persistent declines in the juvenile lobster population, and now in landings, are cause for concern. Specifically, there has been a 40% decline in pre-recruits in the multiple ventless trap and trawl surveys and a 24% decline in lobster landings in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since peak landings in 2016.
The Draft Addendum will not consider repealing regulations prohibiting the issuance of 10% additional trap tags in Areas 3 and 1 above the trap limit or allocation, nor v-notch possession definitions established by Addendum XXVII. The Board will consider approval of Draft Addendum XXXII for public comment in March.
For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

NEW JERSEY: Another blow to NJ’s offshore wind industry

February 3, 2025 — Oil giant Shell announced Thursday it’s pausing its involvement in what is set to be the state’s first offshore wind farm, Atlantic Shores.

“Hopefully the project is dead and gone, as almost all unsightly and environmentally unsound Windmill project should be,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“First Ørsted pulled out of these projects, and now Shell is following suit,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd). “They are beginning to realize what we have been saying all along: these projects are not a practical or viable solution for our energy needs. The promises made by the offshore wind industry were always too good to be true…”

Read the full article at the NJ Spotlight News

Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico as businesses in Canada and US prepare for potential trade war

February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he is pausing planned 25 percent tariffs on Mexico for one month following a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Trump announced a set of sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on 1 February, following through on a proposal he made in November 2024.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Policy shifts, genetic insights shape the king crab fishery

February 3, 2025 — The future of Alaska’s red king crab fishery is at a turning point.

Proposed changes to the fishery’s management in Southeast Alaska could provide more opportunities for commercial fishermen, while new genetic research shows the species’ resilience. Together, these developments may help shape the sustainability of this valuable fishery.

Proposed Changes to Southeast Alaska’s Red King Crab Fishery

The commercial red king crab fishery in Southeast Alaska has struggled over the last decade, with only one opening in the past ten years. Currently, state regulations only allow for a fishery when the regional stock exceeds 200,000 pounds, a threshold originally set based on processor requirements when red king crab sold for much lower prices. However, that threshold is being reconsidered with individual crabs now fetching over $100 each.

According to KTOO, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has proposed lowering the stock requirement to allow smaller commercial openings, even when the 200,000-pound mark isn’t met. Adam Messmer, regional shellfish biologist for ADF&G, explained, “The 200,000-pound threshold… isn’t a biological threshold. It was created by the processors many years ago, saying that they couldn’t make money on anything less than 200,000 pounds. That was back when red crab was three or four dollars a pound. And times have changed…”

If approved by the Alaska Board of Fisheries, this change could provide more flexibility for commercial fishermen, creating opportunities for harvests during years when stocks are lower but still commercially viable.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Court restores protections for critically endangered whales off New England

February 3, 2025 — A Massachusetts court on Monday restored federal protections for endangered whales off New England against entanglement in fishing equipment, overruling a lower court that struck down the federal rule.

The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association challenged the National Marine Fishers Service (NMFS) rule, finalized in 2024, which closed a 200-square-mile stretch of federal water between February and April. The severely endangered right whale, hunted nearly to extinction during the age of whaling, frequents the area during that period. Ship strikes and entanglement in lobstering gear are a major threat to the whales, believed to have a remaining population of fewer than 400.

Read the full article at The Hill

MAINE: Body recovered from missing Maine fishermen’s sunken fishing vessel

February 3, 2025 –A team of volunteer divers recovered a body from inside the cabin of sunken fishing vessel Sudden Impact, which was carrying two Maine fishermen who have been missing for multiple weeks. 

On Jan. 18, a 34-foot scallop vessel carrying Chester Barrett and his son, Aaron Barrett, changed course due to poor sea conditions and did not arrive at its expected destination.

The two fishermen had left Cobscook Bay State Park around 5 a.m. that day. They had been expected to return home to South Addison from Edmunds that evening.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

Trump nominee vows to keep NOAA intact, stop “communist fish” from entering US

February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Commerce Howard Lutnick told U.S. senators at his confirmation hearing that he would not dismantle NOAA and would work to protect American fishers.

Under questioning from lawmakers, Lutnick said that he looked forward to working with the president in implementing tariffs to gain respect from foreign nations.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Massachusetts lobster fishing limits to protect whales restored by appeals court

January 31, 2025 —  A federal appeals court on Thursday restored a U.S. agency rule restricting lobster and Jonah crab fishing off the Massachusetts coast to protect endangered whales, rejecting a claim that the agency did not deserve deference under a recent landmark Supreme Court case.

In a 3-0 decision, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the National Marine Fisheries Service acted lawfully in banning from Feb. 1 to April 30 annually the use of vertical buoy lines in a 200-nautical-mile area of federal waters called the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge.

The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association sued to block the rule, saying a Dec. 2022 appropriations rider reflected the U.S. Congress’ intent not to extend emergency protections for North Atlantic right whales from earlier that year.

A federal district judge declared the rule void last March.

But in Thursday’s decision, Circuit Judge Seth Aframe called that a mistake because the rule was “in place” when the rider took effect, though it was not being enforced at that time.

Read the full article at Reuters

Trump tariffs worry lobster fishermen in Maine and Canada

January 31, 2025 — Leaders from the U.S. and Canada’s lobster fishing communities came together in Bar Harbor Wednesday to tackle what they said are pressing issues facing the industry.

At the top of mind at this year’s 21st annual meeting was the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian products.

“These tariffs, if they actually happen, will badly impact Maine harvesters and the Maine lobster sector — just as it will impact Canadians,” said Geoff Irvine, the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.

Solving this issue could mean lobbying U.S. political figures, Irvine said.

Read the full article at Spectrum News 13

NEW JERSEY: Shell pulls out of N.J.’s 1st offshore wind farm. Is project now at risk?

January 31, 2025 — Shell has effectively withdrawn from New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, Atlantic Shores — marking the latest major setback to the state’s clean energy ambitions.

Spokespeople told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that the developer remained committed to the project.

At the end of last year, Atlantic Shores (made up of both Shell New Energies US and EDF Renewables North America) noted that its plans for nearly 200 wind turbines were on schedule.

The CEO of the developer also said construction on the wind farm — set to be built roughly 8 to 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light — could begin some time in 2025.

Read the full article at NJ.com