Saving Seafood

Council Actions

ASMFC Releases for Public Comment the Public Information/Scoping Document for Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment

January 23, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission releases for public comment the Public Information/Scoping Document for the Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass and Bluefish. The document is a joint effort of the Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council given the species are managed cooperatively by the Commission in state waters (0-3 miles) and by the Council and NOAA Fisheries in federal waters (3-200 miles).

 
As the first step in the amendment process, the document solicits public input on the potential development of an amendment to consider modifications to the recreational management of summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. Specifically, the amendment may consider options for managing for-hire recreational fisheries separately from other recreational fishing modes (referred to as sector separation), as well as options related to the collection and use of recreational data, such as private angler reporting and enhanced for-hire vessel trip reporting requirements.
 
Scoping is the first and best opportunity to provide input on the range of issues to be addressed through this action. There will be additional opportunities to provide comments. However, comments early in the development of this action will help the Commission and Council identify issues of concern and determine which types of management options should be further developed. Following the initial phase of information gathering and public comment, the Commission and Council will evaluate potential management options and develop a draft amendment for public review. After the next round of public comment, the Commission and Council will identify the management measures to be included in the Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment. A tentative schedule for the completion of the amendment is included in the scoping document.

 

 
Submitting Comments
The Public Information/Scoping Document is available at https://asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SFSBSB_BF_RecAmendment_PublicInfo-Scoping_Jan2025.pdf. All those interested in the management of summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish are encouraged to provide input by 11:59 PM (EST) on March 20, 2025 by participating in public hearings (details to be released in a subsequent press release) or by providing written comment. Written comment may be submitted through any of the following methods: online viahttps://mafmc.knack.com/public-comments#rec-sector-separation-data-collection/; mailed to Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, at 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; or emailed to Kiley Dancy at kdancy@mafmc.org (Subject line: Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection).

The limits to Trump’s offshore energy plans

January 22, 2025 — Donald Trump has been president for little more than a day, but his vision for the federal coastline is already clear: less wind, more oil.

One of Trump’s first actions after his inauguration Monday was to halt all new leases and permits for offshore wind projects and to direct the incoming Interior secretary to review existing permits to determine if they warrant “terminating or amending.”

He also issued an executive order that aims to revoke an eleventh-hour bid by the Biden administration to block offshore oil and gas drilling within 625 million acres of federal waters, including in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, the Pacific and most of the Bering Sea in Alaska.

But what Trump can and can’t do offshore could be limited by legal challenges — and political realities.

Questions remain about whether Trump can legally rescind Biden’s withdrawal of federal waters from oil and gas leasing, for example. At least one federal court has found that Congress would have to act to restore areas that a president has withdrawn under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Read the full article at Politico 

Trump’s pause on offshore wind leasing may have limited impact in New England

January 22, 2025 — A national moratorium on offshore wind leasing and permitting may have only limited effects in Massachusetts and other New England states, according to several wind industry observers.

Their comments came after Trump signed an executive order halting federal approvals for wind energy projects on Monday, his first official day in office.

“We’re obviously not happy to see the Trump administration issuing an order on day one that targets offshore wind,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at the Conservation Law Foundation.  “But the practical import of this executive order on wind energy is not very significant — at least as relates to New England.”

Trump’s order directs the federal government to stop leasing new areas of the outer continental shelf for electricity production, and it effectively hits the pause button on all projects still in the development pipeline. But it stops short of immediately bringing to a standstill the dozen or so projects that are fully permitted in waters up and down the East Coast.

Read the full article at wbur

Trump order targets offshore wind, but stopping projects in progress won’t be easy

January 22, 2025 — President Donald Trump wasted no time in his first day in office Monday, ordering a halt to all new leases of offshore wind projects in federal waters, and a review of all federally leased and permitted wind projects by the Interior Department.

It’s what industry experts expected at minimum, and goes a step further by opening the door for potential termination of existing offshore wind leases or permits. The review could affect several wind projects off the Massachusetts coast at varying levels of completion. The halt in new leases could also delay, for up to four years, a future phase of wind development off the New York and mid-Atlantic coasts — a prospect the fishing industry welcomes.

But experts say undoing projects that have already been approved won’t be an easy task — which makes the Biden administration’s 11th-hour approval of SouthCoast Wind and lifting of Vineyard Wind’s suspension order particularly significant for the state and New Bedford.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

BOEM’s compensation framework for fishermen ‘ensures consistency’ but not legally binding

January 22, 2025 — The lead government regulator on offshore wind issued a long-awaited federal framework this week to guide wind developers on how they should mitigate impacts and compensate the fishing industry for any loss incurred due to the turbine arrays.

It includes recommendations on claims processes, fisheries communication programs, and cable burial, and an appendix of complex formulas to calculate compensation — much of what developers have already been doing, albeit in varying ways.

The document is not legally binding, and has been in the works for several years, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issuing draft guidelines in 2022. BOEM states its new guidance “ensures consistency and promotes fair treatment of fishermen, regardless of their home or landing port.”

“This guidance focuses on transparency and early engagement with fishing communities, and effective strategies to mitigate potential disruptions,” said Brian Hooker, a BOEM lead biologist who led much of the effort. “Through this initiative, BOEM is working to decrease the impacts of offshore wind projects on commercial and recreational fisheries, and ensure fair treatment for all fishermen.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

North American lobster industry strong, but potential tariff issues loom

January 22, 2025 — The North American lobster industry is projected to have similar volumes and landing patterns as it has had in years past in 2025, but U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian products could cause disruptions.

The North American lobster supply has been relatively stable for a decade, averaging between 300 million and 350 million pounds each year. According to a panel of experts at the Global Seafood Market Conference, taking place 19 to 23 January in Palm Desert, California, U.S.A., totals in 2025 will largely remain the same, with the potential for a slight decline in catch totals in the U.S. state of Maine.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Nordic Aquafarms scraps embattled salmon farm in Maine

January 22, 2025 — Norway-headquartered aquaculture firm Nordic Aquafarms has abandoned its years-long fight to build a recirculating aquaculture system [RAS] salmon farm in Belfast, Maine, U.S.A.

“It’s a sad day for Maine’s economy and the outlook for aquaculture and any significant investment in the state,” Nordic Aquafarms U.S. CEO Brenda Chandler said in a release. “While a few may view this as a victory, we argue that this is a significant loss overall, not just for Nordic Aquafarms but for the community. The expanded tax base for Belfast was significant; new jobs for the area were significant; and Maine’s leadership in aquaculture-born solutions is also significant.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NORTH CAROLINA: Trump moves to curb wind farms, part of North Carolina’s clean energy plan

January 22, 2025 — The fate of North Carolina’s offshore wind farms, both active and planned, is in question after President Donald Trump took executive action to halt offshore wind energy production on his first day in office.

The order halts offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf and prohibits new or renewed permits, leases, and loans for wind energy projects, both onshore and offshore. The sweeping action has drawn sharp criticism from clean energy advocates in North Carolina, where offshore wind was poised to play a significant role in the energy transition.

It was one of dozens of executive orders signed Monday by Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year absence. Trump signed other executive orders related to climate, too, removing the U.S. from the Paris Climate treaty and pushing back on Biden-era mandates on electric vehicles.

“We’re not going to do the wind thing,” Trump said during an event at Capital One Arena on Monday hours after being sworn in.

The Biden Administration approved 11 commercial-scale offshore wind projects in the past four years.

Trump is a proponent of expanded drilling for oil and fracking. He said Monday that the U.S. has more oil and gas than any other nation.

Read the full article at WRAL

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Ayotte says New Hampshire won’t comply with new lobster minimum size guidelines

January 22, 2025 — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said Tuesday that New Hampshire will not comply with new guidelines that she said would hurt the state’s lobster industry.

In a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Ayotte said New Hampshire will not adopt new guidelines that increase the minimum size for lobsters caught in the Gulf of Maine.

“Complying with these guidelines could lead to a loss of a third of lobstermen’s catch this year at a time when lobstermen are already facing declining yields,” Ayotte said in the letter. “Moreover, our lobster industry helps drive summer tourism, with visitors flocking from all over to visit New Hampshire’s historic lobster pounds.”

The guidelines would increase the minimum size for catchable lobsters over the next two year

Read the full article at WMUR

RHODE ISLAND: Will Trump’s offshore wind executive order halt RI’s projects? What to know.

January 22, 2025 — An executive order signed by President Donald Trump aimed at reining in the expansion of offshore wind may not affect projects that are already in the development pipeline off southern New England.

The sweeping order signed on Monday temporarily halts sales of leases to offshore wind developers in federal waters and pauses permitting for projects, pending a review by the Department of the Interior and other federal government agencies.

But the order doesn’t go so far as trying to put a stop to wind farms that have already gone through the federal permitting process or are under construction.

They include Revolution Wind, the 704-megawatt project that is being built off the Rhode Island coast, or SouthCoast Wind, the proposal for up to 2,400 megawatts of capacity south of Nantucket that last month got the green light from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is part of the interior department.

Read the full article at the The Providence Journal