September 29, 2025 — In a milestone for ocean governance and conservation, the High Seas Treaty has cleared the final hurdle to become international law, which for the first time provides a legal pathway towards protecting vast areas of the global ocean beyond countries’ national jurisdictions.
US lawmakers hope new task force can determine why East Coast shellfish populations are declining
September 26, 2025 — Two United States senators have introduced bipartisan legislation to establish a task force to determine why shellfish populations on the East Coast of the U.S. are declining.
“South Carolina’s shellfish industry depends on healthy bivalve populations, and this task force will support the research needed to develop science-based solutions that protect both our natural resources and the livelihoods they sustain,” U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) said in a release. “From commercial fishermen to restaurant workers and the tourism industry, this directly affects the families and communities that depend on them. I’m pleased to co-sponsor this bill to study the declining bivalve populations and develop informed solutions to safeguard our state’s coastal economy and heritage.”
Offshore wind labor force hoping for work that might not continue
September 26, 2025 — On a warm September day, Sonia Brito stood on a platform more than 200 feet high, securing a “gripper” atop a wind turbine tower with the help of a few of her millwright and ironworker brothers. It’s something they’ve done dozens of times to ready the towers to be grabbed by a crane, placed onto barges and shipped to sea.
The staging terminal, previously packed with blades, nacelles and towers for Vineyard Wind, has grown sparse, a result of a steady workflow during summer’s prime seafaring conditions — and a slowdown, workers say, of international shipments amid the Trump administration’s tariffs.
A Portuguese immigrant who grew up in New Bedford, Brito, 22, says she feels lucky to have happened upon an opportunity like Vineyard Wind. It has allowed her to work in her hometown and build a project that she thinks will have positive impacts for her city and the country’s climate future.
But since the federal government abruptly halted construction at Empire Wind for one month in the spring, and then Revolution Wind in August, workers supporting the buildout of offshore wind in New England have grown worried about the industry’s future — and theirs.
USDA announces USD 100 million in pollock, catfish contracts
September 26, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced contracts for USD 84 million (EUR 72 million) worth of Alaska pollock products and USD 14 million (EUR 12 million) worth of catfish products.
In August, the department announced its intention to purchase USD 100 million (EUR 86 million) worth of Alaska pollock and USD 20 million (EUR 17 million) of catfish as part of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Great American Farmers Market, an event in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., held as part of National Farmers Market Week last month.
ASC adding Atlantic cod to certification program
September 26, 2025 — The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is adding Atlantic cod to its certification program in a move it said was directly requested following stakeholder consultations.
ASC said the species will be added to the certification program in Q4 2025 following a stakeholder consultation that ran from 20 May to 20 June 2025. The majority of the input on the consultation came from Norway – where most of the world’s fledgling cod-farming industry is located.
ASMFC Initiates Stakeholder Engagement Process to Inform Revisions to the Utility, Reward, and Harvest Policy Functions of the ARM Framework Stakeholders Invited to Apply by October 3 Deadline
September 26, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board is initiating a collaborative stakeholder process to inform revisions to the Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework. The ARM Framework is a model used to provide annual harvest levels for horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay region, and is designed to balance the needs of the horseshoe crab fishery with the ecological needs of migratory shorebirds, which depend on horseshoe crab eggs as a food source.
Building on previous recommendations developed at the 2025 Delaware Bay Management Objectives Workshop of the ARM Framework, this process will focus on reviewing and revising the core mathematical functions of the ARM model—specifically the Utility, Reward, and Harvest Policy (U/R/H) functions. Combined, these functions incorporate stakeholder values to determine the optimal harvest level given the estimated numbers of horseshoe crabs and red knots. The goal of this process is to elicit stakeholder values and perspectives to develop clear, actionable recommendations for revising the U/R/H functions, ensuring they are technically sound and transparently reflect diverse stakeholder priorities (i.e., horseshoe crab and shorebird conservation interests, biomedical needs, and commercial fishery demand).
The stakeholder process will occur between October 2025 and May 2026 and will use a phased approach including educational sessions to build a shared understanding of the ARM Framework and U/R/H functions; a two-day workshop in January 2026, using a structured dialogue among participating groups to develop quantitative values that can be integrated into the model, and model updates to integrate stakeholder values and input into the next iteration of the ARM Framework. The Commission has retained Compass Resource Management to be neutral third-party facilitators and analysts for this process. Participants will represent bait fisheries; biomedical groups; dealers; ecosystem, shorebird, and horseshoe crab conservation and science planning groups; and state and federal resource managers.
Stakeholders that would like to participate in this important conversation on the management of the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab resource are invited to apply. Applications should be submitted here by October 3, 2025. To foster a productive and focused discussion, the number of active workshop participants will be limited. Those who are not selected as active participants are welcome to participate in small group interviews and educational sessions, and to attend the workshop as observers.
For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atcstarks@asmfc.org.
Mariana Islands Community Consultation – Round 2 Navigating Change: Estorian Peskadot Marianas
September 26, 2025 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:
Continuing to build on conversations from the February 2025 meetings, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) will host the 2nd in a series of community consultation meetings across the Mariana Islands in early October. These meetings will provide a space for local fishers and community members to share experiences, cultural knowledge and concerns about fisheries.
EVERYONE WELCOME!
We invite fishing families and the public to participate in these vital discussions. Your voice matters as we work together to navigate changes and enhance the fishing community’s future. This is a chance for fishers and community members to speak directly about what they are seeing in the water and to help shape solutions for the future.
(Council community consultation effort overview-GUAM)
Meeting Schedule:
● Inalahan, GU
Date: October 1, 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Inalahan Community Center, 719 San Jose Street
Main Discussion Topics: Shark Depredation, Shifting Seasons, and Preserving Fishing Traditions
● Malesso, GU
Date: October 2, 2025 (Thursday)
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Malesso Senior Citizen’s Center, 462 Chalan Kanton Tasi
Main Discussion Topics: Shark Depredation, Shifting Seasons, and Preserving Fishing Traditions
● Sinajaña, GU
Date: October 3, 2025 (Friday)
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Sinajaña Community Center, 117A E Chalan Gumayuus
Main Discussion Topics: Shark Depredation, Shifting Seasons, and Preserving Fishing Traditions
(Council community consultation effort overview-CNMI)
● Saipan, CNMI
Date: October 4, 2025 (Saturday)
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Azucena Room, Coral Tree Ave, Garapan
Main Discussion Topics: Market, Price, and Seafood Safety Improvements
● Rota, CNMI
Date: October 7, 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Mayor of Rota Conference Hall, San Francisco de Borja Hwy, Tatachong
Main Discussion Topics: Environmental Changes, Barriers to Fishing, Cultural Practices, and Opportunities for Youth, Aquaculture, and Local Management Solutions
● Tinian, CNMI
Date: October 8, 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (ChST)
Location: Tinian Western Lodge, Marpo Heights
Main Discussion Topics: Environmental Changes, Barriers to Fishing, Cultural Practices, and Opportunities for Youth, Aquaculture, and Local Management Solutions
For more information, please contact Felix Reyes-GU (felix.reyes@wpcouncil.org), Angela Dela Cruz-CNMI (angela.delacruz@wpcouncil.org) or Alex Min (alex.cannon.min@gmail.com, www.fishtoday.org/pacific-islands-voices). See flyers below and please help spread the word!
About the Council
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to manage fisheries in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council is responsible for developing and implementing fishery management plans for waters surrounding Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI and U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas. The Council works to promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of fishing communities through science-based decision-making and stakeholder engagement.
US representative Jared Golden urges New England regulators to abandon proposal that could expand ropeless gear use
September 25, 2025 — U.S. Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) is urging regulators not to take any action that would enable the use of more ropeless gear in the Maine lobster fishery, arguing that it would undermine other regulatory efforts.
In a letter to the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC), Golden asked regulators to abandon the Joint Alternative Gear-Marking Framework, a proposal that could eventually allow fishers to use ropeless, or on-demand, gear within its jurisdiction.
Revolution Wind can restart construction off Martha’s Vineyard, judge rules
September 25, 2025 — Construction on the 65-turbine Revolution Wind project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard can resume after a federal district court judge granted the developers reprieve from a stop work order issued by the Trump administration.
In a ruling on Monday, D.C. district court Judge Royce Lamberth granted Revolution Wind a preliminary injunction, halting the enforcement of an Aug. 22 order from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM.
“Revolution Wind has demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits of its underlying claims, it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, the balance of the equities is in its favor, and maintaining the status quo by granting the injunction is in the public interest,” the judge wrote in his two-page opinion.
NOAA identifies 21,000 acres suitable for commercial aquaculture development
September 25, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries has identified 21,000 acres of ocean off the coast of California and in the Gulf of Mexico, now called the Gulf of America by the Trump Administration, that it claims would be suitable for offshore aquaculture development.
The announcement follows up on an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term, which charged NOAA Fisheries with establishing 10 Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA) by 2025. According to the order, AOAs would be sites predetermined by the government to be suitable for commercial aquaculture.
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