January 21, 2025 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated the marine portions of Hawaii’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a 582,570 square-mile area in the Pacific Ocean, as America’s 18th national marine sanctuary.
USDA to purchase USD 50 million worth of Alaska pollock
January 21, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to purchase USD 50 million (EUR 48 million) worth of Alaska pollock in 2025 in support of the federal government’s food bank and nutrition programs.
“We all appreciate the quick response by USDA to address the needs of the seafood industry and, at the same time, food-insecure Americans by committing to purchase what may be more than 15 million pounds of wild Alaska pollock products,” Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) Global Food Aid Director Bruce Schactler said in a statement. “These nutritious seafood products, which may include fillet portions, fish sticks, and nuggets, will strengthen the nutrition profile of USDA offerings as recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans while at the same time helping to address the extreme market challenges that are so present and causing so much disruption across the entire Alaska seafood industry.”
US government signs agreement ending lawsuit over marine mammal protections in foreign fisheries
January 21, 2025 — The U.S. government has signed a legal agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Animal Welfare Institute demanding regulators block imports from foreign fisheries that are not adequately protecting marine mammals.
“I’m relieved other nations will finally be pressured to prevent whales and dolphins from getting caught in fishing nets. Entanglement is a huge threat to these animals’ survival,” CBD International Program Director Sarah Uhlemann said in a statement. “The United States has the power to use its enormous seafood market to help the world’s oceans, and it’s about time we started.”
US lawmakers move to block NOAA Fisheries from closing red snapper fishery
January 21, 2025 — Federal lawmakers from the U.S. state of Florida have introduced legislation to block NOAA Fisheries from closing the recreational South Atlantic red snapper fishery for three months of the year.
“Florida’s fishing industry is a multi-billion dollar economic driver in our state, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and attracting visitors to communities along our coast,” U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) said in a statement. “We’ve made great strides in Florida to ensure our natural resources are preserved and protected for years to come, including rebuilding the Red Snapper population. I’m proud to work with [U.S. Representative John Rutherford (R-Florida)] on the Red Snapper Act to support our state’s commercial and recreational fishing industry and ensure their success isn’t limited by federal government’s outdated data and regulations.”
NEFMC January 28-30, 2025 Meeting – Portsmouth, NH – Listen Live, View Documents
January 21, 2025 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, January 28 through Thursday, January 30, 2025. This will be an in-person meeting coupled with a webinar option for individuals who cannot or prefer not to attend in person. Please participate remotely if you do not feel well.
LOCATION: The Venue at Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
START TIME: 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.
SPECIAL EVENT – COUNCIL PUBLIC OUTREACH / POSTER SESSION ON FISHERIES RESEARCH IN OFFSHORE WIND AREAS: Join the Council on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. for an informational exchange to foster open lines of communication among Council members, staff, industry, and meeting attendees. This event will be coupled with a poster session on fisheries research in offshore wind areas. The dual public outreach/poster session will take place at the AC Hotel at 299 Vaughn Street, a 4-minute walk from the Council meeting room at The Venue at Portwalk Place. All are welcome. Light snacks will be provided.
PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The Council wants to hear from you. Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.
- WRITE A LETTER: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Please note that written comments must address items listed on the agenda for this meeting.
- TALK TO THE COUNCIL: You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues:
- By commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (if commenting remotely, raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon); and
- By speaking during the open period for public comment. Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.
- OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: On Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 12:15 p.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda. Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
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- SIGN UP: Interested in speaking? If attending in person, fill out the sign-up sheet on the table at the entrance to the Council meeting room. To speak remotely, email Janice Plante atjplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
- Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
- We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way. Just email helpdesk@nefmc.org and we’ll get right back to you.
CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone without joining the webinar, dial +1 (562) 247-8422. The access code is 597-718-535. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply. This phone number provides a “listen-only” option without the webinar component. You will not be able to speak if you do not first join the webinar.
AGENDA: All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC January 28-30, 2025 meeting webpage. Additional documents will be posted as they become available.
THREE MEETING OUTLOOK: A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is availableHERE.
COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS: Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.
President Trump Orders Temporary Withdrawal of Offshore Areas from Wind Leasing
January 20, 2025 (Saving Seafood) — WASHINGTON — In an order signed in the Oval Office this evening, President Donald J. Trump issued a memorandum to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency directing the temporary withdrawal of all areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from wind energy leasing and calling for a comprehensive review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.
The memorandum, “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects”, is effective tomorrow, January 21, 2025, and includes the following directives:
- Temporary Withdrawal of Areas
All areas of the OCS are withdrawn from wind energy leasing under the authority of Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. This withdrawal applies to new or renewed wind energy leases and remains in effect until the memorandum is revoked. Existing leases are not immediately affected but will be reviewed for potential amendment or termination. - Review of Federal Leasing and Permitting Practices
Federal agencies are directed to halt the issuance of new or renewed approvals, permits, leases, loans, or rights-of-way for wind projects. A comprehensive review will be conducted to assess the environmental, economic, and legal impacts of wind energy projects, including effects on wildlife, electricity generation costs, and subsidies. - Moratorium on Lava Ridge Wind Project Activities
The Secretary of the Interior is instructed to impose a temporary moratorium on all activities related to the Lava Ridge Wind Project. The memorandum highlights alleged legal deficiencies in the Record of Decision issued by the Bureau of Land Management in December 2024 and calls for a new analysis of the project’s impacts. - Assessment of Defunct Windmills
Agencies are tasked with evaluating the environmental and economic effects of defunct or idle windmills and recommending measures for their removal. - Litigation Considerations
The Attorney General is authorized to notify courts of the memorandum and request stays or delays in litigation related to federal wind leasing and permitting, as necessary.
The memorandum will be published in the Federal Register.
NEW JERSEY: South Jersey congressman working with Trump to halt offshore wind
January 17, 2025 — New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from Cape May County, said he’s working with President-elect Donald Trump on an executive order that “would halt offshore wind on the East Coast.”
“These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place,” Van Drew said in a statement, referring to President Joe Biden’s effort to expand renewable energy as a “reckless green agenda that put politics over people.”
He says the executive order is just the first step in reversing course on the state’s offshore wind development.
“We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home,” Van Drew said.
MASSACHUSETTS: Can a $10M wind-energy center in New Bedford withstand opposition from locals and Trump?
January 17, 2025 — A state agency will continue efforts to develop a more than $10 million offshore-wind-based, ocean-energy innovation center in New Bedford in 2025, despite national opposition to offshore wind and local opposition to a proposed site.
Nationally, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to halt offshore wind development.
Locally, an attorney has compiled 236 signatures in opposition to the center’s “preferred” site, a 17,000-square-foot parking lot abutting the Bourne Counting House off McArthur Drive on Homer’s Wharf, leased through the Port Authority. The center would include the Bourne Counting House building, which would be renovated.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: NH looking for candidates to serve on fishing council
January 17, 2025 — The State of New Hampshire has been notified by the National Marine Fisheries Service of a vacancy for New Hampshire’s obligatory seat on the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). NEFMC is one of eight regional councils in the United States established by federal regulation in 1976. It is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from 3 to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
To assist in filling this vacancy, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division will host a candidates’ interview night on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, NH. Potential candidates should be prepared to present their qualifications at this session. Interested candidates should contact Cheri Patterson, Chief of Marine Fisheries for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, at (603) 868-1095 in advance of the meeting.
First-ever USTR strategy to combat forced labor prominently features seafood supply chain
January 17, 2025 — The United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently released its first-ever Trade Strategy to Combat Forced Labor, which covers the seafood supply chain and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing prominently.
The USTR said the new strategy is the first time the U.S. has ever laid out a comprehensive approach to using trade tools to combat forced labor in supply chains. USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai said the new strategy is intended to use trade as a tool to reduce and eventually end the presence of forced labor in the U.S. supply chain.
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