Saving Seafood

Council Actions

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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.

Read the full article at Mass Live

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

RHODE ISLAND: Revolution Wind Is Back On

September 25, 2025 — In the ongoing struggle over the offshore wind industry in the United States, the Danish energy company Orsted has won the latest round, with a federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction on Monday allowing construction to resume on its Revolution Wind farm.

Revolution Wind, a 65-turbine installation situated in federal waters on the outer continental shelf adjacent to the 12-turbine South Fork Wind farm around 35 miles off Montauk Point, was the subject of an Aug. 7 stop-work order issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s acting director. The “director’s order” ordered a halt to “all ongoing activities related to the Revolution Wind project on the outer continental shelf to allow time for it to address concerns that have arisen during the review that the department is undertaking.”

Read the full article at The East Hampton Star

‘Super big deal’: High seas treaty reaches enough ratifications to become law

September 24, 2025 — A major treaty establishing a framework for the world’s nations to jointly manage marine conservation in international waters, which cover about half of the Earth’s surface, has reached enough ratifications to become international law. It will come into force in January.

The deal, known as the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), was reached in 2023 with much fanfare in marine conservation circles. But like any international agreement, the high seas treaty, as it’s often called, didn’t just become law overnight. It required 60 countries to ratify it to enter into force. Now, with unusual speed by the standards of such deals, it’s reached that threshold.

Morocco deposited its instrument of acceptance on Sept. 19, becoming the 60th country to do so. That launched a 120-day period until the treaty will become binding international law, on Jan. 17, 2026. Experts and advocates celebrated the occasion, calling it a win for conservation and international cooperation.

“This is a super big deal, both for ocean protection and for proving that there’s still hope in multilateralism, that countries can come together and do big things, even in these times where there’s so much discord across the world,” Arlo Hemphill, an oceans project lead at Greenpeace USA, told Mongabay.

Morocco’s mission to the U.N. called it “a milestone for the protection of the ocean, the strengthening of multilateralism, and the collective commitment of the international community to safeguarding marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction” in an X post.

Read the full article at Mongabay

Experts predict significant shipping downturn as tariffs take full effect

September 24, 2025 — Experts in the shipping and logistics industry are predicting the U.S. sector will begin to feel the effects of tariffs this fall, which will likely manifest in low import cargo volumes, low traffic on routes into the U.S., and lower container prices.

John McCown, of The McCown Report – who has long been predicting a major decline in 2025 inbound cargo volume –said on 22 September he expected to see a double-digit drop in container volume by the end of September as tariffs implemented by the Trump administration take full effect. McCown based his forecast on the fact that the United States’ largest ports saw very little increase (0.1 percent) in their year-over-year total inbound volumes in August.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: California wildlife officers find dozens illegally harvesting Dungeness crab

September 24, 2025 — In August, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers caught roughly 45 individuals engaged in illegally harvesting Dungeness crab, ultimately issuing 15 citations.

Officers headed to the scene at Thronton Beach in San Francisco after being alerted to “30 people” potentially poaching via the state’s tip line. Law enforcement found close to 45 individuals taking part and opted to approach small groups of poachers as they left the beach.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Conservation groups to sue over hatchery salmon in Columbia River

September 24, 2025 — The Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) and The Conservation Angler (TCA) have announced plans to sue the federal government over the damage they claim hatchery fish are doing to wild salmon, steelhead, and orca populations.

“Mitchell Act hatcheries are causing harm that we know how to prevent. We’re taking this action today as part of our long-standing commitment to hold the federal government accountable and prevent further violations that imperil these species and the ecosystems they depend on,” WFC Executive Director Emma Helverson said in a release. “It’s time for NOAA to stop prioritizing maintaining harmful hatchery practices over their responsibility to protect wild fish for current and future generations.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource