Saving Seafood

Interior Department proposes second offshore wind sale in Gulf of Mexico

March 21, 2024 — In another step by the Biden-Harris administration to support the growing momentum across America for a clean energy economy, the Department of the Interior today announced its proposal for a second offshore wind energy auction in the Gulf of Mexico.

The proposed lease sale includes four areas offshore Louisiana and Texas, totaling 410,060 acres, which have the potential to power 1.2 million homes.

The announcement is part of the administration’s commitment to expand offshore wind opportunities, building on investments made by the President’s Investing in America agenda to develop a clean energy economy, create good-paying jobs for American workers, and make communities more resilient.

“Today’s announcement is another step forward in the Biden-Harris administration’s pursuit of building a clean energy future and permitting 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030,” Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement announcing the proposal. “We are taking action to jumpstart America’s offshore wind industry and using American innovation to deliver reliable, affordable power to homes and businesses, while also addressing the climate crisis.”

Read the full article at WorkBoat

The President Shouldn’t Be Able to Seize Land Unilaterally

March 20, 2024 — On March 22, the Supreme Court will consider acting on a constitutional challenge to what is among the most misunderstood and abused federal land statutes: the Antiquities Act of 1906. If the Supreme Court does not act on American Forest Resource Council v. United States of America, it will green-light a vast expansion of executive power over all federal lands, waters, and natural resources, ultimately putting their fate in the hands of one person: the president.

Passed during President Theodore Roosevelt’s second term, the Antiquities Act gave presidents authority to declare “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments . . . which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”

The original purpose of the Antiquities Act was to protect archaeological sites, or “antiquities,” and other specific, definable objects and landscapes in federal ownership at risk of theft or desecration. Four months after the passage of the Antiquities Act, President Roosevelt declared Wyoming’s Devils Tower our first national monument. The designated area covered 1,304 acres.

Yet, over the last century, presidents have expanded the use of the Antiquities Act to make its original purpose and intent unrecognizable. For example, President Obama issued 34 monument proclamations directing the management of over 550 million acres of federal lands, waters, and resources.

Read the article at The National Review

 

Biden administration sued over Virginia offshore wind farm approval

March 19, 2024 — A conservative think tank on Monday sued the Biden administration in an effort to reverse approval of what would be the largest offshore wind farm of its kind.

The Heartland Institute filed the suit with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a nonprofit that advocates for an economically libertarian approach to environmental action and has denied the existence of human-caused climate change. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to reverse the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) approval of Dominion Energy’s 176-turbine wind project offshore Virginia.

Read the full article at The Hill

US commission urges action on alleged North Korean labor in China fishing

March 13, 2024 — A U.S. congressional commission has called on the Biden administration to act against alleged forced labor involving North Korean workers in China’s fishing industry, saying seafood sales to U.S. consumers could be helping finance North Korea’s weapons programs.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

North Korea is under U.S.-led international sanctions, to which China is a party, aimed at reining in ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs that threaten the United States and its allies.

The sanctions include prohibition of the use of North Korean labor in third countries, and as the Congressional Executive Commission on China letter states, U.S. law prohibits imports of any goods made with North Korean labor.

CONTEXT

The concerns were highlighted in a letter dated on Monday and made available on Wednesday sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Alejandro Mayorkas, head of the Department of Homeland Security, from Republican Representative Chris Smith and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, co-chairs of the commission.

Read the full article at Reuters

US commission pushing Biden administration to halt imports of Chinese seafood linked to North Korean labor

March 13, 2024 — The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China has sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on the officials’ two departments to collaborate in determining whether seafood processed in China using North Korean labor is making its way into the U.S. supply chain.

The letter adds to earlier calls from the commission for federal action against Chinese companies credibly accused of using forced labor in seafood processing. In December, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party issued its own report recommending special trade status for the country.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Bipartisan group of lawmakers push Biden to do more on IUU fishing

March 12, 2024 –A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives has sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him and the administration to take increased action against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The letter, sent by House Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-California) and House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Arizona), was signed by 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It calls for the Biden administration to use new authorities granted it by the National Defense Authorization Act. and the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Private equity wades deeper into US offshore wind investments

March 7, 2024 — Challenging economics faced by later-stage US offshore wind projects struggling to get across the finish line are not deterring private equity firms from investing in various parts of the value chain.

From lease sales and port logistics to the projects themselves, some of the largest alternative asset managers are leaning into demand for infrastructure supported by federal tax credits and the Biden administration’s goal of 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and an additional goal of 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035.

Global Infrastructure Management LLC announced a deal in mid-February to take over Eversource Energy’s 50% interest in two of the utility company’s joint offshore wind farms with Ørsted A/S for $1.1 billion in cash. The following week, Dominion Energy Inc. saw its stock pop after announcing its own deal to unload a 50% stake in the 2,587-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to Stonepeak Partners LP, with an expectation of $3 billion in proceeds for the utility upon close.

Due to high interest rates, cost inflation and supply chain clogs, Eversource had been forced to take a billion-dollar writedown on its offshore wind portfolio. Global Infrastructure Management will acquire the utility’s interest in the 132-MW South Fork Wind and 700-MW Revolution Wind projects, while Ørsted is moving to take complete ownership of the 924-MW Sunrise Wind project.

“Private equity does well when some of the initial development work has already been done and then they come in and fund it across the finish line,” Norton Rose Fulbright attorney Becky Diffen, who focuses on renewables project development, said in an interview.

Read the full article at S&P Global

Biden-Harris Administration announces new NOAA-NASA agreement to advance North Atlantic right whale conservation technologies as part of Investing in America agenda

March 4, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announced a new $500,000 agreement with NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) to assist NOAA in identifying, advancing the development of and selecting technologies to support endangered North Atlantic right whale recovery efforts. Today’s investment is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate investment in history.

North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction, with approximately 360 individuals remaining, including fewer than 70 reproductively active females. Primary threats to the species are entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. Climate change is also affecting every aspect of their survival.

“The Inflation Reduction Act provides a historic investment to reduce threats to this imperiled species and increase monitoring through the application of new technologies that would otherwise not be possible without this funding,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “Our team at NOAA Fisheries looks forward to working with NASA given its strong track record of bringing new technologies and approaches to pressing societal problems.”

Under this agreement, and in partnership with the private sector, NOAA Fisheries will seek to identify, advance and develop new technologies for satellite tags and improve whale detection to reduce the risk of vessel strikes ― one of the primary threats to the survival of North Atlantic right whales. By developing new technologies, NOAA Fisheries can improve the understanding of where whales are located to allow ocean users to respond when right whales are detected. 

“NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation works across NASA and other federal agencies to educate and facilitate the use of open innovation and crowdsourcing,” said Steve Rader, program manager for CoECI at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Open innovation provides a unique tool to further technology development and scientific discovery for the benefit of all, and we look forward to working with NOAA Fisheries on this important ecological endeavor.”

NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to recovering and conserving North Atlantic right whales. The new agreement will help NOAA Fisheries meet the objectives of the recently released North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy, and it directly supports the North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery — NOAA Fisheries’ comprehensive plan to address threats to the species and monitor recovery progress. NOAA Fisheries has previously worked with NASA to organize a global technology search for innovative solutions to detect on-demand (or “ropeless”) fishing gear. This new effort will further strengthen the agencies’ partnership. 

This agreement is part of NOAA Fisheries’ plans for North Atlantic right whale recovery, supported with $82 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and first announced in September 2023. These investments are part of the historic $3.3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act investments focused on ensuring America’s communities and economies are ready for and resilient to climate change.

Visit NOAA’s Inflation Reduction Act website to learn about current and future funding opportunities.

Biden administration releases USD 1 million for Alaskan climate resilience

February 27, 2024 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will provide USD 1 million (EUR 920,000) to support climate resilience and food security in remote Alaskan communities and incorporate more indigenous knowledge into NOAA’s fisheries science initiatives.

“This opportunity will enable entities working to benefit indigenous knowledge holders, including tribes and Alaska Native community members to advance equity and environmental justice – including just treatment, equal opportunities and environmental benefits for all people and communities, and respect for tribal sovereignty,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “Through this effort we hope to support research projects that address community concerns while enabling NOAA Fisheries to meet its research mission through collaborative and co-produced research.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

White House, tribal leaders hail ‘historic’ deal to restore salmon runs in Pacific Northwest

February 26, 2024 —  The Biden administration, leaders of four Columbia River Basin tribes and the governors of Oregon and Washington celebrated on Friday as they signed papers formally launching a $1 billion plan to help recover depleted salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest.

The plan, announced in December, stopped short of calling for the removal of four controversial dams on the Snake River, as some environmental groups and tribal leaders have urged. But officials said it would boost clean energy production and help offset hydropower, transportation and other benefits provided by the dams should Congress ever agree to breach them.

The plan brokered by the Biden administration pauses long-running litigation over federal dam operations and represents the most significant step yet toward eventually taking the four Snake River dams down. The plan will strengthen tribal clean energy projects and provide other benefits for tribes and other communities that depend on the Columbia Basin for agriculture, energy, recreation and transportation, the White House said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press