Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fishermen eye return to Northern Edge of Georges Bank as Trump plans reopening

July 7, 2026 — A prominent scallop fishing ground could soon reopen after more than three decades.

Pres. Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he plans to reopen the Northern Edge of Georges Bank, an area that has been closed to commercial fishing since 1994. In the announcement, Trump also gave a shoutout to New Bedford, highlighting the city as one that could benefit from the move.

For many fishermen, the news is generating excitement about returning to waters that previous generations once worked.

Read the full article at WJAR

On eve of USMCA deadline, reports indicate Trump administration plans to deny extension

June 30, 2026 — Multiple media reports indicate that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will decline to extend the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, triggering a process that could see it leave the trade deal in a decade barring a new decision.

The USMCA was set in motion in 2018 as the previous trade agreement for the three countries – the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – was replaced under the prior Trump administration after two decades of use. The revised version of the agreement initially included just Mexico but later confirmed the participation of Canada and formed the USMCA, which came into force on 1 July 2020.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Our Ocean Conference results in USD 6.4 billion in global commitments toward blue economic advancements

June 22, 2026 — The 2026 Our Ocean Conference, held recently in Mombasa, Kenya, brought together over 100 governments, businesses, and civil society organizations and resulted in 320 new commitments valued at USD 6.4 billion (EUR 5.5 billion) to advance ocean conservation, sustainable fisheries, climate resilience, and blue economic ventures.

Commitments from the conference include work that will soon be done in French Polynesia, Canada, and Kenya.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Endangered whale recently seen off Cape Cod may need rescue after entanglement

June 15, 2026 — A young right whale that was seen off Massachusetts two months ago may need to be rescued after it was observed in Canadian waters with fishing gear in its mouth.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said that on June 8, aerial observers spotted an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Shippagan, New Brunswick. They said if the whale is spotted again and conditions allow, “efforts will be made to remove any gear from the animal.”

The New England Aquarium said that the unnamed 5-year-old male was seen gear-free in Cape Cod Bay on April 21.

Read the full article at CBS News

Proposed New Polaris mine raises concerns about Taku River salmon, but mining company assures safegaurds

May 18, 2026 — Canagold Resources, the company proposing to open the New Polaris gold mine on the Tulsequah River in British Columbia, says it’s taking steps to protect the environment.

The Tulsequah is a tributary of the Taku River in Alaska, which is known as the most productive salmon stream in Southeast. All five Pacific salmon species spawn in the river, including the largest Chinook run in the region. Although there hasn’t been a concerted effort to study whether mining has affected Taku River salmon, some are concerned it could.

Chris Pharness is the senior vice president of sustainability and permitting at Canagold. He said the company plans to operate in ways that avoid harming the watershed and the fish in it.

For instance, he said Canagold originally planned to use cyanide to separate gold on-site.

“We were going to produce doré, which is unrefined gold, on site,” Pharness said. “But, you know, in consideration of the fisheries values and water quality values and things like that, we decided against that.”

Instead, Pharness said they’ll use another method that involves less chemical processing, called flotation. A foaming agent creates bubbles to concentrate gold out of waste rock. He said the gold concentrate will be shipped somewhere else for further processing.

Read the full article at KTOO

Canada announces North Atlantic right whale protections for 2026

March 27, 2026 — Canada’s government has announced several measures to help protect highly endangered North Atlantic right whales in upcoming commercial fishing seasons, keeping some protections in place and adding a few new actions to help reduce entanglements and vessel strikes.

“The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered animals on the planet, and we have a responsibility to act. Canada’s protocols are in place, and our whale-safe fishing gear pilots are showing real results. We can protect this whale and support our harvesters,” Canada Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Cooke set to take operational control of Avramar Greece

March 20, 2026 —  Canada-based seafood giant Cooke is set to take operational control of Greece-based seafood firm Avramar Greece after signing a memorandum of understanding to take on the company’s debts.

Avramar Greece was first separated from Spain-based Avramar Seafood due to financial issues with the Greek business, which began pursuing a sale in 2023. Multiple bidders emerged to purchase the company, which has become a major player in Mediterranean aquaculture producing sea bass and sea bream. According to Cooke, Avramar Greece “is a vertically integrated operation, which includes hatcheries, marine farm sites, processing and packaging facilities, and feed production operations.”

Read the full article at Avramar

US House votes to end Trump tariffs on Canada

February 12, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to block President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, setting the bill up for a vote in the Senate.

Trump has continuously threatened Canada with tariffs since taking office in January 2025, and recently threatened a 100 percent tariff on the country’s goods over its trade deal with China. The country currently faces a 35 percent “fentanyl” tariff on all goods from the country, with the caveat that any goods entered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – which is virtually all seafood goods – are not required to pay the tariff.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions

February 6, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump Administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery.

The four-day late-January gathering in Bellevue, Washington came during a time of tumultuous relations between the two nations.

President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and blustering talk of making Canada part of the United States have spurred widespread anger among Canadians. January has been particularly volatile, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, attacked “coercion” by great powers, while Trump, in a subsequent speech, asserted that “Canada lives because of the United States.”

At the Bellevue halibut meeting, Drew Lawler, a political appointee to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, served as the non-voting head of the U.S.delegation.

In private talks sandwiched between public parts of the meeting, the U.S. delegation threatened economic sanctions, and successfully pressured Canadians to trim the British Columbia share of the halibut harvest, according to sources with knowledge of these discussions.

The commission is charged by a more than century-old treaty with conserving Pacific halibut. There are three voting representatives from the United States, and three from Canada.

Read the full article at the Petersburg Pilot

Sanctions threats loom as IPHC sets historic low 2026 halibut harvest

January 30, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) set the 2026 Pacific halibut harvest at a historic low last week, following tense U.S.-Canada negotiations that included threats of economic sanctions against Canadian halibut exports.

The Northern Journal reported that the four-day annual IPHC meeting in Bellevue, Washington, came amid strained relations between the two countries under the Trump administration, whose tariff policies and rhetoric toward Canada have fueled political friction.

Serving as the non-voting head of the U.S. delegation was Drew Lawler, a political appointee to NOAA. During private negotiations, U.S. representatives threatened tariffs or other trade restrictions unless Canada agreed to reduce British Columbia’s share of the halibut catch.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman