Saving Seafood

Trump says 4 March start date for 25 percent tariffs on Canada, Mexico still on, plans an additional 10 percent tariff on China

February 27, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump clarified the start date of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be 4 March, after comments on 26 February suggested they could be delayed until April.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the tariffs originally delayed on 4 February until 4 March will go forward as scheduled. Trump said the tariffs will go into place because “drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump pauses 25 percent tariffs on Canada, but Chinese tariffs take effect

February 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has paused planned 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, barring a 10 percent carveout for energy, following a conversation with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump announced on his Truth Social social media platform that Canada has “agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border” as part of a CAD 1.3 billion (USD EUR ) border plan. The move came just hours after he also balked at applying 25 percent tariffs to Mexico for a month, based on similar promises that the country would increase security at its border with the U.S.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico as businesses in Canada and US prepare for potential trade war

February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he is pausing planned 25 percent tariffs on Mexico for one month following a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Trump announced a set of sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on 1 February, following through on a proposal he made in November 2024.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump tariffs worry lobster fishermen in Maine and Canada

January 31, 2025 — Leaders from the U.S. and Canada’s lobster fishing communities came together in Bar Harbor Wednesday to tackle what they said are pressing issues facing the industry.

At the top of mind at this year’s 21st annual meeting was the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian products.

“These tariffs, if they actually happen, will badly impact Maine harvesters and the Maine lobster sector — just as it will impact Canadians,” said Geoff Irvine, the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.

Solving this issue could mean lobbying U.S. political figures, Irvine said.

Read the full article at Spectrum News 13

Vineyard Wind must replace Canada-made turbine blades with blades made in France

January 30, 2025 — Vineyard Wind 1 is once again turning wind into electricity, even as its developer works to meet a federal mandate requiring the removal of turbine blades made at the Canadian factory where the faulty blade that collapsed last summer was produced.

Company spokesman Craig Gilvarg confirmed that one turbine is back in operation, capable of producing about 13.6 megawatts when running at full capacity.

“Vineyard Wind 1 is delivering power from one turbine, which has met the project’s stringent safety and operational conditions,” he said.

Recently, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement fully lifted the suspension order it had placed on the project following the July 13 blade collapse at wind turbine generator AW-38 that sent debris crashing into the ocean. The action comes a little more than a month after the agency permitted installation of the first three turbine blades since the incident.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Jan. 17 also approved a revised construction and operations plan with conditions for Vineyard Wind 1, which will produce 800 megawatts of energy from 62 turbines when completed.

A root-cause analysis of the blade failure conducted by the manufacturer and installer, GE Vernova, found that the collapse was the result of a “manufacturing deviation” at the factory in Gaspé, Canada — specifically, failed bonding of materials. Although the bureau is continuing its own investigation, the revised plan acknowledges manufacturing errors in calling for Vineyard Wind to remove all Canadian-made blades installed on up to 22 turbine generators prior to the July 13 failure.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

Canada announces plans for new British Columbia salmon hatchery

December 23, 2024 — The Canadian government has announced plans for the construction of a new Pacific Salmon hatchery in the province of British Columbia, which will be run collaboratively by the Tŝilhqot’in National Government and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

“Canada is investing today to support the conservation and restoration of vulnerable Pacific salmon populations, such as Chilcotin Chinook, for the long term,” Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Diane Lebouthillier said in a statement. “Under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative, we are partnering with Indigenous Peoples, governments, stakeholders, and communities to ensure that Pacific salmon are safeguarded for Indigenous communities and Canadians with a deep and enduring connection to these iconic fish.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen’s friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish

December 13, 2024 — The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to bring big changes for one of the oldest sectors of the U.S. economy — seafood — and some in the industry believe the returning president will be more responsive to its needs.

Economic analysts paint a more complicated picture, as they fear Trump’s pending trade hostilities with major trading partners Canada and China could make an already pricy kind of protein more expensive to consumers. Conservationists also fear Trump’s emphasis on government deregulation could jeopardize fish stocks that are already in peril.

Read the full article at WNKY

Trump’s tariff proposal on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China would affect over USD 5.6 billion in seafood

November 27, 2024 — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump proposed big hikes in tariffs on all goods from Canada, Mexico, and China on 25 November in a move that would affect one-fifth of all U.S. seafood imports by value.

Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, said he would charge tariffs of 25 percent on all products from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent tariffs on goods from China – above any existing tariffs.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Lack of fishing prohibitions in ‘grey zone’ could pose risk for right whales, expert says

November 19, 2024 — One marine conservation expert has questions about the efforts on the part of Fisheries and Oceans after North Atlantic right whales were detected in the Bay of Fundy in recent weeks, including in an area where both Canadian and American fishermen catch lobster.

In October, Fisheries and Oceans announced several temporary prohibited fishing areas as the whales were detected in multiple fishing spots across the Maritimes, including in the bay.

When a North Atlantic right whale is detected in areas subject to management measures, fishing using non-tended fixed gear, traps and pots are prohibited around the area for 15 days. In the Bay of Fundy, if a right whale is detected again during days nine to 15 of a prohibited fishing period, the prohibition is extended.

Some fishing prohibitions for parts of the Bay of Fundy started on Oct. 25 and included the fisheries for crab, herring, mackerel, groundfish, hagfish and lobster.

Read the full article at CBC News