Caribbean Archives - Page 2 of 4

NOAA announces regional priorities to advance America-first seafood strategy

July 2, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler today issued a statement outlining the agency’s priorities for reducing regulatory burdens on domestic fishermen and increasing U.S. seafood production. The statement was released in response to President Trump’s Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness and followed input from 787 individuals and organizations, along with action plans submitted by regional fishery management councils. Piñeiro Soler said NOAA Fisheries is prioritizing actions intended to reduce burdens on domestic fishing, increase production, stabilize markets, improve access, and improve the economic profitability of U.S. fishing businesses.

The statement includes highlights by region, with priority actions identified for New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, the Pacific, the North Pacific, the Western Pacific, and Highly Migratory Species. In New England, the priorities include implementing rotational access for the Northern Edge scallop fishery, implementing scallop permit stacking, rescinding industry-funded monitoring requirements, deprioritizing ropeless-gear requirements, evaluating vessel baseline restrictions with the Mid-Atlantic Council, and considering reopening the Great South Channel habitat management area to surf clam operations.

In the Mid-Atlantic, NOAA Fisheries said it will evaluate vessel baseline restrictions with the New England Council, consider joint council management for squid, mackerel, and butterfish, and deprioritize ropeless-gear requirements. South Atlantic priorities include revising Snapper Grouper permit policies, supporting state agency-led exempted fishing permits for red snapper, and addressing shark and dolphin depredation. For the Caribbean, NOAA identified actions involving territorial management of spiny lobster and queen conch, accountability measures for pelagic stocks and spiny lobster, review of certain marine protected areas, and state-federal regulatory compatibility.

In the Gulf of America, the agency identified refinements to Individual Fishing Quota participation requirements and rulemaking to extend provisions of the DESCEND Act. Pacific priorities include reconsidering redundant shoreside catch monitors and revising Pacific sardine stock definitions. In the North Pacific, NOAA identified review of Steller sea lion closure boundaries, elimination of the 2 percent IFQ deduction for bled sablefish, and rulemaking related to small sablefish voluntary release and maximum retainable amount calculations. Western Pacific priorities include changes to longline turtle measures and swordfish retention limits. For Highly Migratory Species, NOAA said it will review weak hook requirements in the Gulf and retention rules for dead bluefin tuna under 73 inches, and reconsider upgrading restrictions for swordfish handgear limited access permits.

The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced regional priorities to revitalize the U.S. seafood sector focused on reducing burdens on domestic fishing, increasing production, improving access, and enhancing economic profitability. This bold, coordinated effort by the Department of Commerce through NOAA Fisheries is in direct response to the President’s Executive Order Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness to increase the sustainable harvest of seafood resources and boost American fishermen.

The United States is a global leader in fisheries excellence, and NOAA’s regional priorties will increase opportunities for American fishermen and women. (Image credit: Shutterstock via NOAA Fisheries)

“These regional priorities are a critical step in our efforts to fulfill the President’s vision of making the United States the world’s dominant seafood leader,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., NOAA administrator. “We look forward to partnering with the councils to advance seafood competitiveness and support our American fishermen.”

In August 2025, NOAA Fisheries requested input from all interested stakeholders, including the regional fishery management councils, on ways to improve fisheries management and science in an effort to stabilize markets, improve access, enhance economic profitability, and prevent closures. NOAA received comments from more than 700 individuals and organizations, and each council submitted a detailed action plan in response to the request.

After considering all input from councils, fishing industry, and the public, NOAA has prioritized a number of actions for each council region, many of which re-enforce council priorities.

In the New England region, NOAA’s priorities are to alleviate industry-funded monitoring burdens, modernize fleet capacity, and re-evaluate static area closures to restore yield and economic viability.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, NOAA’s priorities are to modernize fleet capacity and improve quota distribution.
In the South Atlantic region, NOAA’s priorities are to improve access and flexibility and advance state-led data partnerships.
In the Caribbean region, NOAA’s priorities are to review the effectiveness of marine protected areas, evaluate the role of the territories in management of spiny lobster and queen conch, and significantly increase economic returns to the islands.
In the Gulf of America region, NOAA’s priorities are to defend the domestic shrimp fleet from trade imbalances and optimize Individual Fishing Quota accessibility.
In the Pacific region, NOAA’s priorities are to review trawl observer redundancies and review Pacific sardine science and management.
In the North Pacific region, NOAA’s priorities are to review Stellar sea lion closure boundaries, prioritize efforts to remove unnecessary requirements, and increase flexibility.
In the Western Pacific region, NOAA’s priorities are to enable commercial fishing, previously prohibited by punitive monument closures, and further consider additional management changes to improve access and flexibility, consistent with the Endangered Species Act.
NOAA’s priorities for Highly Migratory Species are to implement international quota increases and maximize target catch retention.

The complete list of priority actions is available on the NOAA Fisheries website.

Drowning in red tape

June 30, 2026 — Tomás Ayala leaps off the side of a small dinghy and into the dark swell of water. His arms slice through the waves like a cutlass as he dives deep into the bay off the southeastern coast of the Puerto Rican island of Culebra. Armed with a spear gun, Ayala swims even deeper as he scans the perimeter of the reef for his target. It doesn’t take long. Mere seconds later, a cloud of blood darkens the water around a large hogfish — proof enough that he found his mark. He snatches up his catch and makes for the surface.

Back safely on his boat, Ayala drops the reef fish into a cooler, guns the motor, and heads for shore. It’s late Wednesday afternoon in mid-May. Ayala has been out since before dawn. The 50-year-old hails from a family of fishers — he started free diving for reef fish, laying lobster traps, and catching octopus when he was just eight years old, following in the footsteps of his brother and grandfather. Before long, he arrives at his destination — a concrete dock leading to a villa pesquera, a “fishing village” or “fish landing center,” a site with key infrastructure for Culebra’s community of traditional fisherfolk. Inside are cleaning stations, freezers, a saltwater tank for storing lobsters, a mélange of other equipment, and a bustling market.

The villa pesquera provides the equipment dozens of local fishers need to sustain their work, and also a space to convene: Every week, the association that co-manages the space comes together for updates and to share their challenges and successes.

Ayala is greeted by Nicolás Gómez Andújar, a marine scientist whose dad is a local fisher, and they prepare the space for their next gathering. The members will discuss the federal permits they’re hoping to get for a native oyster farm, the effort to clear droves of abandoned fishing gear from Culebra’s seabed, and anything else someone may want to bring to the group. While they talk, they’ll eat a seafood mofongo, a popular shrimp-and-plantain dish.

For decades, Culebra’s villa pesquera lay dormant, an abandoned facility shut down by the Puerto Rican government in 2002 because of political infighting, loss of government funding, and conflict between local fishers. In 2021, when Ayala and Gómez Andújar decided they wanted to resurrect it, dozens of their friends, neighbors, and local businesses donated time and labor to restore the dilapidated structure. It took roughly four years of organizing, fundraising, and securing permits for it all to come together.

Last October, they formally reopened the fish market to much fanfare. Hundreds of people, on an island home to less than 2,000, showed up to help celebrate. They ate, laughed, and danced together. “We created what we dreamed of,” said Ayala.

Hidden behind their success, however, lies a story of entrenched government divides and a growing need to rehaul how fishers are represented across the Puerto Rican government. The very survival of small-scale fishing and its unsung role in Puerto Rico’s food system depends on it — especially in the face of climate change, as rising temperatures make it harder and harder to fish for a living.

Read the full article at Grist

Environmentalists challenge feds on lack of protections for imperiled coral

July 27, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity sued the National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday claiming the agency has failed to protect corals in the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific threatened by ever-growing climate effects and the world’s largest aquarium industry.

Although the service is required to develop a program for the conservation and recovery of species it designates under the Endangered Species Act, the 20 species of coral named by the center in the lawsuit received no follow-up conservation efforts after being listed as threatened in 2014.

Like many other marine species, the five Caribbean and 15 Indo-Pacific corals cited in the suit face increased threats from rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification from human pollutants, and are further imperiled through disease, predation and the coral trade.

The center identifies five Caribbean corals in their suit — pillar coral, lobed star coral, mountainous star coral, boulder star coral and rough cactus coral, as well as 15 Indo-Pacific coral species including Acropora jacquelineae, Euphyllia paradivisa and Montipora australiensis.

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

Department of Commerce Announces 2022 Appointments to the Regional Fishery Management Councils

June 28, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced the appointment of 20 new and returning members to the regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage marine fishery resources.

Established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, councils are responsible for developing region-specific fishery management plans that safeguard and enhance the nation’s fisheries resources. Council members represent diverse groups, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental organizations, and academia. They are vital to fulfilling the act’s requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and manage them sustainably.

NOAA Fisheries works closely with the councils through the process of developing fishery management plans. We also review, approve, and implement the plans.

Each year, the Secretary of Commerce appoints approximately one-third of the total 72 appointed members to the eight regional councils. The Secretary selects members from nominations submitted by the governors of fishing states, territories, and tribal governments.

Council members are appointed to both state-specific and regional seats—also known as obligatory and at-large seats, respectively. Council members serve a three-year term and may be reappointed to serve three consecutive terms.

* Asterisk following a member’s name indicates a reappointment

New England Council

The New England Council includes members from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. 2022 appointees will fill one obligatory seat for New Hampshire, and two at-large seats.

Obligatory seat

Peter Whelan (New Hampshire)

At-large seats

Eric Hansen (Massachusetts)

Richard Bellavance (Rhode Island)*

Mid-Atlantic Council

The Mid-Atlantic Council includes members from the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. 2022 appointees will fill one obligatory seat for Delaware, and three at-large seats.

Obligatory seat

Paul ‘Wes’ Townsend (Delaware)*

At-large seats

Scott Lenox (Maryland)*

Peter Hughes (New Jersey)*

Ken Neill (Virginia)

South Atlantic Council

The South Atlantic Council includes members from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 2022 appointees will fill two obligatory seats for North Carolina and South Carolina.

Obligatory seats

Robert ‘Tim’ Griner (North Carolina)*

Gary Borland (South Carolina)

Caribbean Council

The Caribbean Council includes members from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 2022 appointee will fill one at-large seat.

At-large seat

James Kreglo (U.S. Virgin Islands)

Gulf Council

The Gulf Council includes members from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 2022 appointees will fill two obligatory seats for Mississippi and Texas, and one at-large seat.

Obligatory seats

Michael McDermott (Mississippi)

Troy Williamson, II (Texas)*

At-large seat

Thomas Frazer (Florida)*

Pacific Council

The Pacific Council includes members from California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The Pacific Council also includes one Tribal seat. 2022 appointees will fill one obligatory seat for Idaho, and one at-large seat.

Obligatory seat

Peter Hassemer (Idaho)*

At-large seat

Marc Gorelnik (California)*

North Pacific Council

The North Pacific Council includes members from Alaska and Washington. 2022 appointees will fill two obligatory seats for Alaska.

Obligatory seats

Angela Drobnica (Alaska)

Nicole Kimball (Alaska)*

Western Pacific Council

The Western Pacific Council includes members from American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 2022 appointees will fill one obligatory seat for American Samoa, and two at-large seats.

Obligatory seat

William Sword (American Samoa)*

At-large seats

Judith Guthertz (Guam)

Shaelene Kamakaala (Hawaii)

Changes to global fisheries subsidies could level the playing field for traditional coastline communities

October 19, 2021 — Nestled deep in the northeast coast of Jamaica, hidden in the thick fertile forests of Portland parish, sits the multigenerational fishing community of Manchioneal. Families have been continually fishing these tropical waters since at least the 1950s, preserving and passing down artisanal fishing traditions. The community’s work and lifestyle, which includes earning their catch many miles offshore, has persisted even in the face of foreign competition bolstered by subsidies.

Trips taken by Manchioneal fishers can last anywhere between two and four days, depending on the weather and the fisher’s discretion. Fishing is one of this community’s main sources of income, responsible for at least 35% of employment in the community, according to available information.

Though their fishing traditions remain intact, the risks and costs are high. Today, the very survival of Manchioneal’s fishing community has been put in peril by the uneven playing field influenced by global subsidies to fisheries.

Globally, experts estimate that governments allocate about $35.4 billion annually in fishing subsidies. These funds are meant to support fisheries industries, which some governments acknowledge as drivers of both economic growth and food security.

But approximately $22.2 billion of those subsidies are geared toward capacity-enhancing, according to one 2019 analysis. For a large-scale fishing fleet, that includes things like marketing, tax exemptions, fishing access agreements, boat construction, fishing port development, and more. Since these fleets already have the means and equipment, the additional support exponentially increases their ability to fish for longer periods of time and go farther out into international waters. Rural fisher community development programs also benefit from subsidies, but artisanal fishers like those in Manchioneal say the reality is that they remain threatened by the sheer level of competition.

Read the full story at Mongabay

Shipwrecks may help tropical fish adapt to climate change

May 10, 2019 — When Chris Taylor presses play, footage of blue wrasse and greater amberjack fills the screen. The fish whirl and spin against a vivid backdrop of corals, sponges, and algae. When Taylor, an ecologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Beaufort, North Carolina, asks visitors to the Centers where they think the video was taken, he’s not surprised to hear the Florida Keys or the Caribbean. But the guesses are invariably wrong.

“These highly structured reefs are right off our coast,” Taylor says. “There are all of these brightly colored fishes that defy expectations.”

A new study in Nature Communications Biology by Taylor and Avery Paxton, a marine ecologist who divides her time between NOAA and the Duke University Marine Laboratory, shows artificial deepwater reefs off the coast of North Carolina increased the number of tropical and subtropical fishes at the northern edge of their ranges. These findings have important implications for fishes in warming waters. As ocean temperatures rise, artificial reefs may facilitate the movement of these species towards the poles, where they may be able to find a habitat that is more suitable in the future.

Read the full story at National Geographic

Announcing the 2019 Marine Resource Education (MREP) Program Southeast

March 12, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is pleased to announce the Marine Resources Education Program (MREP) in the Southeast fishery region.

MREP provides fishermen and others with an interest in federal fisheries with an opportunity to gain insight into how fisheries data are collected and how those data lead to regulations.

MREP brings together commercial, charter, and recreational fishermen with scientists, managers, and other marine resource professionals from the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean to learn, share insights, and network in a neutral and professional setting. Participants leave the program empowered and better prepared to be a voice in federal fisheries management.

The two-part workshop series is free to selected participants and includes meals, travel, and accommodation. Seats are limited.

MREP Southeast Fishery Science Workshop
May 7-9, 2019
Hollander Hotel
St. Petersburg, FL

MREP Southeast Fishery Management Workshop
November 19-21, 2019
Westin Tampa Bay
Tampa, FL

Applications to participate can be found at: gmri.org/mrepsoutheast
The program principals are available to respond to inquiries about the workshop:

* Bob Gill, Commercial Fisherman and Seafood Retailer, at (888) 833-1844
* Dave Webb, Recreational Angler, at (901) 606-1886

General questions about the program should be directed to Alexa Dayton, MREP Senior Program Manager, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, (207) 228-1645 or adayton@gmri.org.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce allocates $200 million fishery disaster funding following 2017 hurricanes

June 20, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross allocated $200 million in disaster funding appropriated by Congress to help fishermen and the businesses and communities that rely upon them to recover and rebuild following hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017. Funding has also been appropriated and allocated for the disasters that devastated the West Coast and Alaska fishermen from 2014 to 2017.

“Last year, American fishing communities across the Gulf and Caribbean were devastated by some of the most destructive hurricanes in recent memory, while Pacific fisheries have suffered from years of hardship,” said Secretary Ross. “This Administration stands shoulder to shoulder with these communities as they prove their strength and resilience in the face of adversity.”

NOAA Fisheries used commercial fishery revenue loss as the common metric to allocate funding among eligible disasters. In addition to revenue loss, the agency also took subsistence uses and long-term impacts to the fishery into account to further ensure an equitable distribution of funds. The funds can help commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, charter businesses, shore-side infrastructure, subsistence users, and the fishing ecosystem and environment. Activities that can be considered for funding include infrastructure projects, habitat restoration, state-run vessel and permit buybacks, job retraining, and other activities, as specified by the law and limits of the request.

Following this announcement, NOAA will contact the eligible applicants for both hurricane affected states and territories and for states and tribes affected by fishery disasters on the West Coast and in Alaska.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our other social media channels.

Caribbean looks to add climate change adaptation protocol into fisheries policy

March 20, 2018 — The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is seeking to put in place a protocol for climate change adaption in fisheries and aquaculture before the start of this year’s hurricane season.

Under an agreement signed with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the CRFM will oversee the development of a regional protocol that will integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk management into the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy.

The development of the protocol forms part of the FAO-led Climate Change Adaptation in the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector (CC4FISH) Project, which is being funded by the Global Environment Facility.

The focus of the Caribbean Community fisheries policy is to integrate “environmental, coastal and marine management considerations, in a way that safeguards fisheries and associated ecosystems from human-induced threats and to mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.” The purpose of the CC4FISH Project is to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts in the eastern Caribbean fisheries sector.

To develop the protocol, the CRFM has retained the services of Leslie John Walling, a Caribbean consultant with expertise in coastal resources assessment and management, disaster risk-reduction planning, and climate change adaptation planning. Walling, will “be consulting with government and non-government stakeholders in fisheries/aquaculture, climate change, and disaster risk management, including the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency as he puts together the draft document,” the CRFM said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Caribbean fishers count the cost in wake of Irma

September 27, 2017 — Several Caribbean island nations unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of Hurricane Irma in early September are now assessing the vast toll the storm took on their economies, with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos reporting severe damage to their fishing industries.

The hurricane is estimated to have cost the Caribbean more than EUR 8.4 billion (USD10 billion) in damage overall, along with dozens of lives.

Barbuda recorded the first three fatalities of Hurricane Irma, including a two-year-old boy. The island also suffered most severely in regard to its fishing fleet, with at least 44 percent of its fishing vessels suffering serious damage when the hurricane made landfall on the island on 6 September. Of those vessels, only about 10 percent were insured, according to information shared with SeafoodSource by Antigua and Barbuda Senior Fisheries Officer Ian Horsford. He cited a 2005 survey that indicated just 9.6 percent of Barbuda’s fishing vessels were insured up to then.

Prior to Hurricane Irma, which resulted in the total evacuation of this island’s inhabitants to neighboring Antigua, there were 96 active fishers operating there on 54 vessels – mainly modern fibreglass pirogues powered by outboard engines, most of which were less than 10 meters long.

Horsford estimated 26 percent of Barbuda’s population of 1,600 were dependent on the fishing industry for a living, including dependants of the fishermen. The fishing industry on that island targets mainly spiny lobster and conch, with production of lobster over the past five years ranging from 12 to 35 metric tons and bringing in revenue to the island ranging from approximately EUR 125,000 to 312,000 (USD USD148,000 to 370,000).

Read the full story at Seafood Source