Commercial fishing Archives - Page 3 of 28

ALASKA: Pollock trawlers feel cast as the villains of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race

October 7, 2026 — Cole Hockema, operator of the 104-foot Pacific Storm, is disappointed that pollock fishermen like him have no champions in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race.

“It’s just such easy, low-hanging fruit, essentially, to get votes, is to be against trawling,” he said.

The pollock industry, America’s largest fishery, has been hit with a tsunami of popular discontent in Alaska this election season, with loud demands for a ban on trawling. The problem is bycatch — the thousands of salmon and metric tons of halibut the pollock fleet catches by accident. Anger about these wasted fish has sparked a movement that’s flexing its political muscle, and it could be decisive in Alaska’s tight Senate election.

Amid the barrage, the pollock industry — the source of the fish in fish sticks and McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish — is feeling misunderstood.

Trawl opponents focus their harshest critiques on the biggest players in the pollock fleet — the massive catcher-processors, floating factories that are homeported mainly in Seattle, and the substantial number of trawlers owned by out-of-state corporations.

Read the full article at Alask Public Media

Fishermen challenge red snapper permits

October 7, 2026 — Six commercial fishing businesses and fishermen from Florida and North Carolina have filed a federal lawsuit challenging exempted fishing permits that authorize a 14-day recreational red snapper season in South Atlantic federal waters.

The lawsuit, Ariel Seafoods of Florida, Inc. v. Lutnick, was filed Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare three permits issued Sept. 21 to Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina illegal.

The permits authorize recreational red snapper harvest in federal waters off the three states from Oct. 9 through Oct. 22, with the possibility of a second season in December. NMFS has separately established a three-day federal season, Oct. 9-11, for anglers not participating under a state permit.

At the center of the dispute is how additional red snapper harvest is being allocated between the recreational and commercial sectors.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Celebrate National Seafood Month by Choosing American Seafood

October 7, 2026 — October is National Seafood Month, a time to celebrate the essential role American seafood plays in feeding our nation, powering coastal economies, and preserving a heritage built around our working waterfronts. I’ve been part of the seafood sector my whole life, so to me, my family, and my colleagues at NOAA Fisheries, every month is Seafood Month! But October gives us the welcome opportunity to swell the tide of national gratitude for the hardworking fishermen and seafood farmers who feed us. Thanks to them and our science-based management system, American seafood represents the gold standard for sustainability. And while 50 years of management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act has made the United States the model for sustainable fisheries, there is still work to be done.

In my time at NOAA Fisheries, I hope I’ve made my focus clear: I want to ensure our domestic seafood sector thrives in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. By increasing opportunities in our wild-caught domestic fisheries and expanding seafood farming operations, we can get more American seafood on American plates. And NOAA has been empowered by the President’s Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness to do just that.

In recent months, we have committed to tangible agency actions to directly support the industry. We are confronting the economic headwinds facing our seafood sector by driving reforms designed to help our seafood producers. I believe we can go a long way toward meeting these goals by modernizing our regulatory framework, tackling market imbalances, and highlighting the unmatched quality and sustainability of American seafood.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Multiyear undercover investigation takes down illegal commercial fishing operation in Florida

October 7, 2026 — Florida law enforcement has announced charges against 10 people after a multiyear undercover investigation revealed a major illegal commercial fishing operation.

“We plan to leave Florida better to God than how we found it, and poachers abusing our natural resources will be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a release. “Those who abuse our waters and wildlife will find out how tough our laws are. The Office of Statewide Prosecution, FWC [Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission], and our local law enforcement officers will ensure criminals are caught and punished.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Justices decline to take up Maine boat monitor case

October 7, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a lawsuit challenging a Maine rule requiring commercial lobstermen to use electronic vessel tracking systems.

In an unwritten decision, the high court denied lobsterman Frank Thompson’s petition for a writ of certiorari to consider a case against the Maine Department of Marine Resources, claiming that GPS monitoring of private boats violates Fourth Amendment protections. The decision effectively ends the long-running legal fight, upholding a previous federal appeals court ruling rejecting the lawsuit.

Thompson, who was represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, had claimed the 24/7 surveillance unfairly targets Maine’s federally licensed lobster fleet.

Read the full article at The Center Square

US Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to lobster GPS monitoring case

October 6, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case that argued against 24/7 GPS monitoring of the Maine’s lobster fishing fleet.

In 2023, Maine began requiring commercial lobstermen in the state to install GPS monitoring devices that would enable 24/7 tracking of the vessels – a move called for by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Soon after, lobstermen sued, calling it a violation of both the fourth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maine lobster boat tracking rule

October 6, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging Maine’s requirement that certain commercial lobstermen use electronic vessel tracking devices, leaving in place a lower court ruling that upheld the program.

The case was brought by Frank Thompson, a Maine lobsterman who argued the state’s tracking requirement violates the Fourth Amendment by forcing fishermen to submit to continuous GPS monitoring as a condition of keeping their fishing licenses.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

Fishermen challenge red snapper permits

October 6, 2026 — Six commercial fishing businesses and fishermen from Florida and North Carolina have filed a federal lawsuit challenging exempted fishing permits that authorize a 14-day recreational red snapper season in South Atlantic federal waters.

At the center of the dispute is how additional red snapper harvest is being allocated between the recreational and commercial sectors.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Alaska troll fleet to expand electronic logbook, data collection

October 5, 2026 — The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) has received a $293,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to expand electronic logbook and oceanographic data collection aboard Southeast Alaska salmon troll vessels.

The project will put data collection tools aboard 20 Southeast Alaska troll vessels, where fishermen will record catch information while deploying temperature and depth loggers. Paired with satellite connectivity, the system will allow information on catch composition and ocean conditions to be transmitted regularly during the fishing season.

The goal is to provide fishermen, researchers, and fishery managers with near real-time information that could improve stock assessments and support more adaptive fishery management decisions. For participating trollers, the electronic logbook will also provide a daily fishing record and a way to compare variables that may be affecting their catch.

The effort draws from an earlier era of industry-led data collection. From 1971 to 1991, Southeast Alaska trollers participated in a voluntary paper logbook program, recording similar information and sharing it with researchers and fishery managers.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump tried to make allies of fishermen. Some are turning on him

October 5, 2026 — John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry.

But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada jeopardizing markets for the crabs that he pulls off the ocean floor.

“If somebody came along that was going to do a better job, I would vote for them in a heartbeat,” he said.

Evich’s sentiment, echoed throughout the U.S. seafood industry, is another piece of a political puzzle that is working against Trump in the midterm elections. Dissatisfaction among commercial fishermen could cause collateral damage for Republicans in competitive races in Washington, Alaska and Maine.

“Having those costs be so much higher this year has really undermined the viability of some of our fisheries,” Alaska fisherman Linda Behnken said.

Read the full article at The Associated Press