Saving Seafood

US bill would allow tribes to kill more sea lions along Columbia River

July 13, 2026 — A new bill introduced in U.S. Congress would authorize Native American tribes in Southwest Washington to kill some of the sea lions eating salmon in the Columbia River.

California and stellar sea lion populations have ballooned in the Pacific Northwest under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); since 1950, the population has increased from roughly 10,000 to 250,000. Salmon are a major source of prey for sea lions, and the increased pinniped population has placed more pressure on the fish.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Congressional Democrats warn against merging offshore energy agencies

July 10, 2026 — The catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the splitting of the federal Marine Minerals Administration into two separate agencies – one focused on offshore leasing and production, and another on safety.

Now Democratic leaders in Congress are sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s move to reunite the agencies’ functions under one roof.

The April 2010 well blowout and fire killed 11 platform workers, discharged an estimated 4.9 billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and was only declared sealed five months later in September 2010.

Economic and environmental damages from the disaster led a year later to the creation of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to handle offshore energy management, alongside the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

In a July 8 letter to the Government Accountability Office, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., of the House Natural Resources Committee called for investigating the Department of the Interior’s proposal to recreate a unified Marine Minerals Administration.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Dems request probe of offshore agency reorganization

July 9, 2026 — Top Democrats on Wednesday called on Congress’ watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s decision to merge two existing bureaus within the Interior Department to oversee offshore oil and gas, wind and mining.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether a consolidation could undermine beefed up oversight created after the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil disaster in 2010.

The letter — also signed by California Democrats Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Luz Rivas — zeroes in on the administration’s decision in April to consolidate the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to create a new Marine Minerals Administration.

Read the full article at E&E News

Sullivan reintroduces sweeping bill targeting bycatch, seafloor impacts

July 8, 2026 — U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) has reintroduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, legislation that would expand federal efforts to reduce bycatch, limit seafloor impacts from trawl gear, improve fisheries monitoring and increase transparency in fishery management.

According to Sullivan’s office, the bill builds on recommendations from the Alaska Salmon Task Force, which was created through legislation he authored and signed into law in 2022.

The proposal would establish new standards and monitoring requirements designed to keep both midwater and bottom trawl nets off the seafloor, require proven salmon excluder devices on pollock vessels, invest in salmon tagging and genetic sampling, expand ecosystem research, and create a new flume tank testing facility to evaluate fishing gear under simulated ocean conditions. The bill also would reauthorize NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program and encourage fishermen to test new gear and technologies aimed at reducing bycatch and habitat impacts.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA identifies six foreign governments engaging in IUU fishing, including Russia and China

July 7, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has identified six nations engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing based on the activities of those foreign governments from 2022 through 2024.

Every two years, the agency sends a report to Congress identifying which countries are engaged in IUU fishing, which countries have adequate shark protections, and which countries have forced labor present in their seafood supply chains. NOAA Fisheries also issues certifications based on what actions countries identified in past reports have done to address the problems raised by the agency.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Council appointments renew debate over Pacific monuments

July 7, 2026 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) will add two leaders from the Hawaiʻi longline industry to its ranks next month, a move supporters say brings extensive fisheries expertise to the council but one that conservation advocates argue further tilts the federal advisory body toward commercial fishing interests. According to a recent report by Civil Beat, the appointments come as the Trump administration continues efforts to expand commercial fishing access in federally protected Pacific waters.

Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Longline Association, was appointed to one of Wespac’s at-large seats, while Roger Dang was reappointed to the council’s second open at-large seat. Dang owns interests in multiple longline vessels operating in Hawaiʻi’s longline fleet. Both appointments take effect Aug. 11.

Josh Green nominated Kingma and Dang, along with two other candidates, and both he and longtime Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds cited the pair’s extensive experience in seafood, fisheries management and policy.

The appointments follow recent actions by the Trump administration to reopen portions of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and two other Pacific marine monuments to U.S. commercial fishing. Kingma and Dang were among industry representatives present at the White House in June when President Donald Trump signed the proclamation beginning that process.

Read the full article at

House advances seafood provisions in Farm Bill

April 30, 2026 — Commercial fishing groups are pointing to renewed momentum in Congress after the House of Representatives advanced a Farm Bill that includes several long-sought seafood provisions, a move that advocates say aligns with broader efforts to advance legislation like the FISH Act.

The Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC) said the House-passed bill marks a step toward integrating U.S. seafood more fully into federal food policy– something industry leaders have pushed for years.

The legislation includes provisions aimed at formalizing a USDA Office of Seafood, expanding opportunities for domestically harvested seafood in federal purchasing programs, and better aligning nutrition policy with American food production.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Advance Offshore U.S. Aquaculture

February 17, 2026 — Half a mile off the Big Island in Hawaii, where the currents run swift and the depths reach 200 feet, Blue Ocean Mariculture raises kanpachi (Seriola rivoliana), a native Hawaiian yellowtail, in what is the United States’ sole open-ocean, commercial finfish farm.

Small in comparison to coastal Norwegian salmon farms, with annual combined exports of 1.2 million tons, Blue Ocean Mariculture produces about 1,100 tons of fish annually in net pens submerged 30 to 130 feet under water. Roughly half the fish is sold to distributors and stores in Hawaii, while the rest goes to markets on the U.S. mainland, according to Taylor Korte, vice president of marine operations at Blue Ocean Mariculture.

The company’s conservation efforts have earned it Seafood Watch’s rank of yellow, or a good alternative to endangered species like bluefin tuna, but not quite as stellar as a green ranking for sustainably harvested seafood, like farmed mussels or Arctic char. Blue Ocean kanpachi, a rich, mild-flavored, versatile fish, is on the menu in restaurants across the country, from Mama’s Fish House in Maui to Sugarfish in New York and California, where it’s served raw as sashimi or ceviche—or baked, grilled, or steamed.

Although it is close to shore, Blue Ocean Mariculture is considered an environmental and economic model for very deep open-water aquaculture. And now, it has become the poster child for the Marine Aquaculture Research for America (MARA) Act.

The bill was introduced last fall to develop aquaculture of all types (finfish, seaweed and shellfish) in federal waters, defined as 3 to 200 nautical miles offshore. The bill has strong bipartisan support and could advance in the Senate as early as March, Maddie Voorhees, U.S. aquaculture campaign director for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), told Civil Eats.

The MARA Act is the latest bill to reflect a decades-long drive, largely by industry groups such as the Stronger America Through Seafood Coalition, to advance U.S. aquaculture in the open ocean. Coalition members include big feed businesses like Cargill and JBS; food service giant Sysco; and U.S. aquaculture companies such as Taylor Shellfish and Ocean Era.

MARA Act champions say the law is needed to cut red tape and reduce U.S. reliance on imported seafood. Opponents of industrial fish farming fiercely push back on the proposal and say there are better ways to boost consumption of domestic seafood.

Read the full article at Civil Eats

Advocates support renewing Young Fishermen’s Development Act

July 24, 2025 — Bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Young Fishermen’s Development Program for five more years was hailed by the Fishing Communities Coalition.

Led by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, the Young Fishermen’s Development Act (YFDA) would extend the program beyond its current expiration after the federal 2026 fiscal year, keeping alive what the coalition calls “a sound investment in the future of America’s fishing industry and a response to the demographic challenge known as the ‘graying of the fleet.’”

“The legislation to reauthorize the Young Fishermen’s Development Act is a positive step in securing the future of our coastal communities,” said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, in a statement with other coalition members.

“We have seen the average age of our fishermen increase, with the many challenges limiting young people from entering the profession,” said Behnken. “The YFDA ensures the knowledge of our seasoned fishermen is passed down and that the next generation continues America’s fishing tradition.”

The coalition also credited Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives including Reps. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, Jared Golden, D-Maine, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Delegate Amata Radewagen, R-American Samoa, for introducing a version of the legislation in the lower chamber as H.R. 3692 last month.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

US lawmakers consider major changes to Marine Mammal Protection Act

July 24, 2025 —  Conservation groups warn that draft legislation being considered in U.S. Congress could gut the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), legislation designed to safeguard vulnerable whales, dolphins, and other species from commercial fishing activities and other potential threats.

“If this bill were to become law, it would significantly hinder the ability to take any conservation actions for marine mammals,” wildlife biologist and television host Jeff Corwin said in his testimony. “More dolphins, whales, sea otters, and other marine mammals will be killed and injured, and incentives to develop new technologies and methods to reduce those human impacts on marine mammals would disappear.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource