Saving Seafood

Tariff lawsuits begin moving forward as US federal court issues mandate

March 3, 2026 — The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a mandate that moves multiple lawsuits on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs forward on the path toward refunds.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late February that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify his tariff program was illegal. The ruling largely agreed with earlier rulings by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and determined that the IEEPA did not give Trump the authority to impose the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he implemented in April 2025.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Menhaden Research Gets Federal Boost

February 20, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed a federal spending package in January that includes two-point-five million dollars for menhaden research, ending a two-year wait for state funding. Businesses, scientists, and anglers support the study, saying solid data is needed before imposing limits. Some environmental advocates however, argue reductions should happen now, but regulators are holding off pending the research. We reached out to Omega Protein for comment, and they told us that “Ocean Harvesters, headquartered locally in Reedville, has a long track record of supporting rigorous, independent science to better understand Atlantic menhaden and the broader Bay ecosystem. The Company believes that any funding for menhaden projects at NOAA-Fisheries is in good hands.”

Read the full article at Middle Neck News

NOAA claims steady progress was made on US aquaculture in 2025

February 18, 2026 — Following directives from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, NOAA’s Aquaculture Program said it made steady progress in 2025 on exploring new aquaculture projects in the U.S., inching closer to helping the country close its farmed seafood import gap.

“Currently, the U.S. imports USD 15 billion [EUR 12.7 billion] worth of farmed seafood. That’s billion with a ‘b.’ It is by far more than we produce here at home, which is less than USD 2 billion [EUR 1.7 billion], and that has the eyes of a lot of people across the government, not just people who focus on aquaculture,” NOAA Office of Aquaculture Director Danielle Blacklock said on 17 February during the 2026 Aquaculture America conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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

Trump opens massive Atlantic marine monument to commercial fishing

February 10, 2026 — President Donald Trump revoked a ban Friday on commercial fishing inside a 3.1-million-acre marine national monument, opening up a previously protected swath of the Atlantic Ocean to industry.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument — the only one of five marine monuments located in the Atlantic Ocean — was created to conserve four underwater extinct volcanoes, called seamounts, and three canyons, some reaching depths of more than a mile. The monument located about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is also home to unique deep-sea corals, endangered whales and scores of other marine species.

Since returning to office last year, Trump has pushed to open up marine monuments to commercial fishing, saying overregulation has disadvantaged the American fishing industry compared to foreign competitors. In April, Trump overturned a fishing ban in a sprawling Pacific Ocean monument, a move fought by environmentalists who have argued that increasing access to protected areas will harm fishing stocks.

Read the full article at E&E News

Trump ends Obama-era restrictions on commercial fishing in protected area off New England

February 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Friday reopening a huge swath of protected sea in the Atlantic Ocean to commercial fishing.

Trump said the move would reestablish fishing in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, a nearly 5,000-square-mile preserve east of Cape Cod that was created by former President Barack Obama. Trump rolled back protections in the area in 2020 and President Joe Biden later restored them.

Commercial fishing groups have long sought the reopening of the protected area and voiced support on Friday.

“We deserve to be rewarded, not penalized,” said John Williams, president and owner of the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Atlantic Red Crab Company. “We’re demonstrating that we can fish sustainably and continue to harvest on a sustainable level in perpetuity.”

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Trump Opens Marine National Monument in Atlantic to Commercial Fishing

February 9, 2026 — President Trump moved on Friday to allow commercial fishing in the only marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, an area the size of Connecticut that is home to dolphins, endangered whales, sea turtles and ancient deep-sea corals.

Mr. Trump signed a proclamation opening up the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which lies 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. President Barack Obama created the monument in 2016, and Mr. Trump tried to lift the ban on commercial fishing there during his first term, but President Joseph R. Biden Jr. reinstated the restrictions.

“I find that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of historic and scientific interest that the monument protects at risk,” Mr. Trump wrote in the proclamation.

This was the second time that Mr. Trump opened a marine national monument to commercial fishing. In April 2025, he ended protections for the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, which lies about 750 miles west of Hawaii and was established by President George W. Bush in 2009.

Fishing industry groups praised the move and rejected the notion that their activities in the area would cause environmental damage.

“America’s commercial fishermen are among the world’s most responsible ocean stewards,” Bob Vanasse, the executive director of the industry group Saving Seafood, said in a statement. “Their work is tightly regulated, environmentally conscious and vital to the economies and food security of coastal communities.”

Read the full article at The New York Times

Trump admin confirms trade deal with India, cutting tariffs to 18 percent

February 9, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order following through on a trade deal with India he announced in early February, reducing U.S. tariffs on the country to 18 percent.

Trump first announced the new trade deal with India on 2 February, which he said came after a discussion with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just four days later on 6 February, he formalized the deal with an executive order, cutting reciprocal tariffs on the country to 18 percent from the previous 25 percent and eliminating a separate 25 percent ad valorem tariff implemented in August 2025 against India over its purchases of Russian oil.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump vows to ‘unleash’ commercial fishing off New England, reversing Obama-era Atlantic restrictions

February 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump said he issued a presidential proclamation reopening thousands of square miles of protected Atlantic Ocean waters off New England to commercial fishing, saying the move would reestablish fishing access and reduce what he called burdensome restrictions on fishermen.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social late Friday, writing that the move was “another BIG WIN for Maine, and all of New England.”

The proclamation would reestablish fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, a nearly 5,000-square-mile preserve east of Cape Cod that was created by former President Barack Obama. Trump rolled back protections in the area during his first term, and President Joe Biden later restored them.

Read the full article at Fox News