Saving Seafood

Two Years After Vineyard Wind Blade Failure, Government Investigation Still Not Completed

July 31, 2026 — Two years after a Vineyard Wind turbine blade collapsed, littering Nantucket’s shores with debris, a federal investigation into the blade failure is still ongoing, with little indication of when it will be completed or why it has taken so long.

Almost immediately after the blade failure, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a Department of the Interior agency tasked with safety and environmental protection for the offshore energy industry, announced that it would be launching an independent investigation into the collapse. Two years later, that investigation has yet to produce any results.

At this point, the investigation has actually outlived the agency that launched it. On July 10th, President Donald Trump announced that BSEE would be folded into the Marine Minerals Administration and would cease to exist as an independent agency.

In a statement shared with the Current, the Marine Minerals Administration confirmed that it was continuing the investigation, but offered few further details.

“The Marine Minerals Administration is ensuring the investigation is thorough and comprehensive,” the agency wrote. “MMA’s investigation is currently ongoing and does not have a date for completion at this time.”

This mirrors statements BSEE has given in the past.

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Trump administration took funding dedicated to fighting IUU fishing and used it for the World Cup

July 31, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump took funding set aside for combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and spent it on other priorities, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a report from Washington D.C.-focused news outlet Punchbowl News.

The outlet reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) diverted most of the USD 170 million (EUR 147 million) set aside in the One Big Beautiful Bill for the U.S. Coast Guard to spend on maritime domain awareness, which would support the government’s anti-IUU fishing enforcement efforts.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Here’s where Trump has canceled wind farms – and how states are pushing back

July 31, 2026 — President Donald Trump’s opposition to offshore wind farms is well-documented. In the early 2010s, he sued the Scottish government when it gave permission for a company to build turbines in sight of one of his resorts. In public testimony over the years, the president has called wind turbines “monstrosities.” He has fretted about their environmental impact, decried their noise, and lamented their impact on tourism.

He lost his case in Scotland. Now, as U.S. president, he has more leverage.

Over the past year, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to undo his predecessor’s efforts to establish a wind power industry off the coast of the United States. Since March, he’s struck five agreements with private companies to cancel at least nine offshore wind leases – a strategy that rings of Mr. Trump’s tendency toward dealmaking and that environmental policy analysts say no president has employed before.

Read the full article at The Christian Science Monitor 

US representatives introduce bipartisan bill to undo Trump’s ESA rollback

July 29, 2026 — A pair of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill that would reverse the federal government’s decision to roll back the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to exclude habitat destruction.

“Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act to prevent extinction – not to document it after the damage has already been done,” U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) said in a release. “For more than 50 years, our nation’s protections have reflected a basic legal, scientific, and commonsense truth: When habitat destruction actually kills or injures protected wildlife, that destruction is harm. The administration’s rule would erase that longstanding safeguard through regulatory action and leave vulnerable species exposed at the precise moment the law is intended to protect them.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US senators call for sanctions on vessels that support China’s distant water fishing fleet

July 28, 2026 — A handful of U.S. senators have asked the Department of the Treasury to issue sanctions on vessels that support China’s distant water fishing fleet, continuing a push from U.S. lawmakers to limit China’s commercial fishing and seafood sectors.

“The Chinese Communist Party is using its global distant-water fleet to conduct ecocide across at least three continents in both hemispheres. They kill endangered species by the hundreds and sharks, whales, and dolphins by the thousands, and have destroyed tens of thousands of acres of coral reefs,” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement. “Their fleet uses coerced laborers, who are subjected to physical abuse, malnutrition, overwork, and withheld pay. They could not conduct these activities without supply ships, including reefers, tankers, and floating bases. The U.S. should bolster our Maritime Domain Awareness capabilities to identify these vessels, and then we should use every available option to sanction and disrupt them.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Legal group that won IEEPA lawsuits takes aim at latest Section 301 tariffs

July 28, 2026 — The legal team that successfully challenged U.S. President Donald Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)-backed tariffs is now pursuing a case against the administration’s latest Section 301 tariffs.

The Liberty Justice Center filed V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump in April 2025, just days after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs. That lawsuit ultimately ended up in a 6-3 ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year that invalidated the tariffs and kicked off a lengthy refund process that is still ongoing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump’s offshore wind freeze leaves Mass. with idle terminals, soaring energy bills

July 27, 2026 — On a recent weekday afternoon, the State Pier and the adjacent City Pier 3 were bustling with fishing boats, passengers waiting to board the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard or eating lunch at the Whale’s Tail Clam Bar.

But just a mile down the road, at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, the only chatter came from the seagulls gathering on the empty concrete. The terminal was envisioned as the hub of Massachusetts’ offshore wind industry. But except for the signs at its entrance, a visitor could easily mistake it for an empty waterfront lot.

Construction on Vineyard Wind 1, the first utility-scale offshore wind project in Massachusetts, was completed in March. The 62 turbines off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard can generate up to 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 400,000 homes.

The Marine Commerce Terminal was expected to host the next offshore wind project, SouthCoast Wind, almost immediately after Vineyard Wind 1, but delays from the federal government under the Trump administration have brought the industry to a halt.

The slowdown comes as Massachusetts continues to face some of the highest energy costs in the nation. The state consumes roughly 22 times more electricity than it generates and relies heavily on imported power, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Read the full story at MassLive

Trump administration launches sweeping tariffs on 59 countries, entire EU

July 24, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched sweeping tariffs on 59 different countries and the entire E.U. following Section 301 investigations.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) began 60 investigations in March 2026 related to the “failure of various economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” In June, the USTR said it was planning to target those countries with tariff rates of between 10 and 12.5 percent, depending on the commitments the countries made to oppose forced labor.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

EPA loosens restrictions on lobster boat diesel engines

July 22, 2026 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a new exemption that the Trump administration says will loosen environmental regulations on diesel engines for U.S. commercial lobstermen.

The EPA is exempting a new lobster boat model from Tier 4 engine requirements, which were adopted in 2008. It’s something the federal agency says will, for the first time, support American boat builders, lobstermen, and the New England maritime communities.

“The commercial fishing industry is an important part of New England’s heritage and economy, and we’re committed to practical implementation of environmental regulations. This decision demonstrates that in the Trump administration, environmental protection and economic opportunity can go hand in hand,” EPA Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn told the Herald over the phone.

“The exemption to the Tier 4 requirement allows both designers and law enforcement to utilize Tier 3 engines, which better meet their needs. The exhaust engine must meet Tier 3 emission standards and be labeled so it cannot be used on other vessels,” he said.

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

Trump fires new salvo in trade dispute with Canada amid ongoing USMCA discussions

July 21, 2026 — United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, continuing a trade dispute even as talks over the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement (USMCA) are ongoing.

Greer announced 50 percent tariffs on three types of goods: motor vehicles, alcohol, and dairy. The tariffs mark a new chapter in the U.S.’s ongoing dispute with Canada, as U.S. President Donald Trump has continuously threatened Canada with tariffs since taking office in January 2025, including threats of 100 percent tariffs in February 2026 after Canada and China finalized a trade deal.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource