Saving Seafood

US Senate committee recommends passage of IUU fishing bill

May 1, 2025 — U.S. Senate committee has approved legislation that would increase restrictions on vessels engaged in harmful fishing practices, recommending that the full Senate pass the bill.

“This is another measure in a long line of bipartisan comprehensive bills that [U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)] and I have been introducing and passing over the last several years,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said after the committee voted in favor of his bill, pointing to the 2020 Save Our Seas Act. “President Trump has been a big supporter of these clean ocean legislation initiatives, and now we have the FISH Act, which is focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated [IUU] fishing, which is both a challenge globally, it’s a challenge for our country, and it’s certainly a challenge in Alaska.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US logistics industry warns Trump tariffs already causing trade complications

May 1, 2025 — The U.S. shipping and logistics industry is beginning to feel the effect of the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese imports, and experts are warning U.S. consumers that they will soon start to see changes themselves. 

Investors Observer, an investment trade publication, analyzed the U.S. states that are most and least reliant on Chinese imports in order predict the economic fallout of tariffs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Federal oil and gas leasing plan could include Maine coast

May 1, 2025 — The Trump administration is developing an offshore oil and gas leasing plan that could include waters in the Gulf of Maine.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine warns there are no economically recoverable fossil fuels in the region and that drilling risks environmental and economic harm.

“Offshore oil and gas exploration would directly threaten our marine ecosystems, risk devastation to our vibrant tourist economy, and harm our heritage fishing industry,” the council’s climate and clean energy director Jack Shapiro said in a statement.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this month opened public comment on developing a new five-year lease schedule for the outer continental shelf.

Read the full story at CAI

As the federal government targets offshore wind, leaders gather in Virginia Beach to discuss industry’s future

May 1, 2025 — Local, national and international leaders in offshore wind have gathered in Virginia Beach this week to discuss how to keep pushing the industry forward.

The International Partnering Forum, hosted by the Oceantic Network, is promoting the far-reaching offshore wind supply chain and celebrating ongoing projects.

That includes Dominion Energy’s 176-turbine wind farm under construction just a few dozen miles away off the coast, which will be the nation’s largest.

“We are positioning Virginia Beach to become one of the main offshore wind energy hubs in this nation,” said Mayor Bobby Dyer. The city is “taking steps to work with other regions and nations to ensure this future success.”

But uncertainty and strong challenges loomed large, as officials frankly discussed President Donald Trump’s efforts to halt offshore wind.

Read the full story at WHRO

Groundfish season opens on time after NOAA passes emergency catch limits

May 1, 2025 — The fishing season for cod, haddock and flounder started on time Thursday after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued emergency regulations this week.

The move came after weeks of delay because of the Trump administration’s cuts to NOAA staff, and controversy over proposed changes to how the agency measures cod populations.

For now, catch limits for these bottom-dwelling fish will remain lower than last season. NOAA said it will delay any decision about the suggested updates to cod fishing regulations until next year.

Read the full story at WBUR

Burgum leans away from ‘all-of-the-above’ energy

April 29, 2025 — When he fought for votes in North Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial primary in 2016, tech executive Doug Burgum did not have the financial backing of the state’s powerful oil and gas lobby.

Burgum — who is now Interior secretary — labeled that money a conflict of interest.

As governor, Burgum sought to push North Dakota to be carbon-neutral by 2030. He stressed “the importance of an all-of-the-above energy policy” when then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited the state in 2021. And he chaired a state commission that approved North Dakota’s first injection well for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide.

But as a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, Burgum has taken a sharply different tack.

Last week, the Interior Department unveiled a plan to speed up the development of domestic energy and critical minerals. The new emergency permitting procedures don’t apply to renewable sources such as wind and solar, reflecting Trump’s priorities and his Jan. 20 energy “emergency” executive order. Carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS, was also left out.

The new policy arrived days after Interior moved to halt construction on the Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, arguing it was approved “without sufficient analysis.” That has left observers wondering what’s next from Burgum.

Read the full story at E&E News

‘Repowering’ era for America’s aging wind energy industry begins, despite Trump’s effort to kill it

April 28, 2025 — On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump issued an executive order indefinitely halting permits for new onshore wind energy projects on federal land, as well as new leases for offshore wind farms in U.S. coastal waters. The action not only fulfilled Trump’s “no new windmills” campaign pledge, but struck yet another blow to the wind industry, which has been hit hard over the past few years by supply chain snags, price increases upending project economics, public opposition and political backlash against federal tax credits, especially those spurring the fledgling offshore wind sector.

Nonetheless, the nation’s well-established onshore wind industry, built out over several decades, is generating nearly 11% of America’s electricity, making it the largest source of renewable energy and at times last year exceeding coal-fired generation. On April 8, the fossil-fuels-friendly Trump administration took measures to bolster coal mining and power plants, but as the infrastructure driving wind energy ages, efforts to “repower” it are creating new business opportunities for the industry’s key players.

This repowering activity has emerged as a bright spot for the wind industry, giving a much-needed boost to market leaders GE Vernova, Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, a subsidiary of Munich-based Siemens Energy. Following several challenging years of lackluster performance — due in particular to setbacks in both onshore and offshore projects — all three companies reported revenue increases in 2024, and both GE Vernova and Siemens stock have moved higher.

Read the full story at CNBC

Could planned federal funding cuts jeopardize Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay restoration plans?

April 28, 2025 — The Trump administration’s plans to propose budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could jeopardize efforts to restore the health of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).

According to the CBF, the administration’s potential budget cuts would slash NOAA’s total budget by $1.7 billion, from $6.1 billion to $4.5 billion. It would also reduce funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service by approximately 30 percent.

How would the cuts affect the Chesapeake Bay?

The proposed budget plan would significantly reduce NOAA’s financial support and scientific leadership for Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.

Under the plan, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which currently operates with a budget of $1.1 billion, would be reduced to $789.3 million in fiscal year 2026 under the planned budget.

The NMFS houses NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office, which leads science initiatives across the region and works closely with the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program on restoration efforts, according to the CBF.

Read the full story at CBS News

Aquaculture projects face years of permitting despite Trump’s efforts

April 27, 2025 — Permitting is a costly regulatory hurdle among many U.S. industries with money, time, opportunity and business are all lost to the cumbersome grind of securing the government’s approval.

Consider the seafood industry, which President Donald Trump just threw a life-jacket.

Despite the United States controlling over four million square miles of prime fishing grounds, nearly 90% of seafood consumed domestically is imported, contributing to a trade deficit exceeding $20 billion, according to the executive order.

At the POWERS Summit and Expo hosted by the American Association of Port Authorities, U.S. Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips addressed the financial and operational challenges posed by inconsistent federal permitting processes for aquaculture facilities.

She highlighted that varying enforcement practices by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act have led to unpredictability and increased costs for aquaculture operators.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Florida Keys lobster industry, reliant on Chinese consumers, braces for potential tariff impact

April 24, 2025 — In Conch Key, Kelly Cordova’s crews are getting traps ready for lobster season.

She’s been on the water her whole life.

“This is our family’s business,” said Cordova. “My mom and dad started when they were 15.”

But even as the Trump administration softens its tone on China tariffs, there’s still uncertainty over the possibility of reciprocal tariffs tacked on to the live lobster they export.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s really, really scary right now,” said Cordova.

Spiny lobster is a multi-million dollar industry in Florida and the Florida Keys are the biggest producer, harvesting nearly 4 million pounds last season.

Read the full story at Local 10