Saving Seafood

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Unleashes American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific

April 17, 2025 — The following was released by the White House:

UNLEASHING OPPORTUNITY IN THE PACIFIC: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a proclamation to unleash American commercial fishing in the Pacific Ocean—a key component of the America First Fishing Policy.

  • The proclamation opens the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) to commercial fishing, boosting the economy of American Samoa.
  • It allows U.S.-flagged vessels to fish commercially within 50 to 200 nautical miles of the PRIMNM’s boundaries.

EMPOWERING AMERICAN COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN: President Trump believes that removing unnecessary restrictions on American fishermen will strengthen the U.S. economy, support local communities, and restore fairness to an industry disadvantaged by overregulation and foreign competition.

  • The PRIMNM was first established by President Bush in 2009 and then expanded by President Obama, closing off over 400,000 square miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the Pacific.
  • The ban on commercial fishing within the PRIMNM did little to guard fish populations against overfishing, as tuna and other pelagic species are migratory in nature and do not permanently reside within the PRIMNM.
  • As a result of the prohibitions on commercial fishing, American fishing fleets have lost access to nearly half of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone in the Pacific Islands.
    • This has driven American fishermen to fish further offshore in international waters to compete against poorly regulated and highly subsidized foreign fleets, most notably from China.
    • By supporting honest American fishermen, we combat the rampant illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by foreign fleets.
  • This disadvantages United States commercial fishermen and is detrimental for United States territories like American Samoa, whose private sector economy is dependent on the fishing industry.
    • American Samoa is home to the only Buy American-compliant tuna processing facility for U.S. military rations and school lunch programs.
    • This cannery is the largest employer on the island, providing about 5,000 jobs.  In fact, the cannery accounts for 99.5% of American Samoa’s exports and 84% of the private employment in the territory.

ADVANCING U.S. ECONOMIC INTERESTS: President Trump’s actions to revitalize commercial fishing are part of his broader strategy to unleash the full potential of the American economy by prioritizing deregulation and cutting red tape.

  • President Trump launched a 10-to-1 deregulation initiative, ensuring every new Federal rule is justified by clear benefits and accompanied by much larger deregulatory measures.
  • President Trump established the National Energy Dominance Council to cut red tape, enhance private sector investments, advance innovation, and streamline the permitting process across all forms of American energy.
  • President Trump established the “Department of Government Efficiency” to examine how to streamline the operations of the Federal Government, eliminate unnecessary programs and wasteful spending, and reduce bureaucratic inefficiency.
  • President Trump has already reduced unnecessarily large governmental entities and terminated numerous harmful Biden expansions of governmental authority.

Trump Signs Executive Order to Boost U.S. Seafood Industry, Orders Review of Marine Monuments

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — April 17, 2025 — President Donald J. Trump today signed an executive order titled Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, aimed at strengthening the domestic seafood industry by reducing regulatory burdens, addressing foreign trade imbalances, and improving fisheries management.

One of the most significant provisions of the order instructs the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, to review all existing marine national monuments within 180 days. The Secretary must provide recommendations to the President on any monuments that should be opened to commercial fishing. The review must consider whether such actions would be consistent with the preservation of the historic landmarks and scientific features originally identified when the monuments were established.

The order states that the United States possesses over 4 million square miles of prime fishing grounds and that most domestic fish stocks are healthy. However, it describes the seafood sector as heavily regulated and contends that “federal overregulation” has hindered harvesting through restrictive catch limits, outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of modern technology.

It further highlights that approximately 90% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported, contributing to a trade deficit exceeding $20 billion. The order criticizes what it describes as unfair foreign trade practices and calls for a policy shift to support ethical sourcing and protect U.S. markets.

Key directives in the order include:

  • Regulatory Review: The Secretary of Commerce must identify the most heavily overregulated fisheries within 30 days and take action to reduce regulatory burdens, in coordination with Regional Fishery Management Councils and other partners.
  • Public Input: The Department of Commerce will solicit ideas from the public, industry members, scientists, and technology experts to improve fisheries science and management under existing federal law.
  • Technology and Data Modernization: The National Marine Fisheries Service is instructed to adopt less expensive, more reliable technologies and modernize data collection methods to better respond to real-time ocean conditions.
  • Trade Policy: A comprehensive seafood trade strategy must be developed within 60 days by the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to improve access to foreign markets and address unfair practices, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
  • Import Oversight: The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with other federal agencies, is directed to revise recent expansions of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program and improve enforcement against high-risk foreign seafood shipments.

The order also calls for the development of an “America First Seafood Strategy” to promote the production, sale, and export of U.S. seafood and to enhance public awareness of seafood’s health benefits through nutrition programs.

Read the full executive order here

Trump Issues Proclamation on “Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific”

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — April 17, 2025 — President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation modifying the management of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), which was previously established and expanded by Proclamations 8336 (2009) and 9173 (2014).

Key Points:

  • Commercial Fishing Allowed: The proclamation lifts the prohibition on commercial fishing in areas of the PRIMNM that are between 50 to 200 nautical miles from land and within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Only U.S.-flagged vessels are permitted to fish, although foreign vessels may be allowed to transship U.S.-harvested fish.
  • Justification: The proclamation argues that commercial fishing, if properly managed, does not threaten the monument’s protected scientific and historic objects (e.g., fish, coral, birds, marine mammals). It highlights that many species are migratory and that existing federal laws already provide sufficient environmental protection.
  • Economic Concerns: The change is aimed at supporting U.S. fishing fleets and U.S. territories like American Samoa, which depend heavily on the fishing industry. The current fishing ban is described as economically harmful and unnecessarily restrictive.
  • Agency Responsibilities:
    • The Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce are responsible for implementing the new management regime.
    • The Secretary of Commerce, through NOAA, will lead on fishery-related activities and must publish new rules to repeal or amend restrictive fishing regulations.
    • Coordination with the Secretary of Defense is required for fishing regulations, particularly due to defense-related activities in the region.
  • Environmental Protections Maintained: Existing environmental protections under laws like the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Clean Water Act remain in effect.
  • Defense and Sovereignty: The U.S. retains full military and navigational rights in the region, and Wake Island and Johnston Atoll continue under the management of the Department of Defense.

This proclamation reflects a shift toward reopening U.S. waters to commercial fishing while asserting that environmental protections remain intact under other laws.

Read the full proclamation here

Watch Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comments on the proclamation here

US proposes looser interpretation of law that protects threatened species

April 17, 2025 — The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed a major change to how threatened species are considered in agency actions by removing regulatory language that seeks to prevent their habitats from being degraded.

The move was aligned with President Donald Trump’s pledge to unwind what he says are burdensome federal regulations for businesses.

The Endangered Species Act is a key regulatory consideration for agencies when considering whether to grant permits for oil and gas, mining, electric transmission and other operations on federal lands and water. Under federal law, agencies are required to evaluate the environmental impact of proposed industry operations that could threaten endangered species.

In a regulatory notice, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service, divisions of the Departments of Interior and Commerce, proposed to rescind the definition of “harm” included in their ESA regulations.

Read the full story at Reuters

Trump administration issues order to stop construction on New York offshore wind project

April 17, 2025 — The Trump administration issued an order Wednesday to stop construction on a major offshore wind project to power more than 500,000 New York homes, the latest in a series of moves targeting the industry.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction on Empire Wind, a fully-permitted project. He said it needs further review because it appears the Biden administration rushed the approval.

The Norwegian company Equinor is building Empire Wind to start providing power in 2026. Equinor finalized the federal lease for Empire Wind in March 2017, early in President Donald Trump’s first term. BOEM approved the construction and operations plan in February 2024 and construction began that year.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Trump Admin Halts New York Offshore Wind Project, Orders Review of All Existing Biden-Era Wind Permits

April 16, 2025 — The Trump administration is halting construction of a massive offshore wind project being built in federal waters off the coast of New York and ordering a sprawling review of existing offshore wind permits, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday to order foreign energy developer Equinor to cease all construction activities on its Empire Wind project, according to a memorandum obtained by the Free Beacon. Burgum said the Biden administration green-lit permits for the project and ultimately approved it without conducting proper analysis.

“Approval for the project was rushed through by the prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project,” Burgum wrote. He said the halt on Empire Wind will be in effect indefinitely until further review is completed to “address these serious deficiencies.”

Burgum additionally ordered Interior Department staff to continue a review of federal wind permitting practices related to both existing and pending permits and approvals.

Read the full article at The Washington Free Beacon  

Experts warn US could leave WTO

April 16, 2025 —  Considering the U.S.’s launch of a global trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s disdain for international collaboration, experts are warning that the U.S. may soon leave the World Trade Organization (WTO), a move that could render trade rules unenforceable among developing economies and throw global trade further into chaos.

“We should not preclude a prospect where the U.S. will leave the WTO in the coming 18 months,” said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, the director of the European Center for International Political Economy (ECIPE) and a former Swedish trade expert in WTO affairs. “On one hand, the U.S. outside of the system is a much better option than China being expelled and unhinged outside the system. On the other hand, the U.S. trade deficit is financing a lot of export-led growth around the world. Without that market access underwriting WTO rules, there would be no incentives for compliance among emerging markets.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump admin names new NOAA Fisheries head amid plans to slash agency

April 15, 2025 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has named a new head of NOAA Fisheries, the agency charged with managing the nation’s commercial fisheries, even as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans on slashing the regulator’s budget and moving its functions to the U.S. Department of Interior.

On 14 April, the government announced that former commercial fisherman and officeholder Eugenio Piñeiro Soler will serve as assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump plan would eliminate NOAA climate research, slash agency budget

April 14, 2025 — A new Trump proposal would eliminate nearly all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs focused on studying the world’s weather, climate and oceans and would slash much of the agency’s budget — part of what the White House document describes as an effort to sever all “climate-related programs” from the agency.

Documents detailing the administration’s proposal, reviewed by The Washington Post, would cut NOAA’s $6.1 billion budget by 27 percent overall, while effectively eliminating a research branch of the agency whose mission is to improve weather and climate forecasts, natural disaster warnings, and understanding of the natural world.

The programs are “misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people,” the document says.

With the plan, the Trump administration has significantly accelerated its attacks on climate science, while opening itself to further criticism that it is handicapping the country’s ability to protect itself from natural disasters by cutting crucial and popular weather forecasting programs.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

Trump’s tariffs and subsequent trade war trigger further unease among aquaculture investors

April 14, 2025 — Elevated economic and political upheaval and the looming threat of tariffs have started hindering investments in the blue food economy, with backers of start-ups finding later-stage funders are edging away from the aquaculture innovation space.

Speaking at the Blue Food Innovation Summit, held in London from 8 to 9 April 2025, Aqua-Spark Chief Portfolio Officer Maria Velkova said there’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the aquaculture industry at present – particularly among investors. Such a backdrop tends to make things more difficult, with people becoming increasingly risk-averse and more prone to freezing up.

 Read the full article at SeafoodSource