Saving Seafood

Awash in uncertainty, SouthCoast Wind contract delayed for a third time

April 2, 2025 — No one knew exactly how President Donald Trump’s first-day order halting new offshore wind leases would affect the federal approvals already granted for the SouthCoast Wind project planned south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

More than two months later, uncertainty still hangs over the 147-turbine wind farm. Which is why SouthCoast Wind and utility companies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts announced Monday a three-month extension to finish contract negotiations — the same day final contracts were set to be executed.

“The multi-state negotiations have been complex and ambitious; now they must also tackle uncertainty presented by federal policy,” Rebecca Ullman, a SouthCoast Wind spokesperson, said in an emailed statement on Monday. SouthCoast Wind is grateful for the continued collaboration with our Massachusetts and Rhode Island partners.”

The new June 30 deadline marks the third delay since Rhode Island and Massachusetts jointly unveiled plans in September to buy power from SouthCoast Wind following a competitive, tri-state solicitation that included Connecticut. The bulk of the power from SouthCoast’s 1,287 megawatts of “nameplate capacity” — 1,087 megawatts — would go to Massachusetts under tentative contracts with its utility companies. Rhode Island Energy was set to buy the remaining 200 megawatts of wind-powered electricity to deliver to the Ocean State’s electric grid.

Read the full article at the Rhode Island Current

MASSACHSUETTS: Trump’s shadow looms as offshore wind price negotiation deadline missed

April 2, 2025 — Negotiators working on contracts for two new offshore wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts say they need more time to strike a deal, yet another sign that President Trump’s anti-wind philosophy is wreaking havoc with the state’s energy plans.

The price negotiations between the state’s utilities and the offshore wind developers, Avangrid and Ocean Winds, were scheduled to wrap up on Monday, but they couldn’t reach a deal in the allotted time and set a new deadline of June 30. Under the updated timeline, the contracts won’t become public until August 25.

The latest delay was the second time since Trump was elected that the two sides have failed to meet a deadline and contract negotiations had to be extended.

Officials for all the parties declined to comment on the cause of the holdups, but a spokeswoman for the Healey administration indicated Trump’s opposition to offshore wind is making it difficult to reach a deal.

Read the full article at the CommonWealth Beacon

As Trump administration upends international trade, seafood companies point out areas for improvement

March 28, 2025 — With U.S. President Donald Trump set on reordering international trade to align with his “America First” priorities, seafood companies have been quick to list areas where they would like to see improvements.

Trump has moved swiftly in the first months of his second term to change the nation’s trade policies, threatening and implementing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fishermen want to go green but say DOGE cuts prevent that

March 19, 2025 — Commercial fishermen and seafood processors and distributors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood’s carbon footprint. Salmon harvesters in Washington state, scallop distributors in Maine and halibut fishermen in Alaska are among those who told The Associated Press their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.

“The uncertainty. This is not a business-friendly environment,” said Togue Brawn, a Maine seafood distributor who said she is out tens of thousands of dollars. “If they want to make America great again, then honor your word and tell people what’s going on.”

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Trump 1.0 promoted aquaculture spending. What now?

March 19, 2025 — President Donald Trump in his first term called marine aquaculture a potential boon to America’s seafood economy, saying a thriving industry could help the United States regain prominence in a sector dominated by other countries.

But leaders within the nascent industry — which typically involves farming of fish or shellfish in controlled environments — say it is not clear at the beginning of Trump’s second term if the nation’s primary fisheries agency will be in a position to help boost businesses.

They point to staffing cuts at NOAA Fisheries, along with policies that have made scientists and policy experts inaccessible. In recent weeks, NOAA has canceled appearances at major industry events, suspended a key government grant to advance aquaculture research in Maine and shelved an advisory panel that included industry representatives.

Read the full article at E&E News

MASSACHUSETTS: Bourne woman worked to keep fishing sustainable off Cape Cod. Cuts to NOAA hit her job.

March 19, 2025 — Sarah Cierpich isn’t holding her breath after learning her termination from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been ‘rescinded.’

The Bourne resident received a letter on March 17 from the U.S. Department of Commerce saying her Feb. 27 termination has been stayed by a federal judge. Her termination was part of the ongoing effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy and budget.

According to the letter, she was reinstated to her position “retroactive to the effective date of your termination, and placed in a paid, non-duty status until such time as this litigation is resolved or the Department of Commerce determines to take other administrative action with respect to your employment.”

Cierpich was a fisheries management specialist working out of Woods Hole. She managed NOAA’s observer deployment systems and worked on algorithms for a program that put trained observers on commercial fishing vessels. Observers collect data that is used in fishery stock assessments and fisheries management measures.

“It’s data on marine mammals, turtles, birds, information on all creatures in the ocean and the sustainability of that resource,” she said in an interview March 13. “It ensures the long-term sustainability of commercial fishery resources.”

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

Trump’s EPA Withdraws Permit from Proposed NJ Offshore Wind Farm

March 18, 2025 — Federal officials were successful in withdrawing for what is believed to be the first time an environmental permit granted by the Biden administration for an offshore wind farm. New Jersey’s proposed Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project had been singled out by Donald Trump in his opposition to the industry and this latest development adds another hurdle to an already troubled project and potentially the industry.

Atlantic Shores which was proposed as a joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables received its federal permitting including approval of its Construction and Operations Plan by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October 2024. The plan calls for a two-phase project with a total capacity of 2.8 GW. The first phase, which would be in the southern part of the state near Atlantic City has consistently been reported to be in position to become New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.

Donald Trump singled out the project during the 2024 presidential campaign and in February 2025 said he hoped the New Jersey project would be “dead and gone.” Among the presidential executive orders were steps to review the industry and its impact on the environment.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Judges order US agencies – including NOAA – to rehire federal workers

March 17, 2025 — A pair of judges have ordered the U.S. government to rehire thousands of laid off workers, frustrating U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to quickly and drastically shrink the federal workforce.

The Trump administration has prioritized slashing the federal workforce, first offering employees financial incentives to join a deferred resignation plan and then implementing mass layoffs of probationary employees. More than 20,000 employees have been laid off to date.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Recent bout of USAID funding cuts include over USD 1 million to China fisheries watchdog

March 13, 2025 — Attempts from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have resulted in over USD 1 million (EUR 920,000) of funding being cut off to an Australian research organization that has heavily reported on China’s fishing ambitions.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institution (ASPI), a Canberra, Australia-based defense and strategic policy think tank, reportedly lost USD 1.2 million (USD 1.1 million) in USAID funding for research on China, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump administration escalates trade war; seafood largely unaffected for now

March 12, 2025 — The seafood industry has so far mostly avoided tariffs on imports amid the global trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from all countries with no exemption starting 12 March, and the European Union and Canada immediately retaliated with new tariffs of their own. Trump claimed the tariffs are being imposed as imports of steel and aluminum pose a “national security threat.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource