Saving Seafood

US offshore wind farm projects slow as Trump opposition adds to hurdles

April 7, 2025 —  Energy firms have slowed construction of offshore wind farms in the U.S. for various reasons in recent years, including, most recently, opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

Offshore wind was a key pillar of former President Joe Biden’s promise that fighting climate change will create jobs and invigorate the economy. In 2023 and 2024, however, several offshore wind companies took billions in write-offs, impairments and other cancellation fees after determining they could no longer complete projects profitably due to rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags.

After Trump suspended new offshore wind leasing on his first day back in the Oval Office in January, several energy analysts said they did not expect any new offshore wind projects other than those already under construction to move forward over the next few years.

There are four offshore wind farms in service and producing power in the U.S., and another four projects under construction that are expected to enter service from 2025-2027. There are also several projects in advanced development.

Recently, some analysts have warned that projects already under construction may not be safe from attacks by the Trump administration.

Read the full article at Reuters

Plenty of fish: Gov. DeSantis says Donald Trump ‘supportive’ of Atlantic snapper harvest

April 7, 2025 — Florida’s Governor says the federal government may come through in expanding the red snapper season in the Atlantic.

“I think the administration is supportive of it,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“I have mentioned it to the President, but I definitely mentioned it also to the Secretary of the Commerce. And I know they’re still filling out NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and they’re doing, still, all that. And there’s a lot of irons in the fire, but returning this to state management would be a home run.”

Recreational anglers got just one day in 2024, though commercial operations had from July until the end of the year.

Read the full article at Florida Politics 

China hits all US goods with 34 percent tariff, escalating Trump trade war

April 4, 2025 — China’s Ministry of Finance has announced 34 percent tariffs on all U.S. goods in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff order.

Trump announced sweeping tariffs 2 April targeting nearly every country in the world with a baseline 10 percent tariff. As part of the trade action, China was hit with an additional 34 percent tariff, adding to two existing tariff actions to reach a 54 percent tariff on Chinese goods.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US grocers, restaurants sound alarm on Trump tariffs, inflation

April 3, 2025 — U.S. retail and restaurant operators said they are concerned about the impact U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from several countries will have on food prices, consumers, and businesses.

The U.S restaurant industry, which is already struggling financially with multiple bankruptcies, restaurant closures, and higher food prices, will now have to navigate the fallout of tariffs in order to keep their doors open, National Restaurant Association (NRA) President and CEO Michelle Korsmo said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump’s latest tariff order hits billions in US seafood imports from top source countries

April 3, 2025 — On 2 April, U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on earlier promises to enact “reciprocal” tariffs, announcing a set of sweeping tariffs that will hit nearly every country in the world – and could cost U.S. seafood importers billions of dollars.

Trump, who declared his tariff action “Liberation Day,” signed an order to enact 10 percent tariffs on all countries by 5 April and additional tariffs on a range of countries that will take effect 9 April. In its official fact sheet about the tariffs, the White House said the tariffs are intended to “rebuild the economy and restore national and economic security.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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