Saving Seafood

MAINE: Maine Sea Grant regains funding after industry, congressional pushback

March 6, 2025 — The Maine Sea Grant program, which saw its funding pulled by the U.S. federal government, has regained its funding after an outcry from the industry and the state’s congressional delegation.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump killed the funding for Maine Sea Grant – a partnership between the federal government and the U.S. state of Maine overseen by the University of Maine system – on 28 February. According to the university, in 2023, the program converted USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.4 million) in federal funding into USD 23.5 million (EUR 21.7 million) in economic benefits for the state.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US tariffs worry Chinese seafood exporters aiming to target American consumers

March 5, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump instituted an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on 4 March, following the 10 percent he announced in February, meaning certain goods from China are now subject to a 45 percent import tariff.

The tariffs are causing uncertainty for Chinese seafood firms attempting to find or expand their U.S. customer base, some of which are making the trip from China to the upcoming Seafood Expo North America, which is taking place in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., from 16 to 18 March.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump implements new tariffs on Canada, Mexico with both countries planning retaliation

March 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his original order to institute 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, launching tariffs on goods from both countries on 4 March after a one-month pause.

In addition to the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Trump also instituted an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on top of the 10 percent he announced in February, meaning certain goods from China are now subject to a 45 percent import tariff.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

SouthCoast Wind’s value declines due to Trump’s opposition

February 28, 2025 — President Trump’s executive order on offshore wind continues to have impacts, with a parent company of SouthCoast Wind this week announcing to investors a more than $260 million reduction in the value of its North American portfolio, which includes three U.S. offshore wind projects. The action reflects the company’s assumption that the Trump administration may cause years of delays in offshore development.

In simple terms, the value of an offshore wind farm hinges on two factors: what the expected revenue will be, and when that revenue is expected to start coming in. Delays to when an offshore wind project comes online and starts generating electricity mean delayed revenue, which makes the asset worth less at present. That’s why the company announced the reduction in value, also known as an “impairment” or “write down.”

The parent company, EDP Renewables, told investors it assumed a four-year delay under the new administration as a worst-case scenario. However, this does not mean the project is adopting a four-year delay, as another news outlet erroneously reported. SouthCoast Wind plans to move forward to the degree it can, including finalizing an agreement (known as a power purchase agreement or PPA) at the end of March with Massachusetts to purchase the project’s power.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Trump says 4 March start date for 25 percent tariffs on Canada, Mexico still on, plans an additional 10 percent tariff on China

February 27, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump clarified the start date of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be 4 March, after comments on 26 February suggested they could be delayed until April.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that the tariffs originally delayed on 4 February until 4 March will go forward as scheduled. Trump said the tariffs will go into place because “drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump order opening Arctic Alaska waters to oil leasindraws legal challenge

February 24, 2025 —  Environmental groups on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump’s administration to overturn an executive order seeking to open Arctic waters off Alaska, as well as waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to oil drilling.

Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order, which revoked protective actions taken by Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, violated the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the plaintiffs argue in their lawsuit.

The law “authorizes the President to withdraw unleased lands of the outer continental shelf from disposition. It does not authorize the President to re-open withdrawn areas to disposition,” said the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage and which the plaintiffs said is the first environmental lawsuit filed against the new Trump administration.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior declined to comment, citing a policy of avoiding comments on pending litigation.

Trump’s order seeking to open more areas to leasing, which was followed by an order by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum with the same purpose, comes at a time when previous ideas for remote offshore drilling in Alaska appear stalled or fizzled.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Following Trump’s executive order, New Hampshire House votes to roll back offshore wind‬

February 24, 2025 — Citing President Donald Trump’s executive order halting new federal offshore wind leases, the New Hampshire House voted Thursday to roll back offshore wind development in the state.

HB 682 would remove “offshore wind industry development” from the Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation. It would also repeal the Offshore Wind Industry Workforce Training Center Committee and the Offshore and Port Development Commission.

The legislation passed the House 206-163 largely along party lines.

Read the full article at USA Today

CALIFORNIA: California policymakers say they’re undeterred by Trump opposition to offshore wind

February 24, 2025 — Despite resistance from the Trump White House, California government officials and administrators at the state’s ports say they are still going full-speed ahead on offshore wind projects.

“Now more than ever, California needs to be the hand around that candle of hope and keep the momentum going” for the state to reach its ambitious wind energy goals, David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, said at a symposium Friday in Long Beach.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state policymakers expect offshore wind to generate as much as 5 gigawatts of power by 2030 and 25 gigawatts by 2045. For perspective, the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo produces 2.2 gigawatts of capacity, which accounts for about 9% of the state’s power mix each year.

Five companies collectively bid $751.1 million in December 2022 to win the leases to build wind farms off the coasts of Morro Bay in Central California and Humboldt Bay in Northern California. When completed, each project that covers tens of thousands of acres will be located at least 20 miles from the mainland, in federal waters.

But on his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued a review of leasing and permitting practices for all wind energy projects in the U.S. and called for a temporary withdrawal of all areas on the outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing.

“We acknowledge new uncertainties in federal policies and we have important work ahead of us to understand where that federal policy is actually headed and what the implications are for California,” said Jana Ganion, Newsom’s senior adviser for offshore wind.

Read the full article at The San Diego Union-Tribune

Offshore wind foes ask Trump’s Interior secretary to halt all projects

February 21, 2025 — Dozens of offshore wind opponents are lobbying the new Interior secretary to revoke authorizations for the energy projects and order an immediate stop to construction, including at Vineyard Wind, citing concerns over whales and other marine species.

President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 order on offshore wind has already had a chilling effect on the industry. It halted leasing and permitting, and ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to not only review all projects and permits, but also consider terminating leases and rescinding approvals.

This Feb. 11 request from the groups, submitted in a letter, is seeking to fast-track possible actions by the Interior Department before it completes its project-wide review.

The status of that review is unclear. The Interior Department did not provide a comment on the letter, or answer questions from The Light about the secretary’s review of permitted offshore wind projects, what it entails, and when it might be completed.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light