July 15, 2026 — The U.S. government has redefined the meaning of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), no longer considering damage to a species’ habitat as harming its chance of survival.
The change could have a massive impact on U.S. commercial fishers, who often are tasked with avoiding habitats listed under the ESA to harvest fish and shellfish.
July 13, 2026 – – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is touting its designation of National Scallops Day, the opening of the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing, and permit stacking as a means of boosting the fishery.
The administration recently sent a deregulatory wish list to regional fishery management councils, which included a range of different recommendations like modernizing fleet capacity in the area managed by the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and shifting the management of red snapper away from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
July 10, 2026 — President Donald Trump’s proposal to reopen the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing is generating optimism throughout New England’s scallop industry, though fishermen and scientists say reopening one of the East Coast’s most productive fishing grounds will likely take time and require approval through the federal management process. The Northern Edge has been closed to scalloping since 1994 to protect Atlantic cod habitat.
The Trump administration announced it plans to reopen the area on a rotational basis and allow “stacking” of scallop permits, which would enable vessels to harvest multiple permits on a single trip. However, Maine Public reported that the New England Fishery Management Council would first need to approve the change before the fishery could reopen.
“From an industry perspective, access to the Northern Edge would be a blessing,” Eric Hansen, owner of two New Bedford scallop vessels and a council member, told Maine Public. “The loss of resource and revenue for the scallop industry for the last 30 years has been huge.”
July 10, 2026 — The catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the splitting of the federal Marine Minerals Administration into two separate agencies – one focused on offshore leasing and production, and another on safety.
Now Democratic leaders in Congress are sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s move to reunite the agencies’ functions under one roof.
The April 2010 well blowout and fire killed 11 platform workers, discharged an estimated 4.9 billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and was only declared sealed five months later in September 2010.
Economic and environmental damages from the disaster led a year later to the creation of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to handle offshore energy management, alongside the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
In a July 8 letter to the Government Accountability Office, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., of the House Natural Resources Committee called for investigating the Department of the Interior’s proposal to recreate a unified Marine Minerals Administration.
July 10, 2026 — This afternoon, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro posted a video on X noting that “.@POTUS is protecting our scallop industry by opening up the Northern Edge of Georges Bank off the coast of New England.”
In the video, Mr. Navarro says:
President Trump is making American fishing great again. The latest example is scallops. America has the largest wild scallop fishery in the world. Atlantic scallops are a premium American protein, yet imports now supply roughly 85% of what Americans consume by weight. While the scallop trade deficit approaches 59 million pounds, $390 million. Only Washington could call that conservation. The insanity is clearest on Georges Bank. Canada lawfully harvests scallops on its side of the line, while American boats remain locked out of the adjacent U.S. northern edge by regulators.
In 2024, Canada landed more than 7 million pounds of scallops from Georges Bank, roughly the same amount America imported from Canada. That’s not a supply problem. That is a policy failure. President Trump and NOAA are moving to fix it by restoring lawful science-based access to the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. And they’re tackling another bad piece of scallop math: the one permit, one boat rule. Today, scallop boats can sit in ports for about 11 months a year. Permit stacking would let the same lawful harvest be taken with fewer idle boats, lower costs, and a stronger American fleet. No higher catch limit, no overfishing, just common sense.
More American scallops, more American jobs, less dependence on foreign seafood. How do you like them scallops?
July 9, 2026 — The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has sued the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to find out more about the process behind the government’s decision to roll back a vessel speed limit designed to protect North Atlantic right whales.
“The public has a right to know who’s behind a government process that could condemn these whales to extinction,” CBD Oceans Legal Director Kristen Monsell said in a release. “Right whales are facing threats from all directions, and the speed rule is one of their few protections. Federal officials should be making decisions based on science and forward thinking, not industry cronyism and short-term profits at the expense of the ocean’s future.”
July 9, 2026 — Top Democrats on Wednesday called on Congress’ watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s decision to merge two existing bureaus within the Interior Department to oversee offshore oil and gas, wind and mining.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether a consolidation could undermine beefed up oversight created after the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil disaster in 2010.
The letter — also signed by California Democrats Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Luz Rivas — zeroes in on the administration’s decision in April to consolidate the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to create a new Marine Minerals Administration.
July 8, 2026 — South Coast scallopers are rejoicing at President Trump’s pledge, on Thursday, to reopen a prime scallop fishing area off Massachusetts.
But the process could take more than 18 months, and Cape Cod scallopers may not benefit as much as those in New Bedford.
“From an industry perspective, access to the Northern Edge would be a blessing,” said Eric Hansen, owner of two New Bedford scallop vessels. “The loss of resource and revenue for the scallop industry for the last 30 years has been huge.”
The Northern Edge, a section of Georges Bank, has been closed to scalloping since 1994.
Aubrey Church, policy director at the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, said some of the smaller commercial vessels on Cape Cod Cape are unlikely to be able to make the 15-hour trip to the Northern Edge.
Many of Cape Cod’s commercial fishing vessels are dayboats, meaning they go out and return on the same day.
Church said the alliance wants to hear more from its members before taking a position on access to the Northern Edge.
“Understanding how different sectors of the fleet may be affected will be an important part of our discussions with members,” she said.
July 8, 2026 — A new federal push could have a big impact on fishermen in Coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association announced a new “America First” seafood strategy aimed at boosting the U.S. seafood industry July 2. The plan focuses on supporting commercial fishermen, cutting regulations and expanding access to domestic seafood.
For the South Atlantic region, which includes Georgia and South Carolina, NOAA officials said its priorities are to revise the Snapper Grouper permit policies and support state agency led exempted permits for red snapper.
July 7, 2026 — A prominent scallop fishing ground could soon reopen after more than three decades.
Pres. Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he plans to reopen the Northern Edge of Georges Bank, an area that has been closed to commercial fishing since 1994. In the announcement, Trump also gave a shoutout to New Bedford, highlighting the city as one that could benefit from the move.
For many fishermen, the news is generating excitement about returning to waters that previous generations once worked.