Saving Seafood

NC environmentalists alarmed after Trump order bans offshore drilling in nearby states

September 10, 2020 — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday in Florida imposing a 10-year moratorium on offshore drilling in waters from Florida to South Carolina, leaving North Carolina open to potential activity.

Under the order, leases of areas along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina for the purposes of offshore exploration or development are prohibited between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2032. What is not clear is why the order omits North Carolina and Virginia, where residents have been vocally opposed to offshore drilling, often citing the potential impact to fisheries and coastal tourism.

Sierra Weaver, a senior attorney in the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Chapel Hill office, said, “There has been no explanation for why to stop at the South Carolina line, and based on what we know, there is no basis for that decision at all. We all know there is every bit as much worth protecting here in North Carolina as below.”

Read the full story at The Charlotte Observer

USDA Includes Florida’s Spiny Lobster Under Seafood Trade Relief Program

September 10, 2020 — On Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will offer federal relief to the seafood industry and fishermen hurt by tariffs from other nations.

Perdue said that that the Seafood Trade Relief Program will used around $530 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), to offer this relief.

“Many nations have not played by the rules for a long time, and President Trump is the first president to stand up to them and send a clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices,” said Perdue. “The Seafood Trade Relief Program ensures fishermen and other U.S. producers will not stand alone in facing unjustified retaliatory tariffs while President Trump continues working to solidify better and stronger trade deals around the globe.”

Read the full story at Florida Daily

National Fisheries Institute Statement on Seafood Trade Relief Program

September 10, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute :

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement that it will provide $530 million to support the men and women who harvest seafood, whose livelihoods have been impacted by retaliatory tariffs, illustrates the Trump Administration’s ongoing focus on this important sector. Seafood starts in the oceans and making sure those Americans who work the water are supported is vital.

It remains essential that the Administration and Congress understand the complexities of seafood. To get product from water to table all parts need to be considered. Without help for the processors and distributors in the middle of the supply chain, fishermen’s catch will simply sit on the dock of the bay.

The Seafood Trade Relief Program is a welcome effort that will help an important part of America’s commercial seafood industry, while reminding us all of the importance of a fully functioning value chain.

Trump signs order extending and expanding oil drilling moratorium off Florida’s shores

September 9, 2020 — President Donald Trump brushed back critics of his record on the environment in the crucial swing state of Florida Tuesday during a visit to Palm Beach County by signing a presidential order that extends and expands a ban on drilling off the state’s coastline.

The order — which Trump signed atop a stage not far from the mouth of the Loxahatchee River — extends by 10 years the life of a moratorium that previously prohibited drilling in federal waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast until July 1, 2022. He said it also expanded the ban on energy exploration, development and production to include the Atlantic coast off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: Trump administration’s deal to eliminate EU lobster tariffs a good haul for Maine

September 8, 2020 — It’s a good bet that Maine lobstermen have a deeper and more immediate sense of how policies impact their day-to-day work than politicians or pundits. But what are we to make of that impact when the lobstermen themselves can’t seem to agree on it?

On Aug. 25, Swan’s Island lobsterman Jason Joyce spoke at the Republican National Convention and explained why he is voting for President Donald Trump this November, saying that Trump has “followed through on his promises” to the Maine lobster industry.

Joyce highlighted the recent announcement that the Trump administration has negotiated an agreement with the European Union to drop its 8 percent tariff on live U.S. lobster imports and upwards of 20 percent tariff on frozen products for the next 5 years, with the potential of zeroing the tariffs out permanently. Joyce called it “great news for Maine’s lobstermen and women,” and it is.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bangor Daily News

USITC investigating effects of CETA on US lobster industry

September 2, 2020 — The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has announced it is planning to investigate the impacts of a Canada-E.U. trade agreement on the U.S. lobster industry.

The investigation was kicked off by a letter from the United States Trade Representative requesting the USITC provide a complete overview of the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries, including the trends in exports between both countries and the U.K. and E.U. That letter was itself kicked off by an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump, intended to boost the U.S. lobster industry.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Trump Eyes Aquaculture Boom, but Environmentalists Dig In

August 31, 2020 — President Donald Trump wants to dramatically expand aquaculture production in the United States, but a coalition of environmentalists believes his plan would be bad for the oceans, unnecessary for food security and difficult to implement.

Trump’s bid to grow fish farming is designed to address the so-called “seafood deficit,” which refers to the fact that nine-tenths of the seafood Americans eat comes from overseas. The seafood trade gap with other countries approached $17 billion in 2017, according to one federal government report.

The president issued an executive order in May that promised broad changes in how the U.S. regulates fish farming. It included provisions to expedite the development of offshore aquaculture in deep federal waters. That sector of the industry has yet to emerge in the U.S., where most aquaculture takes place near shore where farmers grow salmon, oysters and other popular seafood items.

The Trump administration and the aquaculture industry said the order, which is being implemented now, represents common sense steps to ease the burden of rules on fish farmers. But environmental groups said it threatens to increase pollution and over-development in the ocean at a time when many consumers aren’t buying seafood.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Trump turns an election-year eye on Canadian lobster

August 31, 2020 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a trade investigation to assess the impact of Canada’s worldwide lobster exports on the U.S. lobster industry.

It’s the latest election year overture aimed at Maine, where lobster, valued at $468 million US in 2019, is the state’s largest export. It is also where Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Trump are trailing in the polls.

On Aug. 24, the United States International Trade Commission announced it will investigate the possible negative effects of the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) on American lobster exports.

The investigation was requested by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The investigation will also examine tariff treatment of Canadian lobster in the United Kingdom, China and other countries.

“We’re not sure what it means,” said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.

Read the full story at CBC News

ANDY SABIN: The conservative case against developing Alaska’s Pebble Mine

August 28, 2020 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week warned that the proposed Pebble project — a vast gold and copper mine near the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay — was impossible to build without causing significant damage to the region’s pristine waters and salmon fishery.

The Corps stopped short of halting the mine but found the developer, the Pebble Limited Partnership, was unlikely to meet the level of mitigation that would be required under the Clean Water Act to offset the impact on wetlands.

The Trump administration has now done what the previous administration would not — it gave the proposed Pebble project full consideration under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While the previous administration pre-judged the project with an unprecedented preemptive veto, the Trump U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and all cooperating agencies have given it a full review.

It is time for President Donald Trump to be the decider. Given an already strong conservation record, President Trump should instruct his agencies to declare the Pebble project unworkable. 

I am a miner and a fisherman. I am also a dedicated conservationist who believes that we have a duty as conservatives to leave this great land better than we found it. I am also a staunch supporter of the president and his policies.

Read the full story at The Hill