Saving Seafood

Trump administration signals controversial mine can move ahead, reversing Obama-era position

July 27, 2020 — A controversial gold and copper mine proposed in Alaska was given a major push forward Friday as the Trump administration issued a final report concluding the Pebble Mine project would not cause long-term harm to one of the world’s largest remaining salmon runs.

The new report, by the Army Corps of Engineers, is a sharp reversal to the Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusions of the project, which essentially blocked progress on the mine because of environmental concerns by citing the potential for permanent damage to the pristine Bristol Bay watershed.

The Pebble Mine project has been a lightning rod for controversy for some two decades and has been widely assailed by numerous interest groups in Alaska and the lower states, and also faced opposition from many Alaskans.

The new report by the Army Corps is a major triumph for the project developers, illustrating the Trump administration’s opposite approach to the project from the Obama administration and echoing other large environmental reversals it has ordered on other findings from the previous administration.

Perhaps the new report’s most striking finding is that the colossal mine and its development “would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers and result in long-term changes to the health of the commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay.”

Read the full story at CNN

HAWAII: DLNR opposes regional fishery council’s request to allow commercial fishing in Papahanaumokuakea

July 27, 2020 — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has sent a letter to President Donald Trump opposing a request by a regional fishery council to allow commercial fishing in the Papahanaumokuakea and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) sent a letter to Trump on May 8 in response to Trump’s executive order promoting American seafood competitiveness and economic growth.

In the letter signed by council chairman Archie Taotasi Soliai and Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds, the council asked the president to “please consider lifting the fishing restrictions in the Pacific marine national monuments and allowing America’s fishermen to fish again in the US EEZ (exclusive economic zone)….”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser

Gold vs. Salmon: An Alaska Mine Project Just Got a Boost

July 24, 2020 — From the air it looks like just another tract of Alaska’s endless, roadless tundra, pockmarked with lakes and ponds, with a scattering of some of the state’s craggy mountains.

But this swath of land, home to foraging bears and spawning salmon about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, has been a battleground for years.

The fight is over what lies just below the surface: one of the richest deposits of copper, gold and other valuable metals in the world. It sets two of the state’s most important industries, mining and fishing, against each other.

A mining company plans to dig a pit, more than a mile square and a third of a mile deep, over two decades to obtain the metals, estimated to be worth at least $300 billion.

Supporters say the project, known as the Pebble Mine, would be an economic boost for a remote region that has missed out on the North Slope oil boom and other resource-extraction development in the state over the past half century. It would employ nearly 1,000 people, and the Canada-based company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, would pay for infrastructure improvements in some Native Alaskan villages and provide cash dividends totaling at least $3 million to people in the area.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Mid-Atlantic Council Invites Public Input on Ways to Reduce Burdens on Domestic Fishing

July 22, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

On May 7, 2020, the President of the United States signed an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. The purpose of this Executive Order is “to strengthen the American economy; improve the competitiveness of American industry; ensure food security; provide environmentally safe and sustainable seafood; support American workers; ensure coordinated, predictable, and transparent Federal actions; and remove unnecessary regulatory burdens.”

Section 4 of the Executive Order requires each Regional Fishery Management Council to submit a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries, including a proposal for initiating each recommended action within 1 year. Recommendations must be consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.

We Want to Hear From You!

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council invites the public to provide input on ways to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase production within sustainable fisheries. Recommended actions may include changes to regulations, orders, guidance documents, or other similar actions.

Please visit our Executive Order Comment Form to submit any comments or suggestions you would like the Council to consider. Comments may also be sent via email to msabo@mafmc.org with the subject line “Executive Order Comments.” All comments must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. The Council will review responses at its August 2020 meeting.

Questions? Contact Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.

Bernhardt eager for offshore wind ‘that works’

July 21, 2020 — Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt flew into Boston on Tuesday where he defended putting Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale wind farm, on hold for more than a year and promised a key permitting decision on the project in December that will work for both wind developers and fishing interests.

Bernhardt, whose boss, President Trump, has shown little interest in offshore wind, said he is eager to launch the offshore wind industry. “I am very eager to do it, but I am eager to do it in a way that works,” he said. “Let me give you an example. In the West we do wind. You know where we don’t put a windmill? In the middle of a highway. You can drive all the roads in the west and you’re not going to drive into a windmill.”

His comment appeared to be a reference to concerns of fishing groups that wind turbines would block access to fishing grounds and hamper navigation.

“We don’t whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it and do things sustainably,” he said. “I need a development program that is done in a way that’s sustainable for everybody.”

Read the full story at Commonwealth Magazine

Fishing industry leaders flag offshore wind concerns to Trump interior secretary

July 21, 2020 — Today, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt met with representatives of the commercial fishing industry to discuss their concerns with offshore wind at a roundtable organized by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. The roundtable included representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina:

Members of New England’s commercial fishing industry who feel they’ve been cast aside in the rush toward offshore wind took their concerns straight to the top of the Trump administration Tuesday in a Seaport sit-down with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.

“The fishing industry is not anti-wind. But the fishing industry’s not been part of this process from the beginning,” said Lund’s Fisheries Chairman Jeff Reichle. “Let’s do it the right way.”

Industry representatives voiced a raft of concerns with offshore wind, including the safety of commercial and recreational boaters navigating the waters, issues towing fishing nets through the farms and the potential for disrupting marine life.

Bernhardt said he’s not looking to “whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it” but noted he’s “very eager” to pursue offshore wind “in a way that works.”

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

The Pros And Cons Of Expanding United States Offshore Aquaculture In 2020

July 20, 2020 — An executive order issued by President Donald Trump on May 7th moved to open up federal waters to commercial fish farming (aquaculture). The area has previously been off-limits. The executive order intends to promote U.S. seafood production and create a hassle-free regulatory process for offshore aquaculture projects. While the aquaculture industry is celebrating, many conservationists and commercial fishers are not happy with the move.

Coastal waters in the U.S. are managed in zones under different authorities. The Submerged Lands Act of 1953 secured state control over waters from the coastline to three miles out to sea. Beyond that mark, waters are federally managed to 200 miles offshore. This federal zone is called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). While nearshore aquaculture in the U.S. is regulated by states, there is currently no explicit authority in charge of permitting and regulating aquaculture in federal waters, which provides a significant stumbling block for anyone interested in starting up an offshore fish farm. The executive order designates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the government agency lead on all aquaculture projects in the EEZ and also requires that all permitting decisions on new aquaculture projects be made within two years, significantly speeding up the process. “An executive order is needed to establish priority amongst the many agencies that have authority in the offshore space,” says Margaret Henderson, campaign manager for the aquaculture lobby group Stronger America Through Seafood.

Despite having the largest EEZ in the world, the U.S. currently has no commercial fish farms in any of it. NOAA fishery statistics indicate that approximately 90% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, however this estimate is debated by some that argue that it is far less given the fact that much of the fish caught in the U.S. is exported for processing, only to be sent back to be consumed. Regardless of the percentage, proponents argue that expanding U.S. offshore aquaculture will lower imports and stimulate domestic production.

Read the full story at Forbes

National Fisheries Institute Statement on the FDA’s Smarter Food Safety Blueprint

July 14, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Yesterday’s announcement of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint demonstrates how the agency plans to rapidly evolve its regulatory approach in an age of unprecedented technological advancement.

Forecasting unique demands on the future value chain will help FDA identify and whenever possible neutralize challenges. In just the past few months, the seafood market has changed and the seafood community and FDA have worked to keep our food supply safe with a rigorous yet flexible approach.

We are pleased to see the Trump Administration embracing a food safety framework for the future that is both smart and safe.

Delegation Calls for Trump to Restore Restrictions to Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument

July 8, 2020 — Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have urged President Trump to reverse his recent action to remove fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Trump’s June 5 decision opened up 5,000 square miles in the Atlantic ocean for commercial fishing. The order to designate that area of the Atlantic Ocean as a national monument was signed by former President Barack Obama during his final months in office, as SeafoodNews reported.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Trump fast-tracks environmental rollbacks to deliver on campaign promises

July 2, 2020 — As the nation grapples with a pandemic and continued protests against systemic racism, calling for police reform, President Donald Trump is rolling back environmental regulations in an effort to deliver on some of his major campaign promises as November nears.

On June 4, Trump issued an executive order to expedite infrastructure investments and “other actions” that will “strengthen the economy and return Americans to work.” The order calls for expediting government decision making and halting environmental review processes.

In the same spirit of cutting red tape, Trump issued a proclamation June 5 to reopen the Northeast Canyons and the Seamounts Marine Region, off the coast of New England, to commercial fishing. In 2016, the Obama administration established the only marine sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean, protecting 5,000 miles of fragile deep sea environments 130 miles off the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

At a roundtable in Bangor, Maine, Trump touted how the move would be good for Maine’s economy.

“As we work to fully reopen and revitalize our nation’s economy I am doing everything in my power to support American workers, including those in Maine’s amazing seafood industry,” Trump said.

Read the full story at PBS