Saving Seafood

Trump rescinds Obama-era ocean policy

June 22, 2018 — In another strike at his predecessor’s legacy, and one that could have long-term consequences for New England, President Trump this week rescinded an executive order by President Obama that established the first national ocean policy, which made protecting coastal waters and the Great Lakes a priority.

Trump said his executive order would cut bureaucracy and benefit business, while environmental advocates denounced his decision, saying it strongly favors commercial interests over conservation.

Trump’s order could alter New England’s plans to protect the Gulf of Maine and other waters in the region. It replaces the National Ocean Council, which brought together a host of federal departments and committees that work on ocean issues, with a new “streamlined” committee that will focus on science and technology and resource management.

It will also eliminate nine regional planning bodies around the country, which the White House called “unnecessary.”

“Claims that the ocean is being abandoned are not supported by the facts,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney at the Fisheries Survival Fund in Washington, D.C., which represents the scallops industry.

He supported the elimination of the regional planning bodies, which he argued had failed in its mission to bring together competing interests, such as offshore wind-farm developers and fishermen, who have been at odds over plans to build turbines off Martha’s Vineyard.

Eliminating the groups “will not lead to less coordination amongst the federal government because they were not doing their stated job,” he said.

Officials at the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore drilling and wind companies, praised Trump’s order, saying Obama’s policies were “uber-bureaucratic” and “caused consternation, uncertainty, and concern for the offshore energy industry.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

ENVIRONMENTALISTS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN TAMPA OVER OFFSHORE DRILLING

June 22, 2018 — Earthjustice, on behalf of three conservation groups, sued the Trump administration Thursday (June 21) alleging that it failed to complete a legally required consultation about offshore drilling’s harms to threatened and endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are required under the Endangered Species Act to complete a consultation with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on its oversight of oil and gas operations that could impact threatened and endangered species. The last time the agencies completed a consultation, called a biological opinion, was in 2007, three years before the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster which led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, according to Earthjustice.

With the lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Tampa, the Gulf Restoration Network, Sierra Club, and Center for Biological Diversity are challenging the agencies for unreasonably delaying completion of a new consultation and seeking a court order to compel them to complete it within three months. A new biological opinion likely would result in additional safeguards to prevent further harm to sea turtles, whales, and other threatened and endangered species from oil and gas operations in the Gulf.

Read the full story at the Tampa Bay Reporter

Trump’s new ocean policy focused more on economy, less on environment

June 22, 2018 — The fate of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Action Plan, which took years to develop and was starting to be used by government, industry and researchers, is in limbo after actions taken by President Donald Trump this week.

On Tuesday, Trump scrapped a 2010 executive order by President Barack Obama that made environmental protection the focus of the nation’s ocean policy. It also created nine Regional Planning Bodies to write blueprints for protecting the health of the oceans up to the federal limit of 200 miles out, while promoting sustainable uses.

In its place, Trump issued a new executive order to make jobs and economic development the main focus of federal policy, ended the regional groups and established a federal Interagency Ocean Policy Committee.

The administration said the action was to eliminate bureaucracy and streamline federal coordination, in a fact sheet accompanying the order.

But it leaves those starting to implement the Mid-Atlantic plan uncertain about how to proceed.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

Trump just erased an Obama-era policy to protect the oceans

June 21, 2018 — President Trump on Wednesday ended an eight-year-old policy to protect oceans, which was created as hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from a broken well, covering more than 65,000 square miles, killing untold numbers of wildlife and devastating fisheries in several Gulf Coast states.

President Barack Obama mentioned the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest and costliest oil spill in the nation’s history, in the second sentence of an executive order that detailed the first national ocean policy and called on federal agencies to work closely with states and local governments to manage the waters off their coasts.

“The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and resulting environmental crisis is a stark reminder of how vulnerable our marine environments are, and how much communities and the nation rely on healthy and resilient ocean and coastal ecosystems,” Obama’s July 2010 order said.

In contrast, Trump’s order does not mention the explosion that killed nearly a dozen workers and the spill of 210 million gallons of oil. The second sentence gives a nod to domestic energy production, the jobs it could provide and the financial rewards that can be reaped.

“Ocean industries employ millions of Americans and support a strong national economy. Domestic energy production from Federal waters strengthens the nation’s security and reduces reliance on imported energy,” his order reads.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

President Donald J. Trump is Promoting America’s Ocean Economy

June 20, 2018 — The following was released by the White House:

STREAMLINING FEDERAL OCEAN POLICY: President Donald J. Trump is establishing a more streamlined process for Federal coordination on ocean policy.

  • President Donald J. Trump is signing an Executive Order establishing an interagency Ocean Policy Committee to streamline Federal coordination.
    • The Ocean Policy Committee will be co-chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Science and Technology Policy.
  • The Ocean Policy Committee will focus on growing the ocean economy, prioritizing scientific research, coordinating resources and data sharing, and engaging with stakeholders.
    • The Executive Order promotes expanded access by States, businesses, and the public to Federal data and information.
    • The Executive Order maximizes taxpayer dollars by coordinating priority research.
  • President Trump is rolling back excessive bureaucracy created by the previous Administration.
    • The Executive Order replaces a prior order issued in 2010 that had created the overly bureaucratic National Ocean Council and 9 Regional Planning Bodies.
    • The National Ocean Council included 27 departments and agencies, and over 20 committees, subcommittees, and working groups.
    • The new, streamlined Ocean Policy Committee will have a Subcommittee for Science and Technology and a Subcommittee for Resource Management.

EMPOWERING STATES: President Trump is empowering States by eliminating duplicative Federal bureaucracy.

  • President Trump’s Executive Order also eliminates the duplicative, Federally-driven Regional Planning Bodies established by the previous Administration.
    • The Regional Planning Bodies are unnecessary, as States have already voluntarily formed Regional Ocean Partnerships.
  • The Executive Order supports appropriate Federal engagement with Regional Ocean Partnerships, while clarifying the scope of Federal support for the Partnerships.

PROMOTING A STRONG OCEAN ECONOMY: President Trump is reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and regulatory uncertainty which serve as headwinds for America’s ocean industries.

  • The President’s Executive Order will remove unnecessary Federal bureaucracy, provide regulatory certainty, and increase public access to Federal data and information.
  • Ocean industries employ millions of workers and support a strong American economy.
    • In 2015, the ocean and Great Lakes economy contributed $320 billion to U.S. gross domestic product and supported 3.2 million jobs.
    • United States fisheries help support our nation and provide tremendous export opportunities.
    • The U.S. economy depends on maritime commerce to transport goods and materials.

Read the fact sheet here

 

Tariff tango: Chinese seafood markets at risk as trade rhetoric escalates

June 20, 2018 — Last Friday U.S. and Chinese officials announced a bundle of tariffs, each targeting the other nation’s exports in what could become an all-out trade war.

President Donald Trump made an announcement early in the day imposing a 35 percent tariff on all Chinese goods containing “industrially significant technologies,” an estimated $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, calling the move an effort to boost domestic production.

More than 800 products, about $34 billion worth, will be subject to tariffs starting July 6. About 280 other exports will need to undergo a public comment period and will take effect later.

Later in the day of June 15, officials with the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China responded with the announcement of a retaliatory 25 percent tariff on various U.S. exports, including many seafood products. That 25 percent would be charged on top of existing tariffs.

“We are deeply disappointed in these retaliatory tariffs. There is no connection between the products targeted by the U.S. and the tariffs Beijing plans to impose on exported American seafood,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Rep. Rob Bishop Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order on Ocean Policy

June 20, 2018 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), today issued the following statement in reaction to President Trump’s executive order promoting a healthy ocean economy and engagement with marine, science, and technology industries. The action reverses the previous administration’s overreach of the nation’s ocean policy.

“Today’s announcement of President Trump repealing and replacing the bureaucratic, overreaching policy created under the previous administration puts our country’s ocean policy back on the right track. Over the past 10 years, the Committee has held dozens of hearings on heavy-handed Obama-era policies and the negative impacts they have caused on both the nation’s oceans and agricultural industries. Earlier this month, the Committee heard from Americans whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean economy and the prior administration’s ocean policy was one of their main challenges. President Trump’s action will help the health of our oceans and ensure local communities impacted by ocean policy have a seat at the table.”

Visit the House Committee on Natural Resources’ website here

China tariffs threaten booming lobster business

June 20, 2018 — China’s proposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. lobsters would have a crushing impact on Gloucester lobster exporters such Mortillaro Lobster Inc. and Intershell, likely pricing their lobsters and all others from the U.S. completely out of the most vibrant lobster market in the world.

“I think this is going to kill us,” said Vince Mortillaro of the Commercial Street lobster sellers that bears his family’s name. “We’re already dealing with the treaty Canada has with the European Union that allows them to sell their lobsters cheaper there. Now with this on top of it, forget about it.”

On Friday, China announced additional 25 percent tariffs on approximately 545 American exported products with a collective value of $50 billion and the seafood industry — particularly U.S. lobster harvesters, processors and sellers — was hit hard.

Those tariffs were in retaliation to U.S. import tariffs on Chinese goods announced earlier by President Donald Trump.

China said it is imposing new tariffs — set to go into effect July 6 — on about 170 U.S. seafood products worth approximately $1 billion.

While the number of seafood products represents about 31 percent of the total U.S. products affected by the new tariffs, it accounts for only 2 percent of the $1 billion value of all U.S. products facing additional 25 percent tariffs from the Chinese.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

President Trump Rescinds Obama National Ocean Policy; Issues New Executive Order

June 19, 2018 (Saving Seafood) — President Trump has rescinded the 2010 National Ocean Policy, in an Executive Order on oceans and environment issued today.

The Order formally revokes Executive Order 13547, signed by President Obama. Among other initiatives, it established the National Ocean Policy and created Regional Planning Bodies (RPBs) to coordinate ocean planning and development off the nation’s coasts. The RPBs will be abolished as a result of the new Order.

In their place, the Order calls for the establishment of the Ocean Policy Committee, which will be primarily comprised of the heads of relevant federal agencies and will serve as the main venue for interagency cooperation on ocean planning issues. The Committee will also focus on improving the collection and dissemination of scientific data within and outside the government, as well as facilitate communication between the government and members of the private sector.

The text of the full Executive Order can be read here

The following statement on the Order was released by the National Ocean Policy Coalition:

In response to today’s Executive Order on ocean policy, National Ocean Policy Coalition Managing Director Jack Belcher has issued the following statement:

“Today’s action is a welcome development that embraces principles we all agree on, such as encouraging data and information sharing, interagency and inter-jurisdictional collaboration, and partnerships within and among the public and private sectors.  At the same time, it removes a significant cloud of uncertainty that has been hovering over a wide range of commercial and recreational interests that represent a broad cross-section of the American economy, threatening domestic jobs, economic activity, and recreational opportunities through new and unauthorized bureaucracies, mandates to federal agencies, and actions that could needlessly prohibit, limit, or delay access to public lands.”

“This announcement will help ensure a future in which the American people can continue to receive the diverse array of economic, recreational, and societal benefits that the oceans provide for generations to come.”

Established in 2010, the National Ocean Policy Coalition is an organization of diverse interests representing sectors and entities that support tens of millions of jobs, contribute trillions of dollars to the U.S. economy, and seek to ensure ocean policies that best benefit the National interest, including protection of the commercial and recreational value of the oceans, marine-related natural resources, and terrestrial lands of the United States.

 

China is the biggest market for Alaska seafood exports. The tariff war is raising concerns.

June 19, 2018 — Alaska seafood is among the industries caught in the growing trade battle between the United States and China, and it’s not clear yet exactly what the outcome will be.

After President Donald Trump last week announced tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, China responded by announcing tariffs of the “same scale and the same strength.” China said it would impose 25 percent tariffs on U.S. goods worth $50 billion.

On Monday, things escalated further when Trump responded by threatening China with tariffs on $200 billion of goods.

Alaska’s seafood industry officials and members of the state’s congressional delegation said they were concerned about the tariffs at a time when the state is trying to strengthen ties with China, its largest trading partner and the biggest market for Alaska seafood exports.

“While there are many unknowns as to the impacts of these newly announced tariffs, I urge President Trump to work towards a trade policy with China that protects these critical markets for our seafood industry,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in emailed statement.

Read the full story at the Alaska Daily News