Saving Seafood

Trump rescinds executive order coordinating Chesapeake Bay restoration over “rain taxes”

September 21, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has rescinded a 17-year-old executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, claiming that it’s been used to improperly justify stormwater management fees – or rain taxes – implemented by municipalities.

The president went on to state that enough progress has been made on improving the water quality and environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed that the executive order issued by then-U.S. President Barrack Obama is no longer needed.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Climate change may halve omega‑3 fatty acids in fish and the organisms they eat

August 31, 2026 — You’ve probably heard eating fish and other seafood is good for your health. One of the main reasons is that seafood is an excellent source of two important omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA.

EPA and DHA are critical for the development and function of brains, eyes and healthy hearts. They also reduce chronic inflammation, which is linked to many chronic diseases. They can also reduce the risk of premature births and perhaps even some types of cancer.

While humans can produce EPA and DHA from ALA (an omega-3 fat found in plants) and it’s possible to get them from foods such as linseed and walnuts, seafood is the main source for most people.

However, our new study shows many fish and other seafood will become less rich in omega-3s over time, due to rising ocean temperatures as the climate changes. In fact, we found omega-3 could drop by 50% under very high warming scenarios.

This is very bad news for human health but also for the health of other animals in the food web.

Read the full article at The Conversation 

DELAWARE: Retired fishing vessel sunk as artificial reef off Delaware

August 24, 2026 — Delaware has sunk a retired 180-foot menhaden vessel on its flagship offshore artificial reef, the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced Aug. 18.

The Calcasieu Pass, a former offshore oilfield supply boat that went on to spend more than 30 years in the Atlantic menhaden reduction fleet out of Reedville, Va., was placed on Reef Site 13, better known as the Del-Jersey-Land Reef. DNREC said the vessel went down after environmental remediation and approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard for environmental cleanliness and safety.

Ocean Harvesters, which operated the vessel, said in a separate announcement that the sinking took place Wednesday, Aug. 12, at a site roughly 26 miles off Indian River Inlet.

The boat measures 180 feet with a 40-foot beam. Built in 1982, it supported offshore oilfield work until 1989, when it was converted to an Atlantic menhaden fishing and processing vessel. Its name comes from Calcasieu Pass, a bend in the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles, La., an area DNREC noted for liquefied natural gas production.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

EPA promotes flexibility for Tier IV implementation

July 31, 2026 — The flex at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) these days is flexibility, and the agency wants fishermen to know that they have options when it comes to meeting Tier IV requirements. When fishermen decide to build a new boat and need more power than the 803 horsepower limit on EPA Tier III engines, they can apply for a waiver that will allow them to install a higher horsepower Tier III engine.

“It’s on a case-by-case basis,” says EPA Region 1 administrator Mark Sanborn. “We work with the boat builder to see if the engine meets the waiver requirements.”

According to Sanborn, the rule change allowing Tier IV requirement waiver went into effect in 2020. “In June, the folks at Wesmac [Wesmac Custom Boats in Surry, Maine] contacted us about installing an exempt 1000-hp engine in a boat that they were building for a fisherman in Chatham, Massachusetts,” Sanborn explains that the EPA Implementation, Analysis and Compliance Division of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality looked at things like the vessel’s operating profile, the depth of its home harbor, the size of its holding tanks and the areas where the owner would be fishing, and made the determination that he was eligible for a waiver.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

EPA Grants First-Ever Tier 4 Engine Exemption to Support New England Lobster Industry

July 24, 2026 — The US Environmental Protection Agency has exempted a specific new lobster boat model in Chatham, Massachusetts, from Tier 4 marine engine requirements, marking the first time the agency has invoked this exemption authority since the waiver process was established in 2024.

The exemption allows the Chatham vessel builder to use a Tier 3 engine after EPA determined that currently available Tier 4 engines cannot fit within the applicant’s vessel design while maintaining essential operational requirements. The exempt engine must meet Tier 3 emission standards and be labeled to prevent use on other vessels.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

EPA loosens restrictions on lobster boat diesel engines

July 22, 2026 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a new exemption that the Trump administration says will loosen environmental regulations on diesel engines for U.S. commercial lobstermen.

The EPA is exempting a new lobster boat model from Tier 4 engine requirements, which were adopted in 2008. It’s something the federal agency says will, for the first time, support American boat builders, lobstermen, and the New England maritime communities.

“The commercial fishing industry is an important part of New England’s heritage and economy, and we’re committed to practical implementation of environmental regulations. This decision demonstrates that in the Trump administration, environmental protection and economic opportunity can go hand in hand,” EPA Regional Administrator Mark Sanborn told the Herald over the phone.

“The exemption to the Tier 4 requirement allows both designers and law enforcement to utilize Tier 3 engines, which better meet their needs. The exhaust engine must meet Tier 3 emission standards and be labeled so it cannot be used on other vessels,” he said.

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

MASSACHUSETTS: As harbor cleanup winds down, education around toxic seafood continues

May 22, 2026 — Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed the large-scale cleanup of New Bedford Harbor, removing dangerous chemicals called PCBs from the surface water and siloing the remaining toxic sediment in underground cells.

In an annual update on the cleanup Wednesday night, EPA remedial project manager Chris Kelly announced that today, PCB levels in both the Inner and Outer Harbor remain low, posing no threat to swimmers, kayakers, or beachgoers.

Just don’t eat the fish.

Despite ongoing education around the health risks of eating fish and shellfish caught in New Bedford Harbor, a recent survey conducted by the Community Economic Development Center found that over three-quarters of surveyed residents reported eating contaminated seafood caught in the harbor last year. More than half reported eating contaminated seafood at least once a month.

The EPA survey results didn’t come as a surprise since the majority of the 149 respondents said this was their first time taking the survey, said Aaron Sheehan, EPA community involvement coordinator.

“It’s all to say that there’s more education for us to do,” Sheehan said.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Trump budget proposal targets NOAA

April 7, 2026 — The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget request is drawing sharp concern from environmental groups and ocean advocates, with proposed cuts to key federal agencies that support fisheries science, management, and coastal communities.

According to Inside Climate News, the spending plan would continue efforts to scale back funding for climate and environmental programs, including significant reductions to NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The proposal outlines a broader push to “constrain non-defense spending,” while increasing defense funding to $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent jump.

At the EPA, funding would be cut roughly in half under the proposal, with grants reduced by $1 billion. Inside Climate News also reported that the agency has already seen significant staffing losses, with more than 4,000 employees leaving during the first year of Trump’s second term. That represents a 24 reduction in workforce, bringing staffing levels to their lowest point since the 1980s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

DOJ sides again with conservationists to block Pebble Mine

March 13, 2026 — A lengthy Department of Justice (DOJ) brief in defense of a veto on the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska has opponents of the mine elated and Northern Dynasty Minerals in Vancouver, Canada, promising further legal action.

The Feb. 17 filing in U.S. District Court in Anchorage stands firmly behind the Trump administration’s 2020 decision to deny mining permits for the copper, gold and molybdenum prospect in Southwest Alaska bordering on the world’s largest run of wild sockeye salmon.

The EPA’s decision exercised its authority under the Clean Water Act to prohibit and restrict discharges related to mining the Pebble deposit, based on scientific and legal analysis emphasizing protection of salmon habitat and ecological resources.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists have forecast a return of 45.32 million red salmon to Bristol Bay in 2026, 21% above the long-term average of 37.4 million fish.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Trump administration defends Biden-era rejection of Pebble mine by EPA

March 9, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a Biden-era veto of the Pebble copper and gold project, saying the Environmental Protection Agency properly exercised its authority to prevent adverse impacts to a “globally significant” fishery in Bristol Bay.

The Feb. 17 court filing by the Department of Justice continues the Trump administration’s opposition to the proposed mine, a departure from the president’s aggressive pro-development agenda that includes support of U.S. mineral production in Alaska.

The Pebble project sits on state land about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, near the headwaters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

Mine developer Pebble Limited Partnership brought the case in 2024, suing EPA over its decision to block the mine under a little-used provision in the Clean Water Act. The agency had said the mine would cause “unacceptable, adverse” harm to the valuable Bristol Bay salmon fishery.

The Justice Department said in its filing that the Pebble mineral deposit exists under streams, wetlands and other waters that are critical for supporting salmon in the watershed, “a largely undisturbed, globally significant economic, ecological, and cultural resource.”

“(Pebble Limited Partnership’s) mine plan calls for the disposal of large quantities of fill into waters of the United States that would destroy or comparably damage large areas of salmon habitat that are fishery areas,” the filing said.

Ron Thiessen, president of Pebble’s parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals, said in a statement that the filing is “surprisingly short-sighted” and legally flawed.

Read the full article at Alaska Journal of Commerce