Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: US lawmakers protest Trump’s move to end California’s say on coastal development

August 27, 2026 — More than 30 federal lawmakers from California are protesting a formal government review of the state’s management of its coastal development, arguing that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is simply removing local control in order to advance the president’s policy preferences.

“This extraordinary federal review which singles out California is based upon a thinly veiled and non-evidential argument. It is an attempt to curb our state’s federally approved authority to evaluate offshore energy, infrastructure, and commercial activities,” the lawmakers stated in a 21 August letter to NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs. “This unprecedented review threatens to disrupt 48 years of successful coordination between the state of California and the federal government to protect California’s coast.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Guam shut out as CNMI seabed mining sale advances in ‘race to the bottom,’ governor’s office says

August 24, 2026 — Guam’s exclusion from the formal comment process on a proposed seabed mining lease sale near the Northern Mariana Islands, paired with pointed new criticism from Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s administration, is adding fresh tension to a federal push that critics say is moving faster than anyone can properly weigh the risks.

The Marine Minerals Administration published a proposed leasing notice Monday covering five lease blocks along the edge of the Mariana Trench. Under the notice, only the CNMI governor holds a formal right to submit comments before a final leasing notice can be issued. Guam’s governor has no such standing, even though the waters sit next to the island.

CNMI Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds said she does not understand the restriction. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure why she would not be since these waters are adjacent to Guam as well,” King-Hinds said in an interview with The Guam Daily Post on Wednesday.

Leon Guerrero’s administration had already raised concerns after the notice came out this week. In a follow-up email Thursday responding to additional Post questions, the administration went further, faulting federal regulators for moving without adequate study.

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post