Saving Seafood

Court rejects fishermen’s gag grouper challenge

September 10, 2026 — A federal appeals court ruled that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has powers it cannot constitutionally exercise under its current structure, but the decision will not overturn a rule that sharply reduced gag grouper catch limits.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued its unanimous decision Sept. 3 in a case brought by commercial fishermen Dominick and James Russo and their family business, FFC Seafood. The Russos challenged a federal rule that reduced annual gag grouper catch limits by approximately 86 percent.

The brothers have been in commercial fishing in the Gulf for about 30 years and argued that the reduction affected one of their most profitable fisheries.

Rather than challenging the biological basis for the catch limits, the Russos’ case centered on the structure and authority of the Gulf Council. They argued that council members exercise significant federal authority without being appointed in accordance with the Constitution’s Appointment Clause and are improperly insulated from removal.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Gulf shrimp advocate urges federal caution in aquaculture expansion

September 9, 2026 — An organization representing shrimp harvesters and other related small businesses in eight Southern states last week cautioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to choose its next round of potential large-scale offshore commercial aquaculture sites carefully.

Published July 30, NOAA’s latest request for information seeks guidance from the public and industry stakeholders on selecting the most suitable locations for what the federal agency calls Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs). NOAA has already undertaken this process in Alaska, California and the Gulf of Mexico, which the Trump administration prefers to call the Gulf of America. The deadline for public comment is Sept. 14.

The Florida-based Southern Shrimp Alliance said in a news release Sept. 3 that NOAA’s process must be mindful of what already exists in the Gulf.

The SSA noted identifying AOAs is the “first critical step in a multi-year process” of downstream planning and environmental review, in this case for NOAA’s South Atlantic fisheries. It added feedback it previously gave had helped prevent two important shrimping areas in the Gulf from being designated as AOAs.

Read the full article at CHRON

Atlantic tuna, swordfish and shark fisheries see mixed outlook

September 9, 2026 — Commercial fishermen from New England to the Southeast are seeing a mixed picture across Atlantic highly migratory species, with several major tuna and swordfish stocks remaining in relatively strong conditions while some shark stocks continue to face rebuilding challenges.

NOAA Fisheries released its 2024- 2025 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species on Sept. 4, providing an updated look at tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks managed along the East Coast, Gulf, and Caribbean.

For fishermen, the report offers more than a snapshot of stock health. It also shows where commercial landings and revenues are moving, including a notable decline in overall highly migratory species revenue in 2024.

Tuna stocks show some of the stronger signs

Among the major commercial species, North Atlantic albacore remained well above its biomass target and was not considered overfished or subject to overfishing. Atlantic yellowfin and western Atlantic skipjack were also classified as not overfished, with overfishing not occurring.

The picture is less straightforward for bluefin.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Health experts agree — eat more fish. The harder question: Wild-caught or farm-raised?

September 8, 2026 — Shelly Marie Redmond, a Shreveport dietitian, says one of her first priorities with clients is to get seafood into their meal plans.

“Fish can add so much to our well-being,” she said. “It’s rich in protein, which can help us lose weight, but it also is full of healthy omega-3 fats that protect our hearts and decrease inflammation.”

But not all of this underwater bounty is created equal when it comes to health. In particular, the debate over wild-caught seafood vs. farm-raised seafood can become complicated, balancing concerns around nutrition, contamination, overfishing and environmental degradation.

Dana Honn, chef-owner of New Orleans-based restaurants Nikkei Izakaya and Tempero’s Kitchen as well as founder of the Tropical Foodways Institute and the Louisiana Shrimp Festival, says that creating hard and fast rules between wild-caught and farm-raised seafood is not easy.

Read the full article at NOLA.com

US Court Says Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council Has Too Much Power, but Overfishing Rule Can Stand

September 5, 2026 — A federal appeals court ⁠said ⁠a council created by Congress ⁠to help the U.S. commerce secretary manage the nation’s fisheries exercised ​unconstitutional powers, but refused to strike down a rule limiting the catch of a Gulf of ‌Mexico fish.

• In a 3-0 ‌decision on Thursday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the ⁠law creating ⁠the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council improperly gave that body ​power to block various actions by the commerce secretary, including repeals of fishery management plans designed to prevent overfishing and ensure sustainability.

• It nevertheless rejected a challenge by two commercial fishermen to a ​rule limiting the annual catch of gag grouper by an estimated 86%, saying the ⁠council’s ⁠improper veto powers had nothing ⁠to do ​with that rule.

• The fishermen, Dominick and James Russo, said the rule should be ​voided because council members ⁠were improperly appointed and wielded significant federal authority, violating the U.S. Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

Read the full article at U.S. News

US appeals court rejects challenge to turtle excluder device requirements in Louisiana

September 5, 2026 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has rejected a challenge to turtle excluder device (TED) requirements in Louisiana, upholding a lower court ruling.

“We are delighted by this current ruling that will reduce the number of sea turtles from drowning in large shrimp nets, but we will continue to advocate for TEDs to be required in all skimmer trawls to prevent the continuing cruel and unnecessary drowning of these gentle endangered turtles,” Turtle Island Restoration Network Ocean Director Joanie Steinhaus said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Gulf Fishermen Lose Fight Against Deep Grouper Cuts After Georgia Court Battle

September 5, 2026 — Commercial fishermen hoping to overturn massive catch cuts in the Gulf of America just hit a wall in federal court.

Longtime Gulf fishermen Dominick and James Russo took the federal government to court after fishery managers slashed gag grouper harvest limits by roughly 86 percent. The family-run business, FFC Seafood, argued that the steep restrictions took a huge bite out of their income and should be thrown out because the Gulf Fishery Management Council is unconstitutionally structured.

On September 3, a panel for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia agreed with the fishermen on one major point: parts of the federal law do give the Council unconstitutional powers. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Council members hold special veto powers over the Secretary of Commerce, even though they aren’t nominated by the President or confirmed by the Senate.

The catch? None of those veto powers were actually used to put the grouper cuts in place.

Read the full article at Tampa Free Press

Trump administration vows to bring ‘common sense’ back to fishing laws

September 3, 2026 — From Gulf Coast shrimpers’ lips to the Trump administration’s ear, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced an extensive set of priorities for reforming the nation’s fisheries on Wednesday, a so-called “operational roadmap” to unshackle what the administration views as a lucrative and essential but unnecessarily burdened industry.

An overture to the executive branch’s nascent America First Seafood Strategy, Wednesday’s announcement continues NOAA’s work under Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, an April 2025 White House executive order that called seafood “one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the United States.” Since then, according to a news release, NOAA Fisheries has received input from more than 700 entities, including regional fishery councils, commercial producers, and members of the public.

Read the full article at CHRON

LOUISIANA: Louisiana shrimpers launch petition to restrict imports

September 1, 2026 — Frustrated with decades of competition from cheaper, imported shrimp, shrimpers from Louisiana have launched a petition calling on the U.S. federal government to take action to restrict imports and better support domestic producers.

“The Louisiana Shrimp Association is asking fishermen, fishing families, seafood businesses, restaurants, consumers, and everyone who supports American jobs and American seafood to stand with us,” the association said in a 30 August Facebook post. “Our wild-caught shrimp industry is in crisis. American shrimp harvesters are struggling with unsustainable dockside prices while enormous volumes of imported shrimp continue to enter our country.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries moves to extend moratorium on new Gulf shrimp permits

August 27, 2026 — With the current moratorium set to expire later this year, NOAA Fisheries has moved to extend a ban on new federal shrimp permits for the Gulf of Mexico by another 10 years.

While the Gulf of Mexico federal shrimp fishery supported more than 4,000 commercial shrimping vessels, rising fuel prices and competition from cheaper imported shrimp drove many of those vessel owners to call it quits. Still, regulators believed that there were too many shrimp vessels operating to be profitable, so in 2006, NOAA Fisheries issued a 10-year moratorium on new commercial shrimp vessel permits. In 2008, the government issued just 1,933 vessel permits.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource