Saving Seafood

News for the Gulf of Mexico Region

Aquaculture Opportunity Areas bolster America-First seafood production

September 19, 2025 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of NOAA’s commitment to prioritizing American seafood competitiveness, the agency has identified 13 Aquaculture Opportunity Areas totaling more than 21,000 acres in U.S. federal waters of the Gulf of America and off the coast of Southern California. These areas will strengthen the nation’s seafood industry, reduce reliance on foreign imports, and create high-quality American jobs.

Today’s release of two final programmatic environmental impact statements for the Gulf of America and Southern California identifies prime locations that may be suitable for developing multiple commercial aquaculture projects, fulfilling President Trump’s 2020 Executive Order “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” and supporting the 2025 Executive Order “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”. These orders champion a robust, America-first seafood industry that puts U.S. workers and consumers first.

Each year, Americans eat roughly $15 billion in seafood farmed and imported from foreign countries, where labor and environmental standards often fall short of America’s rigorous standards. By expanding domestic aquaculture to complement wild-harvest fisheries, NOAA is driving an America-first approach that creates jobs, supports coastal communities, and ensures  high-quality, homegrown seafood for American families.

“The U.S. leads the world in aquaculture science and technology, yet we rank 20th globally in marine aquaculture production,” said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator. “By growing our domestic aquaculture industry, we will strengthen American health, create good-paying jobs, and drive sustainable, long-term economic growth for our nation.”

The final documents released today are grounded in 19 scientific support products and incorporate robust public input, building on draft documents released last year. These efforts reflect NOAA’s commitment to transparency and American-driven decision-making.

In Southern California, NOAA experts identified 10 prime locations for potential aquaculture development –  eight in the Santa Barbara Channel and two in Santa Monica Bay – ranging from 500 to 2,000 acres, totaling 16,500 acres. NOAA found these areas may be suitable for seaweed, shellfish, and finfish aquaculture.

In the Gulf of America, three locations off the coast of Texas were identified, each ranging in size from 500 to 2,000 acres, totaling 4,500 acres. NOAA found these areas may be suitable for seaweed, shellfish, and finfish aquaculture. NOAA is also investing in baseline environmental surveys in the Gulf to provide valuable data to prospective farm applicants.

The Aquaculture Opportunity Areas will be finalized with two decision documents following this announcement. The selected areas are just the beginning of unlocking the vast potential for aquaculture in U.S. waters, paving the way for more jobs, thriving coastal economies, and an increased abundance of high-quality American-raised seafood on Americans’ plates.

More information on the final PEISs for Southern California and the Gulf of America is available on the NOAA Fisheries website. 

LOUISIANA: 20 Years After Rita, Southwest Louisiana’s Fishing Industry Fights to Survive—Can Aquaculture Bring It Back?

September 18, 2025 — It’s been a decade since Hurricane Rita ripped through southwest Louisiana, and recovery has been a long, difficult process for many who have lived in the coastal area.

Farmland and pastures were inundated with saltwater from the storm surge. Numerous homes were flooded or washed away, bringing a drastic change for thousands of people who had lived along the coast for decades.

The town of Cameron was hardest hit. Its seafood industry was decimated. Docks were destroyed, and the only ice house was knocked out of commission.

Kevin Savoie, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant agent in Cameron Parish, said a new facility for commercial fishing being built along the waterfront includes an ice house, processing facility, and public dock. The $4 million project is being funded with a Community Development Block Grant, and the Cameron Parish Police Jury has partnered with a private firm to run the facility, he said.

The ice house is a significant step toward revitalizing the local seafood industry, Savoie said. “That, along with the need for some public docking facility, has really held things back.”

Cameron previously drew larger offshore shrimp and fin-fishing boats. “We do not see them in port at Cameron anymore,” he said.

Cameron has shrunk in other ways. “We lost about 80 percent of our population,” Savoie said. A town that counted 2,200 people in the 2000 census is down to about 400.

Residents moved north in the parish to Grand Lake, with others moving to nearby parishes. “Our population in the parish went from below 10,000 to 6,400 or 6,300, with most of them north of the Intracoastal Waterway,” he said.

Some residents who relocated still maintain cattle herds along the coast, but cattle prices are too high for most to be able to afford restocking, Savoie said.

Read the full article at RFD-TV

FLORIDA: Immigration raids and tariffs threaten to sink Florida Keys lobster industry

September 15, 2025 — In Marathon, Florida, almost halfway between Miami and Key West, lobster fishermen are being hired at $250 a day. But beware — commercial fishing has nothing glamorous about it, and many who showed up quit after the very first day. A “long” day means heading out to the Gulf of Mexico at 1 a.m. and returning at 6 p.m., after hauling and resetting 500 wooden traps that weigh nearly 150 pounds (70 kilos) each when filled with lobsters. The work is an orchestrated frenzy: one man hauls up the trap, another pulls out the lobsters, measures them, and stows them, while another cleans the wooden cage and stacks it, ready to go back into the sea — a choreography of orange overalls.

It’s brutal, dangerous labor that requires fishing to be in your blood. Many of the captains of the lobster boats in the Keys descend from long lines of fishermen, and most of the crews are from Corn Island and Bluefields, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, where the grueling work of artisanal shellfishing has been the main livelihood for centuries.

Read the full article at El Pais

Research reveals how microplastics threaten Gulf of Mexico marine life

September 11, 2025 — Critical wildlife habitats are exposed to pollution risk in the seas off the southern United States, with implications for human health and food security. “Most of the pollution comes from rivers and not from wastewater treatment plants,” says CMCC scientist Annalisa Bracco, co-author of the study that used advanced computer models to track tiny plastic particles across three years.

The Gulf of Mexico is facing a growing threat from microplastic pollution, with new research revealing how tiny plastic particles are accumulating in areas crucial to  including sea turtles, red snapper, and dolphins.

A study published in the journal npj Emerging Contaminants demonstrates how computer modeling can map the movement and impact of these pollutants with unprecedented precision.

The research, co-authored by CMCC scientist Annalisa Bracco, used advanced numerical models to track different sizes and types of microplastics over short periods across three years in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The findings paint a concerning picture of pollution patterns that directly threaten both marine ecosystems and the seafood that reaches consumers across the globe.

Read the full article at PHYS.org

LOUISIANA: Fishermen in Southwest Louisiana Say LNG Terminals Are to Blame for Shrimp Harvest Decline

September 8, 2025 — Ray Mallett started fishing near the mouth of the Calcasieu River more than half a century ago as part of the “mosquito fleet,” a ragtag group of kids that plied the surrounding rivers and bayous in small motorboats in search of crabs.

A Gulf Coast fisherman like his father before him, Mallett harvested shrimp for decades from an estuary in Southwest Louisiana that was once the seafood capital of America.

Now, he can hardly catch enough shrimp to pay for fuel.

“Each year we’re getting less and less,” Mallett said, standing at the helm of his boat, Cajun Memories. The name is a nod to his roots, and as one of the last remaining shrimp boats in Cameron’s port, a once-thriving fishery.

Read the full article at Inside Climate News

Gulf Council recommends slashing deep-water grouper quota 50 percent

September 2, 2025 — The Gulf Council has recommended roughly halving the total allowable catch of deep-water grouper species in the Gulf of Mexico, currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the U.S. federal government, with most of the catch allocated to the commercial sector.

The deep-water category covers four grouper species – warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, yellowedge grouper, and speckled hind – with a single annual catch limit. For more than a decade, the complex has operated under a commercial quota of 1,024,000 gutted weight (GW) pounds.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: Vibrio cases rise in Louisiana

September 2, 2025 — There have been more illnesses and deaths from Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria, this year than in previous years in the Southern U.S. state of Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Health is urging residents to take precautions to prevent infection from the bacteria, which can cause illness when an open wound is exposed to coastal waters or when a person eats raw or undercooked seafood, particularly oysters.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: WHY FISHING FAMILIES MATTER MORE THAN EVER

August 29. 2025 — Dear Editor:

The Florida Keys are known for their turquoise waters, coral reefs and laid-back charm — but beneath the surface lies a deeper story. It’s the story of the men and women who built this place with salt on their skin and generations of knowledge in their bones: our commercial fishing families.

For over a century, these families have been the heartbeat of our islands. The historic commercial fishing families didn’t just fish — they shaped our economy, our culture and our identity. They taught us how to live with the sea, not just beside it. From the spongers of Key West to the crawfishers of Marathon, their legacy is woven into the fabric of our communities.

But today, that legacy is slipping away.

The truth is hard to ignore: commercial fishing in the Keys is disappearing. Not because we lack demand or dedication, but because the very conditions that allow us to exist are vanishing. Working waterfronts are being replaced by luxury developments. Affordable housing is out of reach for the next generation of fishermen. Gentrification is pushing out the families who’ve sustained this region for decades.

We’re not asking to expand our industry. We’re not seeking to increase our environmental footprint. What we want is simple: to preserve the generational families who continue this tradition with care, skill and respect for the ocean.

We understand the need for balance. We support conservation. We believe in responsible harvesting and gear innovation. But we also believe that the cultural heritage of the Keys must include those who’ve lived by the sea — not just those who vacation beside it.

If we lose our fishing families, we lose more than jobs. We lose the stories, the stewardship and the soul of the Florida Keys.

So we ask our neighbors, our policymakers and our visitors:

Support working waterfront protections.

Demand and choose local seafood.

Teach your children about the people behind the catch.

The future of the Keys should include the voices of those who’ve weathered its storms, hauled its traps and kept its traditions alive.

The tide is changing — but our story isn’t over yet.

Sincerely,
Jerome Young
commercial fisherman & executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association

LOUISIANA: Louisiana official renews call for seafood inspection fees following shrimp recalls

August 26, 2025 — An official in the U.S. state of Louisiana has renewed his calls for there to be a national inspection fee on imported seafood in the wake of recalls of frozen shrimp contaminated by radiation.

On 14 August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had detected a radioactive isotope called Caesium-137 (Cs-137) in shipping containers at the ports of Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, and Miami.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANNA: Louisiana makes commercial fishing licenses available via mobile app

August 25, 2025 — Fishers and seafood providers in Louisiana can now access several commercial licenses through the LA Wallet app, making it easier for them to ensure they have the proper documentation while operating along the state’s coast.

“The advantage of adding a license to LA Wallet is really ease for the user,” LDFW Biologisy Program Manager Nicole Smith told local news outlet KTBS. “They don’t have to worry about having a card or a paper copy in their possession. If they have their phone with them, it’s easily accessible.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource