Saving Seafood

Senate version of US Farm Bill also includes seafood provisions

June 26, 2026 — The U.S. Senate has released its version of the Farm Bill, and, like the version passed by the House, the massive legislation includes multiple provisions meant to support the seafood sector.

“Seafood is one of America’s great food resources, yet it has often been overlooked in programs designed to support domestic food production and regional economies,” Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Ben Martens said in a release. “The inclusion of these seafood priorities represents meaningful progress toward better integrating seafood into federal food policy.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New England fishing leaders explore economic opportunities during National Green Crab Week

June 25, 2026 — During National Green Crab Week, leaders from across New England and Maine’s emerging green crab industry gathered in Portland on Wednesday to discuss how to both control the invasive, unregulated species and create new economic opportunities from it.

The Green Crabs Working Summit brought together harvesters, researchers, chefs, and industry advocates who share a common goal: finding productive uses for a species that has become a growing concern in Maine’s coastal waters.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

One lobsterman’s lawsuit going to the Supreme Court

June 24, 2026 — In 2023, the state of Maine mailed a package to Vinalhaven lobsterman Frank Thompson. “I got the little black thing in the mail, and the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) said, ‘hook it up and turn it on.’ I did. They wanted to track us, to collect data. Some guys mailed it back, but the DMR just sent it back to them. But I was curious, and so I sent it to a friend of mine at Google, and he said, ‘yeah, it’s tracking you 24/7 whether you’re fishing or not, and it has the potential to transmit video and audio.’”

According to legal filings, available here, “the primary purpose is to reduce the risk of North Atlantic right whales from getting entangled in fishing lines… (1) improve information available to fishery managers and stock assessment scientists; (2) support the development of offshore renewable energy in U.S. waters; and (3) improve the efficiency and efficacy of fishery management and offshore enforcement efforts in the EEZ.”

It was too much for Thompson and many other lobstermen, who contend that then DMR commissioner Pat Keliher told them that it had nothing to do with the whales or the wind, but never gave a definitive answer on what it was for, even when asked. They say it violates their 4th Amendment protection from unlawful search and seizure, and Thompson is now taking the case to the Supreme Court.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump administration to buy back another energy company’s offshore wind leases for 4 more projects

June 18,2026 — The Trump administration said Wednesday it’s buying back another energy company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four more wind projects, as it seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.

The latest deal brings the total amount spent on these agreements to nearly $2.6 billion.

Chicago-based Invenergy has agreed to end its four offshore wind leases that were very early in development in exchange for reimbursements of lease fees totaling $765 million. The company had already canceled the largest of the four in November, Leading Light Wind off New Jersey’s coast. The others are off the coasts of Maine and California. It will invest that money in natural gas and geothermal ventures that can be built more quickly instead.

By buying back leases, the Republican administration is stopping offshore wind farms that President Donald Trump does not support, and redirecting the money to fossil fuel projects that he does. It adopted this strategy after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action. Trump has frequently talked about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Trump Administration to Buy Back Four More Offshore Wind Leases

June 18, 2026 — Continuing its strategy of canceling offshore wind projects by buying back the leases in exchange for other energy investments, the Department of the Interior announced its third agreement. The administration has committed nearly $2.6 billion to canceling offshore wind leases even as the strategy is being challenged in court and by regulators.

Invenergy will voluntarily terminate four offshore wind leases it purchased in the past from the government and will redirect the investments toward other domestic energy sources, said the Department of the Interior. It valued the four leases at $765 million for one lease in the New York Bight for a New Jersey wind farm, two for floating offshore wind farms in Maine, and one off the coast of California.

The largest and most advanced of the projects was Leading Light Wind, which had submitted its offshore wind project bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in August 2023. It called for up to 2.4 GW, which would have made it the largest in the United States. It would have been more than 40 miles off the coast near Atlantic City, New Jersey, and included a battery storage option that would provide 253 MW of advanced energy storage, but it had yet to submit a Construction and Operations Plan proposal to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

SCOTUS to consider lobsterman’s challenge to GPS tracking rule

June 10, 2026 — Vinalhaven lobsterman Frank Thompson’s case challenging the constitutionality of Maine Department of Marine Resources’ rule requiring 24/7 GPS tracking on federally licensed lobster boats was among the cases to be considered by the Supreme Court of the United States this week. However, SCOTUS will no longer decide whether to hear the case on June 11, as they have called for a response from the DMR. This information was shared in an email from Pacific Legal Foundation, the public-interest law firm representing Thompson, along with co-counsel from Holtzman Vogel.

In March, Thompson filed a 34-page petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to overturn the GPS tracking rule, arguing that it violates lobstermen’s Fourth Amendment rights protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. The DMR rule states that every licensed lobster boat must be equipped with a tracker, and the tracker must be fully operational even when boats are docked or not being used for commercial fishing purposes. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines and the loss of fishing licenses.

Read the full article at The Ellsworth American

7 states sue Trump administration over nearly $1 billion deal to halt offshore wind farm

June 3, 2026 — Seven states are suing the Trump administration over a nearly $1 billion deal to end French energy company TotalEnergies’ offshore wind development off the East Coast, accusing the deal of being “unlawful.”

In March, the U.S. Department of the Interior reached a $928 million deal with TotalEnergies to halt construction of the wind farms and redirect the investment into domestic fossil fuel initiatives. The “landmark agreement” was described by the Interior Department as a way to lower energy costs and strengthen the nation’s energy security.

Attorneys general in seven states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, alleging the Trump administration illegally used nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for the deal.

The coalition also accuses the deal of violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which restricts the Interior Department’s ability to cancel offshore wind leases.

Read the full article at ABC News

High diesel prices may dampen summer lobster fishing season

June 1, 2026 — Higher diesel fuel prices are worrying lobster fishermen in Maine, just as the summer fishing season is beginning to ramp up.

“It’s going to be more expensive for them to fish if this continues,” said Marianne LaCroix, executive director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative.

National data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows the on-highway diesel fuel price on May 25 was $5.52 a gallon. That’s up more than $2 a gallon compared to the same time a year ago.

In New England, the data shows the price on May 25 was $5.80 a gallon, up almost $2 versus a year ago.

“Diesel fuel is one of the big expenses for fishing,” LaCroix said. “Higher fuel costs just makes it more expensive for them to fish.”

Right now, there are about 5,000 lobster fishermen operating off the coast of Maine, and the busy season starts in June.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

Fishing Regulations Are Sinking Small Businesses: Advocacy Is Fighting Back

May 29, 2026 — The following was released by the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy:

Commercial fishing is woven into the fabric of American life. It feeds our communities, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and strengthens our national food security by reducing dependence on foreign-sourced seafood.

Small, owner-operated vessels and processors are the backbone of the industry. Small businesses make up 99.9 percent of all U.S. firms and employ nearly half the private-sector workforce. In fishing communities from Maine to Alaska, that share is even higher. Yet decades of overregulation make it harder for these small commercial fishing businesses to stay afloat.

On April 17, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,” which stated, “Federal overregulation has restricted fishermen from productively harvesting American seafood, including through restrictive catch limits, selling our fishing grounds to foreign offshore wind companies, inaccurate and outdated fisheries data, and delayed adoption of modern technology.”

As the voice for small businesses within the federal government, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) has been actively engaged with the American commercial fishing industry during the Trump 47 Administration by elevating their concerns to federal agencies and attending numerous nationwide in-person meetings with fishermen.

Advocacy held a panel discussion on March 16 at the 2026 Seafood Expo North America, a multi-day event with about 15,000 attendees from around the globe. After engaging with business owners in the fishing industry, the message is clear that regulatory burdens threaten the livelihoods that have sustained small family-owned fisheries for generations.

At the Seafood Expo North America, I had the opportunity to collaborate with commercial fisherman and seafood processors from across the country and to arrange a panel discussion about the regulatory burdens facing the industry. Capt. Bob Zales, Executive Director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association hosted the event, and Tyler Macallister, owner-operator of the fishing vessel (F/V) Cynthia C of Cape Cod, MA, worked with us to bring together numerous commercial seafood organizations nationwide. NOAA’s Asst. Administrator for National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Eugenio Pineiro Soler, spoke at the event and took questions. In addition, leadership from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration traveled from Washington, DC, attended and participated in this first-ever national meeting of the American commercial seafood industry at the Boston Seafood Show.

Fishermen Concerns

Zales stated, “Our shared mission is to bring long-overdue recognition to the American seafood industry as equal to America’s farmers and ranchers, and to confront the excessive regulatory burdens that hinder small, family-owned commercial fishing businesses from prospering.” USDA has heard this message and recently announced the opening of its Office of Seafood, which will work with fishermen to help them take advantage of USDA programs. Advocacy attended the April 15 event announcing the opening of the Office of Seafood, hosted by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Also present at the event were Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Rep. Kat Cammack (FL-03).

One of the seafood industry’s most pressing concerns is the cost of onboard observer and monitoring requirements. Federal mandates require many commercial vessels to carry at-sea monitors, and the financial burden falls squarely on small operators. Revising this rule alone could save an estimated $180,900 per small business, money that could go toward crew wages, vessel maintenance, or simply keeping the lights on.

Fishermen are also deeply concerned about marine sanctuary and national monument designations that restrict access to productive fishing grounds. Rescinding overly broad designations could generate approximately $9.7 billion in cost savings for small businesses. That figure speaks for itself. The Trump Administration is addressing this concern by issuing an executive order reopening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument to fishing.

Further, Fishermen have shared frustrations on how federal regulations that inhibit fishermen’s and seafood processors’ ability to purchase new equipment, modernize vessels, and compete with foreign-sourced seafood impact their businesses. When regulations make it prohibitively expensive to invest in upgrades, American seafood businesses lose ground to foreign competitors who face far fewer restrictions.

Advocacy Taking Action

Advocacy has taken action to get relief for the industry. On January 7, 2026, Advocacy launched the Most Wanted Reform list, a targeted initiative identifying the federal regulations that impose the greatest burdens on small businesses and pushing for meaningful change. On March 23, 2026, we added fishing-related regulations to that list, sending a clear signal that we heard the commercial fishing industry’s concerns at the highest levels.

It is also important to carry this message back to the industries. During the Expo, we updated the audience on current deregulatory efforts, including the removal of fishing barriers in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts marine monument, proposed changes to rules for the classification of squid as a “shellfish,” and vessel speed rules.

Your Voice Matters

If you are a fisherman, a seafood processor, or a small business owner affected by federal regulations, I want to hear from you. Advocacy’s strength comes from the real-world experiences of the people we serve. Reach out to me at Janet.Fogarty@sba.gov, and I will connect you to a Regional Advocate in your area. We are here to be your voice in Washington and to fight for regulations that make sense for small businesses to prosper, not ones that sink them.