Saving Seafood

NOAA identifies six foreign governments engaging in IUU fishing, including Russia and China

July 7, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has identified six nations engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing based on the activities of those foreign governments from 2022 through 2024.

Every two years, the agency sends a report to Congress identifying which countries are engaged in IUU fishing, which countries have adequate shark protections, and which countries have forced labor present in their seafood supply chains. NOAA Fisheries also issues certifications based on what actions countries identified in past reports have done to address the problems raised by the agency.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

On eve of USMCA deadline, reports indicate Trump administration plans to deny extension

June 30, 2026 — Multiple media reports indicate that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will decline to extend the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, triggering a process that could see it leave the trade deal in a decade barring a new decision.

The USMCA was set in motion in 2018 as the previous trade agreement for the three countries – the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – was replaced under the prior Trump administration after two decades of use. The revised version of the agreement initially included just Mexico but later confirmed the participation of Canada and formed the USMCA, which came into force on 1 July 2020.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Environmental group sues federal government to boost protections for Pacific coast sunflower sea stars

June 29, 2026 — The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, pushing to finalize long‑delayed protections for the imperiled sunflower sea star.

Sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are enormous compared to their counterparts, about 3 feet wide with up to 24 arms. They display a wide range of colors, often in combinations including bright orange, yellow-red, brown, purple, pink and occasionally blue. They occur throughout intertidal and subtidal coastal waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to at least northern Baja California, Mexico.

The animals used to be abundant along Oregon’s coast — but nearly 90% of the entire population has been lost due to a gruesome disease known as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. It causes their arms to twist, melt away and fall off, ultimately resulting in death.

Read the full article at KLCC

Why an immense marine heatwave off the US west coast has alarmed scientists

May 26, 2026 — An enormous marine heatwave off the US west coast is ringing alarm bells among ocean and atmospheric scientists as new data shows its ecological and environmental effects are intensifying.

The unusual area of warm water has persisted since peaking in size during September 2025 and still stretches thousands of miles from the California coastline – more than halfway across the Pacific – affecting a vast triangle-shaped region of oceanic habitats from Hawaii to British Columbia and southward to Mexico.

As recently as early April, marine scientists had hoped that the heatwave might diminish and the worst of its effects might be avoided. However, new projections released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) show it is now expected to expand and strengthen in the months to come.

Read the full article at The Guardian

Whale Entanglements in Fishing Gear Surge Off U.S. West Coast During Marine Heatwaves

February 26, 2026 — Each spring, humpback whales start to feed off the coast of California and Oregon on dense schools of anchovies, sardines and krill—prey sustained by cool, nutrient-rich water that seasonal winds draw up from the deep ocean.

That process, known as coastal upwelling, turns the California Current into one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world, giving whales a chance to rebuild the energy reserves they depleted during months of fasting in their winter breeding grounds in Mexico.

But according to a new study published on Wednesday in the scientific journal, PLOS Climate, rising ocean temperatures are shrinking and redefining this critical foraging habitat, putting the humpbacks at greater risk of entanglement in fishing gear.

Marine heatwaves weaken upwelling, reducing the amount of cold, nutrient-rich water reaching the surface. That, in turn, reduces offshore krill blooms. Humpbacks then begin to move inshore, where other prey, like anchovies and sardines tend to swarm. There, they are more likely to overlap with dangerous fishing activity and fixed gear, like Dungeness crab traps.

Read the full article at Inside Climate News

Alabama, Gulf Coast senators push NOAA to tighten enforcement against illegal Mexican fishing in Gulf

January 26, 2026 — Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt joined a group of Gulf Coast lawmakers in urging federal regulators to crack down on illegal fishing by Mexican vessels in U.S. waters, warning the practice undercuts American fishermen, threatens fish stocks and fuels cartel activity.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, led a Jan. 14 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calling on the agency to use its import restriction authority and other enforcement tools to stop illegally harvested red snapper from entering U.S. markets according to a news release. Cassidy and other Gulf lawmakers said enforcement at sea alone has not been enough to deter the activity.

“We write to express concern regarding the continued illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters in the Gulf of America. The Coast Guard has demonstrated sustained and effective operational enforcement through repeated interdictions and seizures; however, the continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea, by itself, is insufficient to eliminate the incentive to fish illegally. We urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner that supports law-abiding U.S. fisheries,” the senators wrote.

Read the full article at Gulf Coast Media

Latest survey shows slight increase in critically endangered vaquita population

November 11, 2025 — Scientists surveying the Upper Gulf of California for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise have confirmed sightings of between 7 to 10 individuals and the birth of new calves, a slight increase from the 2024 survey, which marked the lowest results ever recorded.

Found only in the Northern Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico, the vaquita porpoise is among the planet’s most endangered species. The population has seen a steady decline since its first survey in 1997, when scientists estimated roughly 567 individuals. By 2024, that number had fallen to just eight – the lowest level ever documented – with no sightings of newly born calves.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Report highlights problem of Mexican shrimp laundering, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership says more work needed

October 7, 2025 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has welcomed a new international report highlighting the issue of Mexican shrimp laundering, although the organization – which has been working on the issue since 2018 – notes that there is much work to be done to tackle the ongoing problem.

“I was very hopeful that when the report came out it would really push things forward, but you know, it made the news the first couple of days and then it all died down,” SFP Director of Supply Chain Roundtables Megan Westmeyer told SeafoodSource. “This sort of thing needs continuous pressure from buyers who are using this product.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump announces delay on Mexico tariffs, multiple tariff rates as 1 August deadline looms

July 31, 2025 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has announced effective tariff rates on multiple countries and a 90-day pause on any new tariffs on Mexico as an 1 August deadline on higher rates rapidly approaches.

Trump announced early on 31 July on his social media platform Truth Social that, following a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the U.S.’s tariffs on the country will remain at 25 percent for the next 90 days. Trump said Mexico also agreed to terminate any non-tariff trade barriers, “of which there were many.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump adds EU, Mexico to list of trading partners threatened with 30 percent tariffs

July 14, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has added the European Union and Mexico to the list of trading partners the U.S. is threatening with 30 percent tariffs as of 1 August.

Trump sent letters to both Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatening tariffs as of 1 August – with differing reasons for implementation.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource