Saving Seafood

Trump Faces Challenge to Offshore Wind Directive

May 8, 2025 — New Jersey is one of nearly two dozen states plus the District of Columbia to sue the federal government over President Donald J. Trump’s executive order halting approvals of wind energy development.

“It is deeply disappointing that the Trump administration is illegally attempting to block our state from developing new sources of power through their across-the-broad freeze on wind energy,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

With the stroke of his pen, Trump temporarily withdrew offshore wind leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf and implemented a review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind energy on Jan. 20, the same day he declared a national energy emergency.

The order went into effect Jan. 21 and will remain in place unless it is repealed. The rights of existing leases in the withdrawn areas are not impacted by the withdrawal, under the memorandum.

Read the full story at The SandPaper

Why the Fishing Industry Fought: Inside the Battle Over Chevron

May 2, 2025 — Wayne Reichle – who’s been in the fishing business his whole life – had never heard of the Chevron doctrine. That’s the two-step legal test that courts used for the past 40 years to decide whether a federal agency had the authority to make a regulation.

“No idea,” said Reichle, president of New Jersey-based Lund’s Fisheries. “Myself, and many, many fellow fishermen had no idea what the Chevron doctrine was.”

That changed after a group of fishermen challenged a federal regulation requiring the herring industry to pay for onboard federal observers. “I think there’s quite a few that know what the Chevron doctrine is today,” Reichle said.

This season on UnCommon Law, we’re exploring the limits of agency power. To what extent are federal agencies authorized to create and implement regulations that aren’t explicitly mandated by Congress? And what happens when an agency goes too far? In this episode, the story of the fishermen who fought back.

Listen to the full story at Bloomberg Law

Sens. Sullivan, Booker reintroduce Keep Finfish Free Act

May 1, 2025 — Legislation to prohibit federal agencies from issuing permits or taking other action to authorize or facilitate commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the exclusive economic zone was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate on April 30 by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.

The Keep Finfish Free Act, which would apply to all waters from 3-200 nautical miles offshore, is a step consistent with current Alaska state law, which bans offshore finfish farming in state waters.

“This legislation would ban risky fish farming operations in federal waters that could jeopardize the health of our fish species and undermine Alaska’s coastal fishing communities,” Sullivan said.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times

Government watchdog study finds some problems – and much uncertainty – in offshore wind industry

April 14, 2025 — A study on offshore wind development by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – one that’s been nearly two years in the making – was at last released today, and it identifies a number of potential problems with the industry but few concrete answers.

The 68-page report acknowledges that building massive wind turbines off America’s coastline, including along the Jersey Shore, could have a variety of impacts on commercial fishing, marine ecosystems, defense radar systems, and local communities. But it also stresses how much is still uncertain about what’s still a relatively new industry.

“Development and operation of offshore wind energy facilities could affect marine life and ecosystems, including through acoustic disturbance and changes to marine habitats,” the GAO report declares in its introduction. “Wind development could bring jobs and investment to communities. At the same time, it could disrupt commercial fishing to varying degrees. Turbines could also affect radar system performance, alter search and rescue methods, and alter historic and cultural landscapes.”

“Because technology and implementation are still developing, the extent of some impacts is unknown,” it later states. “In addition, uncertainty exists about long-term and cumulative effects, but research and monitoring activities are ongoing to better understand potential impacts.”

The report was first commissioned in 2023, at a time when offshore wind was commanding headlines in New Jersey. That year, a number of dead whales washing up along the Jersey Shore prompted calls from local and national Republican politicians to halt offshore wind development, though federal scientific agencies said at the time that the deaths did not appear to be connected to the construction of wind turbines (something that the GAO reiterated in its study today).

Read the full article at New Jersey Globe

Are whales endangered by offshore wind turbines? NJ group calls for pause on development.

April 11, 2025 — Two federal agencies are reviewing a petition from an environmental group to create a protected migration corridor in the Atlantic Ocean, including off New Jersey, for the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The outcome of the review could have major implications for Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration’s “green energy” efforts. The corridor and its buffer zone would run through areas where New Jersey officials have focused their offshore wind turbine development.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office declined comment on the petition.

Read the full article at the Cherry Hill Courier-Post

NEW JERSEY: Attentive Energy offshore wind project seeks 1-year delay in $37.3M payments mandated by state

March 28, 2025 — Another proposed offshore wind farm in New Jersey is hitting some turbulence.

Attentive Energy is asking the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to grant it a one-year delay in making $37.3 million worth of payments the state mandated as part of its preliminary approval for the project.

It has preliminary approval for a wind farm 42 miles off Seaside Heights that would power more than 650,000 homes.

The board was scheduled to consider the request during a meeting last week but removed it from the agenda shortly before the meeting began without listing a reason for the move.

A board spokeswoman said Thursday it is unclear when the request will be considered. Its next meeting is April 23.

Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

New Dam Removal Project Reinvigorates Effort to Open the Raritan River for Migratory Fish

March 24, 2025 — If NOAA Marine Habitat Restoration Specialist Carl Alderson had his way, the story of dam removals on New Jersey’s Raritan River would be an epic film—Shad: The Movie.

Opening shot: Silvery fish throw themselves against a dam, unable to reach the other side. Battered and bloody, they try again, only to be swept downstream.

Voiceover: “In a world of uncertainty, scientists race against time to free the 1,110-square-mile Raritan River watershed from the bondage of obsolete dams to save a species. Will science and restoration be the heroes fish need to reach their ancient spawning grounds?”

Alderson’s film may be just an idea for now, but the story of the restoration of the Raritan River and its native migratory fish species is worth telling. The Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative, the brainchild of Alderson and other NOAA partners, has led to the removal of six dams. There are plans to remove dams or improve fish passage at nine other sites throughout the watershed.

This past fall, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation awarded the Raritan Headwaters Association $2.3 million through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to remove the Rockafellows Mill Dam on the South Branch of the Raritan. This represents NOAA’s most significant investment in the watershed so far. Matching funds from the Cornell Dubilier Superfund settlement will also support this important project.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Trump’s EPA Withdraws Permit from Proposed NJ Offshore Wind Farm

March 18, 2025 — Federal officials were successful in withdrawing for what is believed to be the first time an environmental permit granted by the Biden administration for an offshore wind farm. New Jersey’s proposed Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project had been singled out by Donald Trump in his opposition to the industry and this latest development adds another hurdle to an already troubled project and potentially the industry.

Atlantic Shores which was proposed as a joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables received its federal permitting including approval of its Construction and Operations Plan by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October 2024. The plan calls for a two-phase project with a total capacity of 2.8 GW. The first phase, which would be in the southern part of the state near Atlantic City has consistently been reported to be in position to become New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.

Donald Trump singled out the project during the 2024 presidential campaign and in February 2025 said he hoped the New Jersey project would be “dead and gone.” Among the presidential executive orders were steps to review the industry and its impact on the environment.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

EPA Halts Atlantic Shores Wind Farm Construction as Trump Administration Reviews Projects

March 18, 2025 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended permits for the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project off New Jersey’s coast following a January 2025 Presidential directive that ordered an immediate halt to offshore wind development.

The Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) granted EPA Region 2’s request to remand permits for the project, which had previously received approval to construct up to 200 wind turbines capable of generating 2,800 megawatts of power – enough electricity to power one million homes.

The suspension comes amid broader industry challenges, including Shell’s recent withdrawal from the project with a $996 million impairment and the cancellation of New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation.

Read the full article at gCaptian 

NEW JERSEY: Feds pull environmental permit from New Jersey offshore wind project

March 17, 2025 — Federal officials pulled a permit from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind on Friday in a move that could spell more delays and setbacks for New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy facility.

Environmental Appeals Court Judge Mary Kay Lynch ruled Friday to remand a Clean Air Act permit issued last September to Atlantic Shores back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA officials filed a motion in February to have the court remand the permit to the agency, in order to review the wind energy project’s environmental impacts. The action came in response to President Donald Trump’s January memorandum to withdraw all of the outer continental shelf from offshore wind leases for further review.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press