Saving Seafood

Interior won’t release evidence for blocked NY wind farm

April 23, 2025 — The Interior Department says it stopped work on a New York offshore wind farm because the project’s permit was based on “bad & flawed science.”

It has yet to produce that science.

Interior has offered little explanation for its decision last week to halt work on Empire Wind. Its public statements have been limited to a pair of social media posts by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who initially announced the decision on X last week and followed up with a post Monday saying the move was based on findings from NOAA.

Read the full story at E&E News

Alaska’s fishing industry sounds alarm over proposed NOAA cuts

April 22, 2025 — The commercial fishing industry relies on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for everything from marine weather forecasts to fisheries data. But NOAA — which lost hundreds of employees in February when the Trump administration fired probationary staff — is in the administration’s crosshairs again, according to a preliminary budget proposal from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The budget calls for slashing NOAA’s funding by more than 27% for fiscal year 2026. It also restructures the agency’s fisheries division, shifting key responsibilities to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Frank Kelty, a fisheries consultant and former Unalaska mayor, said big changes like these could have major consequences for commercial fishing in Alaska.

Read the full story at the Bristol Bay Times

Alaska Fisheries Science Center presses forward amid budget strains

April 22, 2025 — At a time when science-based decision-making is more critical than ever for the future of Alaska’s fisheries, researchers at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) are navigating severe staffing shortages and budget uncertainties heading into 2025.

Despite the setbacks, the Center is doubling down on its mission: delivering the data federal fisheries managers rely on to keep Alaska’s waters productive and its fisheries sustainable.

“A loss of staff and uncertainties about the budget have not changed the importance of our mission,” said Bob Foy, science and research director for AFSC, in a virtual presentation from Juneau during ComFish Alaska, held April 16 in Kodiak, as reported by The Cordova Times.

That mission, Foy emphasized, includes supporting sustainable fisheries, conserving protected resources, and maintaining healthy marine ecosystems across Alaska’s expansive and diverse waters.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Hawaii Longline Association: Presidential Proclamation Balances Ocean Protection and Sustainable Commercial Tuna Fishing

Reopens US Waters to Highly Monitored US Fishing Vessels 

April 18, 2025 — The following was released by the Hawaii Longline Association:

President Trump issued a proclamation to modify the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM). The area includes the uninhabited islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean under USA jurisdiction named Wake, Palmyra, Johnston, Jarvis, Howland and Baker. The US Exclusive Economic Zone (0-200 nautical miles) around these islands and atolls are subject to federal oversight by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

President Trump’s proclamation modifies the PIHMNM monument boundaries by allowing commercial fishing from 50-200 nautical miles around Johnston and Jarvis Islands. This action supports American tuna fisheries in the Pacific that are sustainable and highly monitored commercial fishing operations. 

“This is recognition that sustainable fisheries and ocean protection can be achieved and balanced within US national waters,” said Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) Executive Director, Eric Kingma. “Previous presidents have mishandled the Antiquities Act to create huge closed areas that banned commercial fishing, with most of these closures occurring in the US Pacific Islands. Of the USA EEZ waters that are closed to commercial fishing over 90% of the area is found in the USA Pacific Islands Region.” 

Relief for U.S. Vessels Competing with Subsidized Foreign Fleets 

Because of these closures, around 85% of the Hawaii longline fleet’s fishing effort occurs in international waters and amongst foreign vessels competing to catch tuna. These foreign fleets are subsidized by their flag countries and are comprised of large-scale freezer vessels that conduct fishing trips lasting 12 months or more – transshipping their catch at sea to carrier vessels. Hawaii longline vessels land only ice-chilled tuna and billfish and make fishing trips lasting 25 days or less. 

“USA fishing vessels need relief from foreign competition. Access to USA EEZ waters around Johnston Island is important for the long-term continuity of the Hawaii longline fleet,” said Sean Martin, HLA President. “In 2023, the United Nations adopted a new convention that provides a framework for high seas marine protected areas. This convention did not exist when the PRI monument was expanded nor when Papahanumokuakea MNM was expanded to the full EEZ. The combination of high seas closures under the UN convention and full closures of USA EEZs waters severely disadvantages US vessels as we’d have nowhere to fish,” Martin continued. 

Globally respected fisheries scientists have found that these closed areas do not have any conservation benefit to highly migratory species or catch rates for the Hawaii longline fleet. 

Sustainable Fishing: Stronger Food Security for Hawaii 

Native Hawaiian longline vessel captain, Kawai Watanabe, said “Fishing is my livelihood and I’m proud to produce fresh ahi for Hawaii and my community. We’re a highly monitored and regulated fishery. We know what we catch and we need to be able to fish in US waters away from large-scale foreign fleets.” 

The Hawaii longline fishery is among the largest food producers in the State of Hawaii. 

Hawaii residents consume seafood at twice the national average. Hawaii residents should support actions that support locally produced seafood — the alternative is foreign imported, low quality ahi that is unregulated and unmonitored, bad for consumers and the environment. 

Background on the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 

In 2008, President George W. Bush established the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, which encompassed waters from 0-50 nm around each of the islands and atolls and prohibited commercial fishing in those waters. In 2014, President Barack Obama expanded the monument boundaries around Jarvis and Johnston Islands to the full extent of the USA EEZ (0-200 nm), also prohibiting commercial fishing. In 2016, President Obama, using the Antiquities Act expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from 0-50 nm to the full extent of the USA EEZ (0-200 nm), creating the world’s largest marine protected area. Approximately 65% percent of the USA EEZ around the vast Hawaii Archipelago is closed to fishing. In 2020, President Biden initiated a federal action overlay and National Marine Sanctuary over the PRI Monument waters to prohibit commercial fishing in the remaining open areas around Palmyra and Howland/Baker Islands. The action was not completed by the end of President Biden’s term. 

The Future of Red Snapper Data: Using Active Acoustic Monitoring and Artificial Intelligence to Collect Data

April 16 2025 — In February, NOAA Fisheries took the initial steps to collect more comprehensive fisheries data by testing equipment that will be used to estimate the abundance of red snapper in the Gulf of America. We will use advanced video and acoustic cameras, combined with echosounders and artificial intelligence (AI) to collect these data. It’s a first-of-its-kind attempt to develop next generation surveys to improve and automate detection of red snapper, even in low visibility conditions, using acoustic technologies.

A Way of Life for Coastal Communities

Stock assessments include estimates of recreational catch, effort, and discards (when a fish is returned into the ocean dead or alive). They factor into how saltwater fishing seasons are determined. In the Southeast United States, saltwater fishing is a favorite pastime. Offshore fishing in the Gulf of America specifically has been cited as one of the top reasons people visit the region. Red snapper is the flagship species for what is considered to be the largest recreational fishery in the world. Red snapper are highly prized for their cultural and recreational value. Having an idea of their abundance in the Gulf is crucial for the sustainable management of the species and the coastal economies that rely on thriving fisheries.

NOAA Fisheries’ Responsibility

NOAA Fisheries is responsible for monitoring fish populations, managing stocks, and enforcing regulations, operating under 10 National Standards of sustainability. Our Southeast Fisheries Science Center is responsible for providing stock assessments to inform management. These assessments are a scientific report containing information on the collection, analysis, and details on the condition of a fish stock and estimating its sustainable yield. Managing sustainable fisheries is a dynamic process that requires consistent attention to new scientific information that can guide management actions.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Revitalizing the Gulf: Highlights from 15 Years of Restoration

April 16, 2025 — The Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, and resulted in impacts to habitats, natural resources, and communities across the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico). Since then, NOAA has taken the lead on more than 60 large-scale projects to restore natural resources. We work with state and local partners, coastal communities, user groups, and other constituents. Below, we’ll highlight key projects that demonstrate the ways we have made progress towards recovery.

Early Restoration

Restoration work across the Gulf began even as damage assessment was ongoing with a large-scale project to restore part of a barrier chain in an area most severely impacted by the spill.

We worked alongside the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to design and construct the Chenier Ronquille Barrier Island Restoration Project. It improved shoreline stability, restored critical dune features, and created a strong backbarrier marsh platform to support island longevity. The project placed 1.3 million cubic yards of beach and marsh fill designed to prevent island breaching over the 20-year project life. Ongoing monitoring shows that despite severe storm events, the island’s shoreline is intact without new tidal passes. It contributes to coastal protection and restoration in the region.

NOAA also partnered with state Trustees to implement other projects to restore marine resources during the early restoration phase and some of this work continues today. We are:

We work with state and local partners, coastal communities, user groups and other constituents

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Trump admin names new NOAA Fisheries head amid plans to slash agency

April 15, 2025 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has named a new head of NOAA Fisheries, the agency charged with managing the nation’s commercial fisheries, even as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans on slashing the regulator’s budget and moving its functions to the U.S. Department of Interior.

On 14 April, the government announced that former commercial fisherman and officeholder Eugenio Piñeiro Soler will serve as assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump’s NOAA firings raise doubts for Pacific Northwest fisheries

April 15, 2025 — Owen Liu was hired to help solve a mystery.

Fishers had been plying the Pacific Ocean in search of hake, a species making up one of the most lucrative fisheries on the West Coast.

But the catch hadn’t met expectations for a decade, Liu said.

Liu was tapped last year to unravel the conundrum. He was developing a tool to help understand Pacific hake distribution — before being fired by the Trump administration along with more than 600 other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration probationary employees.

Since then, Liu and his fired colleagues have been caught up in political turmoil, which has landed in federal court and led to rehirings and refirings as recently as last week.

In interviews with The Seattle Times, some of these Western Washington NOAA fisheries scientists described feeling like they’d been in “limbo” or “purgatory” and expressed a desire to get back to work.

Nineteen probationary employees who worked at the Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Science centers have been among those hanging in the balance, according to Nick Tolimieri, a union representative for local NOAA employees. There are about 400 people in the bargaining unit across the science centers, Tolimieri said.

The scientists who shared their stories inform and set salmon fisheries quotas and identify priority salmon habitat recovery work. They were hired to forecast climate impacts, like low-oxygen conditions and marine heat, on fisheries and provide data to reduce the risk of whale entanglements, among other things.

The loss of staff comes at a time when climate change is fueling a higher degree of uncertainty for fisheries managers and the fishing communities who depend on them. A study published last week found opportunities to make fish populations and fishing communities more resilient to climate impacts, but authors of the paper say deep cuts to NOAA may jeopardize those opportunities.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A NOAA fisheries spokesperson said the agency could not discuss “internal personnel and management matters” and “remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public …”

At the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Montlake, scientists are taking on additional work as contracts with janitorial, maintenance and other services lapsed because of Trump administration actions.

They lost their only oceanographer — someone who can untangle complex ocean environmental patterns — and picking up the responsibilities of their other terminated colleagues would require reducing or losing additional services they provide.

The Alaska and Northwest Fisheries Science centers and the two fishery management councils they advise are global leaders in developing sustainable approaches to fisheries management, said Bill Tweit, who represents Washington on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Read the full article at The Chronicle 

Piñeiro Soler named to head NMFS

April 15, 2025 — Eugenio Piñeiro Soler was appointed as assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries Monday by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. For 30 years a commercial fisherman, captain and entrepreneur, Piñeiro Soler was deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in the first Trump administration.

Piñeiro Soler served as chairmen of the Caribbean Fishery Management Council from 2001 to 2010, and was a U.S. representative to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the International Whaling Commission, and the Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

White House budget would slash NOAA climate, ocean programs

April 15, 2025 — The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 federal budget would slash Department of Commerce funding by more than 25%, eliminating the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research program and targeting other climate, ocean and fisheries programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Oceanic and Atmospheric program funding would be reduced by $485 million to $171 million, according to news media reports on the Office of Management and Budget document that began circulating among NOAA staffers and leaked to news organizations April 11 in Washington.

Read the full article at WorkBoat