Saving Seafood

21 states challenge ESA changes that could affect US fisheries

September 24, 2026 — A coalition of 21 state attorneys general is challenging the Trump administration’s changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), setting up a legal fight over rules that could affect commercial fisheries, species protection, and marine habitat.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led two lawsuits filed against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries. The states are challenging revisions involving the definition of “harm,” critical habitat designations, and protections for species listed as threatened.

The lawsuits ask the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to vacate the rules, arguing they violate the Endangered Species Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

The changes could be particularly relevant to commercial fishermen because NOAA Fisheries administers the ESA for many marine and anadromous species. ESA protections can influence fishing regulations, federal permitting, habitat protections, and measures intended to reduce interactions with protected species.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

New York, California sue to block Trump administration deals canceling offshore wind projects

September 23, 2026 — Democratic attorneys general from California and New York sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its plans to buy back offshore wind leases as President Donald Trump seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he is suing over removal of a project off his state’s coast planned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The Trump administration said in June that it’s buying back the company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four wind projects on the East and West coasts.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, led seven states in suits seeking to block the Invenergy deal and another proposal with Bluepoint Wind, which agreed in April to end a wind farm under development off the New York and New Jersey coast.

The deals would hand energy companies $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars in exchange for the cancellation of multiple projects. ln all, the Trump administration has pledged nearly $4 billion to companies to walk away from projects across the country.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

California Sues DOI Calling Offshore Wind Cancellation “Blatantly Unlawful”

August 31, 2026 — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission moved forward with their earlier challenges and filed a lawsuit on August 28 against the Trump administration and Golden State Wind over what it is calling “the unlawful buyout” of the offshore wind energy lease. The state is contending the deal to buy back the offshore wind lease is illegal and would jeopardize its investments to support the project, the state’s energy policy, and the commitments from the developer for workforce training, the supply chain, and investments in the local communities.

The California Energy Commission in May served an administrative investigative subpoena to Golden State Wind seeking documents and information related to the buyout. The California Department of Justice and CEC followed up in June by sending a Notice of Intent to Sue targeting what it terms an “unlawful agreement between the Department of the Interior and Golden State Wind.” It is asserting that the deal is “blatantly unlawful” and is asking the courts to strike it down.

“The Trump administration’s backroom buyout with Golden State Wind to stop offshore wind development in favor of gas and oil drilling is, unfortunately, a classic playbook for them to line the pockets of their Big Oil donors,” said Attorney General Bonta, announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive 

California ropeless gear bill dies without a hearing

May 3, 2021 — A California bill that would have required the ropeless pop-up gear in Dungeness crab and other trap fisheries by 2025, died without a hearing last week in the California State Assembly. Dubbed the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act, (AB-534) was introduced in February by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and was largely written by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Bonta was sworn in as California’s attorney general on April 23, and no other assembly member chose to pick up the bill after his departure.

“It was a true David and Goliath moment for the fishing industry. It shows when the facts are on our side and we work together, we can actually win,” said Ben Platt, a Crescent City-based fisherman and president of the California Coast Crab Association. “It was the consensus if we were mandated to go ropeless, we’d all go out of business.”

California fishermen were blindsided by bill when it was introduced, as new Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP) regulations were instituted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in November. The RAMP rules — among other things — keep fishermen off the water when the presence of whales exceeded a certain threshold in state crab districts, as happened in November and December.

Read the full story at National Fisherman