Saving Seafood

Trump admin confirms trade deal with India, cutting tariffs to 18 percent

February 9, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order following through on a trade deal with India he announced in early February, reducing U.S. tariffs on the country to 18 percent.

Trump first announced the new trade deal with India on 2 February, which he said came after a discussion with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just four days later on 6 February, he formalized the deal with an executive order, cutting reciprocal tariffs on the country to 18 percent from the previous 25 percent and eliminating a separate 25 percent ad valorem tariff implemented in August 2025 against India over its purchases of Russian oil.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump vows to ‘unleash’ commercial fishing off New England, reversing Obama-era Atlantic restrictions

February 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump said he issued a presidential proclamation reopening thousands of square miles of protected Atlantic Ocean waters off New England to commercial fishing, saying the move would reestablish fishing access and reduce what he called burdensome restrictions on fishermen.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social late Friday, writing that the move was “another BIG WIN for Maine, and all of New England.”

The proclamation would reestablish fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast, a nearly 5,000-square-mile preserve east of Cape Cod that was created by former President Barack Obama. Trump rolled back protections in the area during his first term, and President Joe Biden later restored them.

Read the full article at Fox News

National monument off New England coast reopens to commercial fishing

February 9, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Friday lifting commercial fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, reopening waters off the coast of New England and drawing mixed reactions from Mainers.

The monument, located off the coast of New York, spans nearly 5,000 square miles of deep-sea canyons, volcanic mountains, and coral reefs. It was first protected under President Barack Obama, reopened to fishing during Trump’s first term, and later re-protected by President Joe Biden.

Read the full article at News Center Maine 

Trump Restores Commercial Fishing Access to Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

“By reopening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts to commercial fishing, fairness, transparency, and science-based governance has been restored to the affected fisheries.” — Bob Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood

February 6, 2026 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — Statement from Bob Vanasse, Executive Director of Saving Seafood, on President Trump’s Action to Restore Commercial Fishing Access to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument:

This afternoon, President Trump revoked President Biden’s Proclamation 10287 and removed the restrictions on commercial fishing within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

This decision reflects a clear understanding of a simple truth: commercial fishing in the United States is already governed by the most comprehensive, science-based, and publicly accountable regulatory system in the world. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, fishing activities in federal waters must meet strict sustainability standards, undergo rigorous scientific review, and follow a transparent process that includes stakeholder input and council oversight. Restoring access to the monument area under this framework reaffirms—not undermines—our commitment to conservation.

In stark contrast, President Obama’s 2016 designation of the monument excluded commercial fishermen from a region they had sustainably fished for generations. It was imposed unilaterally through executive order—without public hearings, without a cost-benefit analysis, and without input from those whose livelihoods were affected. It was a top-down decision that ignored the proven success of the fishery management system already in place. And in a striking display of hypocrisy, while working fishermen were forced out, the uber-wealthy with yachts large enough for spearfishing adventures 130 miles offshore were not banned.

President Trump restored the rights of fishermen once before in 2020. This followed both Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt agreeing to meet with fishing groups in Boston, in meetings I had the honor to chair.

Unfortunately, President Biden repeated the undemocratic actions of President Obama in 2021, reimposing the ban on commercial fishing with no meaningful engagement. Our industry reached out to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in good faith—we wrote letters, made phone calls, and requested meetings. We received no response.

All eight regional fishery management councils formally opposed the Biden administration’s reimposition of the ban. President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland actively disregarded the voices of the very councils and communities entrusted with managing our marine resources. Their closed-door approach and lack of transparency sent a message: facts and stakeholders were not welcome in their decision-making process. This is not how democratic governance or environmental policy should be conducted. But it is not surprising, as there is a history of monument creation via secretive alliance between certain environmentalists and sympathetic Administration staff, as described in this 2015 E&E News story.

We fully expect the usual environmental advocacy groups to respond as they did in 2020, with misleading rhetoric and predictions of catastrophic overfishing. So let’s be absolutely clear: any fishing that resumes in the monument will remain subject to the full force of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a law these same groups routinely hail as a global benchmark for sustainable fishery management.

Their objection is not about protecting the ocean—it is about controlling American commercial fishermen and pushing a broader, extremist agenda that seeks to deny citizens the ability to responsibly use our resources, regardless of science or sustainability.

The truth is that America’s commercial fishermen are among the world’s most responsible ocean stewards. Their work is tightly regulated, environmentally conscious, and vital to the economies and food security of coastal communities. When managed through the regional fishery management councils and NOAA Fisheries, commercial fishing supports biodiversity and conservation while feeding the nation.

Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions

February 6, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump Administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery.

The four-day late-January gathering in Bellevue, Washington came during a time of tumultuous relations between the two nations.

President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and blustering talk of making Canada part of the United States have spurred widespread anger among Canadians. January has been particularly volatile, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, attacked “coercion” by great powers, while Trump, in a subsequent speech, asserted that “Canada lives because of the United States.”

At the Bellevue halibut meeting, Drew Lawler, a political appointee to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, served as the non-voting head of the U.S.delegation.

In private talks sandwiched between public parts of the meeting, the U.S. delegation threatened economic sanctions, and successfully pressured Canadians to trim the British Columbia share of the halibut harvest, according to sources with knowledge of these discussions.

The commission is charged by a more than century-old treaty with conserving Pacific halibut. There are three voting representatives from the United States, and three from Canada.

Read the full article at the Petersburg Pilot

MARYLAND: Maryland’s offshore wind project faces legal pushback from Ocean City, Trump administration

February 6, 2026 —  Attracting 8 million annual visitors to its popular beach and bustling boardwalk, Ocean City, Maryland, is a cornerstone of the state’s culture and economy — but the view from the beach will change if the state government has its way.

Instead of looking out at just the sky and waves, visitors could one day see tiny toothpick-like structures — windmills, actually — on the horizon. That prospect has prompted a fierce political battle over an ambitious, 114-turbine wind energy project that aims to generate renewable power for over 700,000 homes.

Offshore wind developer US Wind leased the federal waters after winning a 2014 auction. The U.S. Department of the Interior approved the company’s construction and operations plan in December 2024, greenlighting the Momentum Wind project, which could generate over 2,000 megawatts of clean energy in addition to the MarWin turbines.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has defended the project as a key way to increase the local energy supply in a state that historically imports about 40% of its electricity.

“Maryland is serious about offshore wind — not just because of what it means for our environment but also because of what it means for our economy,” Moore said last year.

Yet while the state attempts to implement offshore wind capable of paving the way for a clean energy future, opponents on two fronts have fought to stop the project.

The founder of the Stop Offshore Wind campaign – Kevin Gibbs, owner of the Dough Roller restaurants in Ocean City– contends the presence of the windmills will hurt tourism and fishing in the region.

“You’re going to have an economic impact on families that have been here for generations,” he said.

In addition to local pushback from community members like Gibbs, President Donald Trump issued an executive order during his first month in office withdrawing leases for offshore wind projects. A federal judge overturned that order in December, but US Wind has paused design work on the project as it awaits the resolution of a separate federal court case in which Gibbs’ group and the Trump administration argue the federal permit for the project should be withdrawn.

“No law would impose civil or criminal liability on US Wind if it continued to develop the project,” U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher wrote in a recent decision in the case. “It simply has made a business decision not to do so in light of the political headwinds it perceives.”

Read the full article at Capital News Service 

Yet another judge rejects Trump effort to block offshore wind, saying NY project can resume

February 3, 2026 — A federal judge on Monday ruled that an offshore wind project aimed at powering 600,000 New York homes can resume construction, the fifth such project put back on track after the Trump administration halted them in December.

In clearing the way for Sunrise Wind to proceed, Judge Royce Lamberth found that the government had not shown that offshore wind is such an imminent national security risk that it must halt in the United States.

President Donald Trump has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built, and often talks about his hatred of wind power. His administration froze five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued to block the order. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers has repeatedly said during the legal battle over the pause that Trump has been clear that “wind energy is the scam of the century” and the pause is meant to protect the national security of the American people.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind Receives Injunction Against Trump Administration

February 3, 2026 — A U.S. District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, February 2, for Sunrise Wind against the Trump administration’s December stop-work order. With today’s ruling, all five of the under-construction offshore wind farms have received permission to resume work despite the administration’s claims of new information about potential radar interference from the wind turbine blades and towers.

Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind had reported in early January that it would follow the lead of the other wind farms and also file seeking a court order. The company said that its project was 45 percent complete, with 44 of its 84 foundations installed as part of a total investment of $7 billion.

The New York Times reports that Judge Royce Lamberth said during a two-hour hearing today that he was unconvinced after reviewing under seal the classified report, which is the basis for the government’s claims about national security issues.

“Purportedly new classified information does not constitute a sufficient explanation,” the judge ruled, according to The New York Times. Lambert reportedly called the administration’s actions “likely arbitrary and capricious” and ruled the company would be irreparably harmed unless work resumed.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

 

 

Sanctions threats loom as IPHC sets historic low 2026 halibut harvest

January 30, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) set the 2026 Pacific halibut harvest at a historic low last week, following tense U.S.-Canada negotiations that included threats of economic sanctions against Canadian halibut exports.

The Northern Journal reported that the four-day annual IPHC meeting in Bellevue, Washington, came amid strained relations between the two countries under the Trump administration, whose tariff policies and rhetoric toward Canada have fueled political friction.

Serving as the non-voting head of the U.S. delegation was Drew Lawler, a political appointee to NOAA. During private negotiations, U.S. representatives threatened tariffs or other trade restrictions unless Canada agreed to reduce British Columbia’s share of the halibut catch.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Court says Vineyard Wind can resume ‘full activities’

January 29, 2026 — After two other projects secured relief in the courts, Vineyard Wind on Tuesday also won a decision allowing it to resume “full activities” at its offshore wind power project south of Nantucket.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts stayed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Dec. 22 project suspension order, which Vineyard Wind challenged on Jan. 15.

“As the legal process proceeds, Vineyard Wind will continue to work with the Administration to understand the matters raised in the Order,” Vineyard Wind said in a statement. “Vineyard Wind will focus on working in coordination with its contractors, the federal government, and other relevant stakeholders and authorities to safely restart activities, as it continues to deliver a critical source of new power to the New England region.”

Read the full article at the Boston Herald