Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Kiggans, Wittman seek answers after federal pause of offshore wind projects

January 29, 2026 — Republican U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia Beach and Rob Wittman of Westmoreland joined seven other members of Congress in pressing the administration of President Donald Trump for answers after a federal decision to pause offshore wind development, including Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers called for greater transparency around the 90-day halt, which the Department of Interior said was prompted by national security concerns detailed in confidential reports.

“We respectfully request additional information on the analysis underlying the recent decision, including how radar interference, environmental tradeoffs, long-term subsidy exposure, workforce impacts, and broader national security considerations were assessed,” the letter read.

Read the full article at Virginia Mercury

Judge says construction on Vineyard Wind can resume

January 28, 2026 — A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that construction can resume on Vineyard Wind, a large and nearly complete offshore wind farm near Massachusetts. Work on the project was suspended in late December, when the Trump administration said it posed a national security risk. Four other wind projects were also halted at that time.

The order represents a temporary victory for Vineyard Wind, which argued that a further delay could put the entire project in financial jeopardy. It also marks the fourth time a federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration in suits challenging the December stop work order.

After hearing oral arguments, U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy said he was issuing a stay on the administration’s order because the government “failed to provide a reasonable explanation for why it had to stop construction,” meaning, he added, the action was “likely arbitrary and capricious.”

In explaining his decision, Murphy said the government’s concerns about national security related to the operation of Vineyard Wind, not the project’s construction. And yet, under the December stop-work order, Vineyard Wind was given permission to continue producing power from its 44 operational turbines.

“The government has made no attempt to explain this disconnect,” Murphy said. “ If the government’s concern is the operation of these facilities, allowing the ongoing operation of the 44 turbines while prohibiting the repair of the existing turbines and the completion of the 18 additional turbines is irrational.”

Read the full article at wbur

Judge rules Massachusetts offshore wind project halted by Trump administration can continue

January 28, 2026 — A federal judge said Tuesday that a nearly completed Massachusetts offshore wind project can continue, as the industry successfully challenges the Trump administration in court.

At U.S. District Court in Boston, Judge Brian Murphy halted the administration’s stop work order for Vineyard Wind, citing the potential economic losses from the delays and the developers’ likelihood of success on their claims. Vineyard Wind is one of five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast that the Trump administration froze days before Christmas, citing national security concerns — and the fourth that has since been allowed to go forward.

A spokesperson for the company, Craig Gilvarg, said in a statement that it would “work with the Administration to understand the matters raised in the Order.”

“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,” Gilvarg added.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Vineyard Wind to argue in federal court for getting back to work ASAP

January 27, 2026 — The developer behind a large offshore wind farm near Massachusetts will try to convince a federal judge on Tuesday to allow construction on the project to resume.

Attorneys for the company, Vineyard Wind, will ask the judge to hit pause on a federal order that stopped work on the nearly complete project. The Trump administration suspended work on Vineyard Wind and four other offshore wind projects last month, citing unspecified national security concerns.

In a subsequent lawsuit, Vineyard Wind accused the government of acting unlawfully and of abusing its statutory power  — a move the company said is costing it $2 million for each day that construction is shut down.

Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. District Court in Boston comes amid mounting public outrage over the region’s high energy costs, and concerns about how New England will handle the projected growth in electricity demand over the next decade. The hearing also comes after judges allowed construction to resume — at least temporarily — on three other East Coast offshore wind projects that were similarly shut down by last month’s federal order.

Given the outcome of those cases, Timothy Fox, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, an independent research firm that tracks offshore wind projects, said Vineyard Wind stands a good shot at getting its temporary restraining order, too.

Read the full article at wbur

Trump threatens 100 percent tariffs on Canada over trade deal with China

January 26, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canada if it follows through in finalizing a trade deal with China.

“The last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s NOT going to happen, or even come close to happening! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said in a 24 January social media post.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

$30M for right whale research could also help lobster industry

January 21, 2026 — A congressional funding bill contains $30 million for research and monitoring related to the North Atlantic right whale, an endangered species closely tied to the regulation of the lobster industry in Maine and other New England states.

The money is designated for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees state-regulated fisheries.

North Atlantic right whales are one of the world’s most at-risk species, approaching extinction. Threats include entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and climate change.

The money is part of the fiscal year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that passed the U.S. Senate last week, previously approved by the House of Representatives and now heading to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

“This funding will support Maine’s lobster industry by improving the incomplete and imprecise science and research upon which the federal government relies,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the appropriations committee.

Read the full article at Mainebiz

Federal judge rules Dominion Energy can resume construction on Virginia Beach offshore wind farm

January 20, 2026 — A judge in Norfolk on Friday ruled in favor of Dominion Energy, allowing the utility to restart construction on its offshore wind project after the federal government halted it late last year.

The Trump administration cited recently uncovered risks to national security when it issued a 90-day stop-work order on Dec. 22.

But U.S. District Court Judge Jamar Walker said the order, which applied to five wind projects along the East Coast, did not outline how construction on the Virginia project specifically poses a risk to national security.

He said an extended pause on the project would cause irreparable harm to Dominion, which says it’s losing $5 million per day during the stoppage.

Walker granted Dominion a preliminary injunction, which allows the company to resume construction while the case proceeds in court.

The $11 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, or CVOW, stretches about 27 to 44 miles off the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. It’s expected to start delivering electricity to the grid soon and finish construction later this year. Dominion already spent $9 billion on the project, which would become the nation’s largest commercial offshore wind farm.

“Our team will now focus on safely restarting work to ensure CVOW begins delivery of critical energy in just weeks,” the utility said in a statement following the ruling. “While our legal challenge proceeds, we will continue seeking a durable resolution of this matter through cooperation with the federal government.”

Read the full article at WHRO

Trump’s offshore wind blockade suffers a third legal blow

January 20, 2026 — A federal judge on Friday blocked the Interior Department’s order halting construction of an offshore wind project off the coast of Virginia, marking the third time in a week that courts have stepped in to reverse the Trump administration’s anti-wind policies.

Judge Jamar Walker said in a hearing Friday before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the agency failed to provide sufficient reasoning for freezing work on Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. The Biden-appointed judge issued a preliminary injunction from the bench clearing the way for construction to restart while litigation remains ongoing.

The Dec. 22 order from Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management blocked construction on five offshore wind projects for 90 days along the Eastern Seaboard, citing emerging national security concerns. Along with Dominion Energy’s project, the order halted ongoing work on Empire Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, Revolution Wind and Vineyard Wind 1.

Read the full article at E&E News

Nantucket nonprofit, businesses file lawsuit, alleging offshore wind is crushing their operations

January 20, 2026 — A nonprofit opposed to offshore wind development, a lobster fisherman, and a whale-watching business are suing the federal government, arguing it violated federal law when it approved the construction of Vineyard Wind, a 62-turbine project 15 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

Dan Pronk, a Nantucket lobsterman, does commercial lobstering in the area of the turbines. He told Just the News that the project has decimated his business.

Revolution gets greenlighted 

The Trump administration last month paused offshore wind leases due to concerns about the impact of the project on radar, a national-security issue. Multiple reports from various federal agencies over the past few years have found that the clutter from offshore wind blades and turbines causes interference to radar. This lowers the ability of radar to identify targets on the water, and it creates false targets around the projects.

The lawsuit filed this week by Nantuck-based ACK4Whales and two local businesses argues that when the Department of Interior and other agencies under former President Joe Biden approved the Vineyard Wind project, they ignored the impacts radar disruptions would have on civil aviation and national defense.

In so doing, the lawsuit argues, the Biden-Harris administration violated the Offshore Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the Administrative Procedures Act.

Read the full article at Just The News

Congress approves more Bay funding than White House sought

January 20, 2026 — Rebuffing deep spending cuts proposed by the Trump administration, Congress has approved more funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup and conservation than the White House requested — including boosts for restoring oysters, dealing with invasive blue catfish and addressing whether menhaden, an important forage fish in the Bay, are being overfished.

By a vote of 82-15, the U.S. Senate gave overwhelming, bipartisan approval Thursday to a trio of spending bills that included funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commerce, Justice, Energy and Interior departments through the end of September. With the House having passed the package on Jan. 8, the measures now go to the White House for President Trump’s signature.

The bills do reduce overall spending at the affected agencies but by far less than proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. And lawmakers actually increased spending on some science-related programs and projects.

Notably, Congress approved record-high funding of $93 million for EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, the federal-state partnership that coordinates pollution reduction and habitat restoration efforts in the estuary and its rivers and streams.

Read the full article at Bay Journal