Saving Seafood

US representatives introduce bipartisan bill to undo Trump’s ESA rollback

July 29, 2026 — A pair of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill that would reverse the federal government’s decision to roll back the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to exclude habitat destruction.

“Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act to prevent extinction – not to document it after the damage has already been done,” U.S. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) said in a release. “For more than 50 years, our nation’s protections have reflected a basic legal, scientific, and commonsense truth: When habitat destruction actually kills or injures protected wildlife, that destruction is harm. The administration’s rule would erase that longstanding safeguard through regulatory action and leave vulnerable species exposed at the precise moment the law is intended to protect them.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate bill would provide more funding for restoring salmon along the San Joaquin River

July 20, 2026 — The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced legislation providing additional funding for restoring salmon in the San Joaquin River, clearing the bill for a vote from the full Senate.

If passed into law, the bill would triple the cap on funding available under the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act from USD 250 million (EUR 219 million) to USD 750 million (EUR 656 million). The original legislation was passed in 2009 as part of a settlement ending an 18-year-long lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which blamed government policy and dam operators for causing local extinction of spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US lawmakers advance bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office

July 17, 2026 — U.S. representatives on the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance a bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office on 15 July.

“The House just took a key step toward investment in the science, restoration, and education that’s essential to the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek said in a statement. “We’re grateful to House leaders for advancing the WATERS Act and look forward to action in the Senate on the companion bill.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Sullivan, Peltola battle for Alaska fishing vote in Senate race

July 16, 2026 — Members of Congress routinely post news releases on legislation they introduce and cosponsor, including for Alaska’s delegation, a plethora of seafood legislation impacting the seafood industry.

Once in a while, one of these bills becomes law. The odds are 1-3 percent.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who are both running for his current Senate seat, have issued news releases stating their priorities for federal regulations related to the nation’s federal fisheries. Many of their campaigns are focused on convincing Alaskans engaged in the fisheries industry that they can do the most to protect and improve benefits for Alaskans working in that industry.

Purchases of Russian seafood were blocked from federal school lunch programs by an amendment introduced by Sullivan, which passed the Senate in November 2023.  That amendment closed a loophole that had allowed Russian seafood processed in China to bypass the National School Lunch Program “Buy American” requirements.

In 2022, the Alaska Salmon Task Force Act, sponsored by Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s all Republican delegation, was established as a federal task force. On July 12, 2024, the task force submitted its final science report on the complex biological, environmental and socioeconomic factors impacting Alaska salmon to the Secretary of Commerce, the Alaska Legislature and relevant congressional committees.

On June 25, Sullivan introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, an updated version of bycatch legislation introduced by the Alaska congressional delegation in January of 2026, which remains in the introduced stage in the Senate and the House.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US House passes agriculture appropriations bill with more funding for Office of Seafood

June 10, 2026 — Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives included another year’s worth of money for the new Office of Seafood within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill funding the department, along with other seafood provisions.

The bill includes several of the priorities and stipulations outlined in the fiscal year 2026 agriculture appropriations legislation, which was passed by Congress in November 2025 following a multi-week shutdown of the federal government.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House passes Save Our Shrimpers Act

May 13, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Save Our Shrimpers (SOS) Act, legislation that directs U.S. representatives at international monetary institutions to oppose funding for foreign shrimp aquaculture and processing.

“For far too long, foreign shrimp has flooded our markets while U.S. tax dollars have been used to subsidize overseas shrimp operations, which are putting our domestic shrimpers out of business,” U.S. Representative Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said in a release. “My bipartisan legislation puts an end to that by requiring United States representatives at international financial institutions to oppose the use of American taxpayer money to fund foreign shrimp farming and processing. This is a huge win for American shrimpers and a clear win for the America First agenda. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives stood up for the hardworking shrimpers in Texas and across America’s coastal communities who depend on a strong domestic shrimping industry.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House passes Farm Bill with some seafood amendments attached

May 1, 2026 — The U.S. House has passed its Farm Bill renewal legislation, voting to attach two seafood-related amendments before final passage.

The Farm Bill is the main legislation guiding agriculture and food policy in the U.S., and the domestic seafood sector has latched onto the omnibus bill as a vector for growing the presence of seafood and aquaculture in particular within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and ensuring American fishers get the same federal support as American farmers. The House released its draft of the Farm Bill in February.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House passes MAWS Act

March 19, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Mitigation Action and Waterman Support (MAWS) Act, legislation designed to support the use of invasive blue catfish in pet food products, on 17 March.

“With House passage of the MAWS Act, we are one step closer to creating new opportunities in a growing market for blue catfish, which pose a direct ecological and economic threat to the Chesapeake Bay,” U.S. Representative Sarah Elfreth (D-Maryland) said in a release. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to get this legislation past the finish line. If we can prove this innovative strategy works in the Chesapeake [Bay], my hope is it can utilize similar tools in waterways across the country – like invasive carp in the Mississippi [River] and Great Lakes.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House votes to end Trump tariffs on Canada

February 12, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to block President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, setting the bill up for a vote in the Senate.

Trump has continuously threatened Canada with tariffs since taking office in January 2025, and recently threatened a 100 percent tariff on the country’s goods over its trade deal with China. The country currently faces a 35 percent “fentanyl” tariff on all goods from the country, with the caveat that any goods entered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – which is virtually all seafood goods – are not required to pay the tariff.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource