Saving Seafood

US senators propose industry-backed permitting structure to enable offshore fish farming

August 5, 2025 — Legislators have introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would establish a new permitting framework for offshore fish farming in U.S. waters – a long-term goal of the domestic aquaculture sector.

“This growing bipartisan consensus in Congress to advance open ocean aquaculture in America comes with strong support from leading environmental groups, seafood industry businesses, chefs, and academics who all agree: We can responsibly grow more of our own seafood here at home,” Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) Campaign Manager Drue Banta Winters said in a statement. “With today’s advanced technology, the responsible farming of seafood can sustainably complement our nation’s wild-capture harvesting to meet the growing demand for fresh, American-raised seafood, create new job opportunities, and encourage investment in working waterfront communities.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate could ban Chinese seafood from military commissaries, dining facilities

July 17, 2025 — The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would ban the U.S. Department of Defense from purchasing Chinese seafood for its commissaries and military dining facilities.

The Senate version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act – annual legislation authorizing funding for the U.S. military – includes a provision that would, if passed, prohibit the military from serving or selling Chinese seafood and aquaculture products.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US senators lambast IUU fishing and abuse in foreign fleets during hearing

June 18, 2025 — U.S. senators used a subcommittee hearing to heavily criticize illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing practices – an activity they claimed reduces revenue for America’s seafood sector and poses a direct national security threat to the country.

“It is estimated that IUU fishing accounts for up to 20 percent of the global catch, which translates to global losses between USD 10 billion and USD 50 billion [EUR 8.7 billion to EUR 43.4 billion] annually for fishing fleets that actually fish legally like ours in America,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said in the recent Senate Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries hearing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate committee recommends passage of IUU fishing bill

May 1, 2025 — U.S. Senate committee has approved legislation that would increase restrictions on vessels engaged in harmful fishing practices, recommending that the full Senate pass the bill.

“This is another measure in a long line of bipartisan comprehensive bills that [U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)] and I have been introducing and passing over the last several years,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said after the committee voted in favor of his bill, pointing to the 2020 Save Our Seas Act. “President Trump has been a big supporter of these clean ocean legislation initiatives, and now we have the FISH Act, which is focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated [IUU] fishing, which is both a challenge globally, it’s a challenge for our country, and it’s certainly a challenge in Alaska.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US lawmakers reintroduce MAPOceans Act to digitize federal fishing restrictions

March 3, 2025 — Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate have reintroduced the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans (MAPOceans) Act, legislation that would create a digital map of fishing restrictions in federal waters.

First introduced in 2024, the legislation mirrors the 2022 Modernizing Access to our Public Lands (MAPLand) Act, which enhanced access to public lands by digitizing maps and records and allowing users to easily discover hunting and fishing boundaries. The MAPOceans would apply that approach to mapping fishing restrictions in federal waters.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate Republicans demand more clarity on NOAA fishery disaster determinations

January 7, 2024 — Several U.S. senators want to be able to track fishery disaster determinations the same way consumers track packages throughout their shipping process.

The Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from NOAA Fisheries on how the agency makes determinations of fishery disasters – a designation that makes communities and industries eligible for federal financial relief.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries Faces 2024 Budget Reductions

August 4, 2023 — The U.S. Senate is considering reducing the National Marine Fisheries Service’s budget request by about $42 million.

The potential reduction comes as part of an effort to limit discretionary spending tied to the passage of the debt-ceiling bill earlier this year. The House is looking to reduce NOAA Fisheries’ funding even more dramatically, but it has not yet released a detailed report.

The Senate Appropriations Committee released its Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill on July 13. That bill includes funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service, more commonly known as NOAA Fisheries.

Proposals to cut NOAA Fisheries’ budget have drawn concerns from Alaska lawmakers.

“I understand that negotiations on the debt limit have forced reductions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget, but I have very real concerns about the impacts these cuts will have on Alaska’s fisheries,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski told KDM via email.

“We have the well-deserved reputation across the world as the gold standard of fisheries, and keeping that reputation requires strategic investments in things like stock assessment surveys, data collection and other resources essential to sustainable resource management. I’m committed to making sure Alaska’s fisheries have the resources to remain a world-leader.”

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

U.S. Senate passes bill making it easier to kill sea lions on Columbia River

December 10, 2018 — A bill that would make it easier to kill sea lions that feast on imperiled salmon in the Columbia River has cleared the U.S. Senate.

State wildlife managers say rebounding numbers of sea lions are eating more salmon than ever and their appetites are undermining billions of dollars of investments to restore endangered fish runs.

Senate Bill 3119, which passed Thursday by unanimous consent, would streamline the process for Washington, Idaho, Oregon and several Pacific Northwest Native American tribes to capture and euthanize potentially hundreds of sea lions found in the river east of Portland, Oregon.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KATU