Saving Seafood

Lobsterman’s tracking fight heads to Supreme Court

September 16, 2026 — For commercial fishermen accustomed to vessel monitoring, observers and other data requirements, a Maine lobsterman’s case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court raises a more fundamental question: How far can government monitoring follow a fisherman when he isn’t fishing?

The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider Frank Thompson’s petition Sept. 28 in a challenge to electronic tracking requirements for federally permitted lobster vessels.

Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman from Vinalhaven, Maine, argues that requiring a GPS tracking device aboard his privately owned vessel amounts to an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment. His challenge focuses particularly on the requirement that the vessel continue transmitting its location while underway, including when it is being used for something other than lobstering.

“The petition asks whether Maine can force lobstermen to carry government GPS trackers on their private boats, even when they are off the job,” Matt Gilliam, Thompson’s lead attorney, told ABC News. “We are hopeful that the court will grant review and address this important Fourth Amendment question.”

The tracking requirement went into effect in 2023 for federally permitted American lobster vessels from Maine to Virginia. The devices transmit a vessel’s location every minute while it is at sea.

For some Maine fishermen, however, a fishing boat is not used exclusively for fishing.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Supreme Court to decide whether to hear Maine lobsterman’s challenge to GPS boat tracker requirement

September 14, 2026 — The Supreme Court will decide later this month whether to hear a lobster fisherman’s challenge to a government requirement that boats use electronic tracking devices. That case could have broad consequences for the American commercial fishing industry.

Maine lobsterman Frank Thompson filed a federal lawsuit against the head of his state’s marine resources department over a requirement that he install a GPS tracker on his boat to keep his fishing license.

In 2023, the state, where lobster fishing is a critical and historic industry, required all federally permitted lobstermen to do so to comply with a new U.S. rule aimed at data collection.

Thompson asserted that the monitoring constituted unreasonable search and seizure, but a federal appeals court denied his claim last year. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which is set to review the claim on Sept. 28.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

More than $100 million in habitat funding targets key US fisheries

September 14, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries is directing $103 million toward habitat restoration projects across the country, with several of the largest awards aimed at improving habitat for commercially important salmon, shrimp, oysters, and other species.

The agency announced Sept. 10 that it selected 16 projects for funding, ranging from salmon habitat work in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to salt marsh restoration along the Gulf and Southeast coasts.

The funding is intended to restore wetlands, rivers, coral reefs, and other habitats fish rely on for feeding, spawning, and growth. NOAA said healthy habitat is essential to sustaining both commercial and recreational fisheries and the communities and industries that depend on them.

Demand for funding far exceeded what was available. NOAA received nearly 350 proposals requesting a combined $1.5 billion, more than 17 times the amount ultimately awarded.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

$103 Million in NOAA Funding Awarded to Restore Habitat for Fisheries

September 11, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has awarded $103 million in funding for 16 habitat restoration projects across the country. These projects will recover and sustain our nation’s fisheries by ensuring fish have access to high quality habitat.

By supporting America’s fisheries, these projects will “Make America Beautiful Again” through proactive, voluntary, on-the-ground collaborative conservation efforts. America’s abundant natural resources—including valuable commercial and recreational fisheries—are vital to our nation’s economy and culture, bolstering industries, jobs, recreation, and more.

Fisheries rely on healthy habitats like wetlands, rivers, and coral reefs as important areas to grow, eat, and reproduce. These projects will restore healthy habitat for fish across the country: from planting corals to rebuild reefs in the Caribbean, to reconnecting rivers for salmon, to restoring salt marsh for shrimp and oysters in the Gulf of America.

NOAA received many more applications than we could fund. The total demand from the nearly 350 proposals we received was $1.5 billion, more than 17 times the amount of funding available. The full list of funded projects can be found below.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Tinned fish riding high protein wave to sales growth

September 10, 2026 — Thanks to the surge in Americans eating high protein diets and GLP-1-friendly foods, sales of tinned fish are soaring, according to new data.

The share of Instacart searches containing the word “protein” rose 12.7 percent in the first half of this year versus the first half of 2025, while searches for “fiber” jumped 26.4 percent. “Protein-maxxing” and “fiber-maxxing” – new terms coined by social media – are not happening in a vacuum, either, with GLP-1s contributing to the trend.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US States Sue Trump Administration for Weakening Endangered Species Protections

September 9, 2026 — U.S. states filed two lawsuits on Wednesday accusing President Donald Trump’s ⁠administration ⁠of illegally weakening the federal Endangered Species Act, a landmark ⁠law that has shielded the bald eagle and other wildlife from dangers posed by development.

The lawsuits by the Democratic attorneys ​general of 20 states and Washington, D.C. were filed less than two months after the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce announced final rules that could make it easier for ‌developers, fossil fuel companies and others to disturb ‌lands that environmental advocates say need protection from business interests.

Enacted by Congress in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with saving animals including the California condor, grizzly bear and ⁠humpback whale.

In one lawsuit, ⁠the states challenged a rule that narrowed the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm,” which had long included encroachments on ​habitats where endangered animals live.

The new rule, which the states called “a reversal of staggering proportions,” allows oil drilling, mining and other activities in those habitats so long as those activities are not “directed immediately and intentionally” against particular animals, even if they cause injuries or death.

In the other lawsuit, the states challenged two rules. One rule eliminates broad protections for newly threatened species unless the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service creates ​species-specific protections. The second rule requires the government to consider objections by businesses, such as potential economic burdens, before declaring areas as “critical habitats.”

“The Trump administration is ⁠trying to ⁠undermine the law, the will of ⁠Congress and the will of the people ​who overwhelmingly support protections for endangered species,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said at a press conference. “Instead of stewardship, this administration’s approach to our land, to ​our water is one of exploitation.”

Read the full article at US News

USDA announces another USD 6 million to expand invasive catfish processing

September 9, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced another USD 6 million (EUR 5.2 million) in funding to expand processing capacity for invasive wild blue catfish, matching the amount made available in 2025.

“Under the leadership of President Trump, the USDA is actively implementing actionable and innovative solutions like this one that solve serious challenges,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a release. “By investing in seafood processors, we can help our hardworking watermen remove invasive catfish from our waterways while strengthening the future of our rural communities.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House votes to give Justice Department more tools to go after trade violations

September 9, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of giving the U.S. Department of Justice more tools and authority to crack down on international trade crimes, with lawmakers singling out Chinese exports.

“China has spent decades finding ways to undermine American workers and our economy. My bill will finally give the DOJ real tools to stop these blatant violations and ensure penalties are meaningfully enforced. Today’s bipartisan passage is a huge win for American workers and domestic manufacturing – let’s make it the law of the land ASAP,” U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource