Saving Seafood

National Seafood Association joins Alaskan organizations calling for EU CATCH reform

September 24, 2026 — U.S. seafood organizations are coming together to call for reform to the European Union’s CATCH digital traceability system, citing unnecessary barriers it creates across the supply chain.

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based nonprofit organization Pacific Seafood Processors Association (PSPA); Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.-based marketing institute Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI); and Seattle, Washington, U.S.A and Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.-based trade association At-sea Processors Association (APA) came together to release a whitepaper titled “Advancing EU Efforts to Combat IUU Fishing: Why CATCH Needs Reforms.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Maine senators ask committee to advance lobster regulation moratorium extension

September 21, 2026 — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) wrote a joint letter to the heads of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee asking them to take action on the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine).

If passed, the legislation would extend a moratorium on new regulations of the lobster industry related to North Atlantic right whale regulations through 2035.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Farm Bill 2.0 included new provisions for fishing, seafood

September 21, 2026, — Commercial fishermen and the broader seafood industry would gain access to new federal lending opportunities and several seafood-specific programs under Farm Bill 2.0, with provisions addressing everything from vessel financing and domestic processing to country-of-origin labeling and shrimp imports.

The Agricultural Act of 2026 includes a series of provisions aimed specifically at commercial fishing, seafood processing, and aquaculture, according to the Senate Agriculture Committee’s section-by-section summary of the legislation.

Among the most direct changes for working fishermen is a provision that would expand eligibility for farm operating loans to commercial fishing.

Section 5216 would make commercial fishing eligible for the loans for costs associated with “acquiring, operating, or maintaining a commercial fishing vessel.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Internal memo shows Trump administration’s plan to allow accidental killing of endangered species

September 21, 2026 — An internal memo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik shows the agency’s plan to rewrite the definition of “take” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), effectively allowing unintended harm to or killing of threatened wildlife.

“This stabs at the very heart of the Endangered Species Act by giving federal approval to the killing of some of America’s most beloved wildlife,” Center for Biological Diversity Government Affairs Director Brett Hartl said in a release. “The Trump administration is desperate to annihilate environmental protections, but this incredibly radical measure is both cruel and profoundly unlawful. Killing endangered wildlife is illegal, whether that’s your purpose or not.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump rescinds executive order coordinating Chesapeake Bay restoration over “rain taxes”

September 21, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has rescinded a 17-year-old executive order directing federal agencies to coordinate restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, claiming that it’s been used to improperly justify stormwater management fees – or rain taxes – implemented by municipalities.

The president went on to state that enough progress has been made on improving the water quality and environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed that the executive order issued by then-U.S. President Barrack Obama is no longer needed.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate’s Farm Bill would give commercial fishers access to USDA loans

September 18, 2026 — The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry advanced its version of the Farm Bill on 16 September, approving multiple provisions meant to support the domestic seafood industry.

The Farm Bill is the main piece of legislation dictating U.S. agriculture policy, and the seafood industry has pushed to use the latest Farm Bill renewal as a mechanism to ensure more support for the domestic fishing and seafood sectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The last Farm Bill was approved in 2018 and expired in 2023, but lawmakers have continuously extended the legislation following multiple failed renewal attempts.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House committee approves cormorant culling bill

September 18, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation establishing new regional frameworks for killing cormorants, voracious birds that consume vast quantities of fish.

According to bill sponsor U.S. Representative Tim Walberg, out of control cormorant populations have had a devastating impact on Great Lakes fisheries, and a new approach is needed to reduce their numbers.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Inflation among factors leading to consumer sentiment dip in August, but shelf-stable seafood continues to shine at US retail

September 18, 2026 — Shelf-stable seafood continues to succeed at U.S. retail, posting jumps in year-over-year sales in August, while fresh and frozen sales remained relatively stagnant.

Shelf-stable seafood prices rose over 10 percent in August 2026 compared to August 2025, according to Circana data analyzed by 210 Analytics, but sales by volume during the month still rose 5.7 percent, leading to an increase in sales by value of nearly 16 percent to USD 390 million (EUR 338 million).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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