September 8, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued nearly USD 20 million (EUR 17.2 million) in awards for catfish products, which it will use for federal nutrition programs like national school lunches.
The department first declared its intention to purchase USD 20 million worth of farm-raised catfish in July as part of a USD 76.5 million (EUR 65.8 million) bulk buy of several products.
September 8, 2026 — The following opinion was published by Samuel Blatchley:
Three years ago the D.C. Circuit told the National Marine Fisheries Service it could not build a biological opinion on worst-case assumptions. Last week the agency wrote that principle into its own priorities.
In Maine Lobstermen’s Ass’n v. National Marine Fisheries Service, 70 F.4th 582 (D.C. Cir. 2023), the court held that the Service may not, when faced with uncertainty, give the benefit of the doubt to an endangered species by relying on worst-case scenarios or pessimistic assumptions. The ESA calls for an empirical judgment about what is likely. The effects of an action are those reasonably certain to occur, found on clear and substantial information. Projections the agency itself concedes are very likely wrong do not meet that standard. The court reversed, directed judgment for the lobstermen, and ordered the biological opinion vacated as applied to the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. I was on the case for the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, alongside the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the State of Maine, and Lodge 207. Our clients were facing regulations that would have taken jobs and boats out of the water.
Two things happened last week that build on it.
On September 1 the House passed H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, 219 to 196, extending the current regulatory pause for the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries from 2028 to 2035. The Administration issued a statement strongly supporting passage. It now goes to the Senate.
On September 2 NOAA Fisheries issued its agency-level priorities. On the Northeast lobster fishery, the agency states it will not mandate ropeless gear, that any decision support tools or models used by the Take Reduction Team must be independently and empirically reviewed, and that any future Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan will rest on best available data rather than worst-case scenario modeling.
That last clause applies the principle the court enforced in 2023, and returns the agency to the position it had taken itself in 2019 before the biological opinion abandoned it.
Worth keeping the distinction clear. The bill would change a statute. The priorities document is a policy statement that amends nothing and can be withdrawn. What lasts is the record. The Take Reduction Team is building the file the next rule will stand on, and how its models get vetted will matter long after the announcement does.
Common sense science is not a slogan. It is what the statute already required, and what it took a court to enforce. The Senate should pass H.R. 9436, and the agency should be held to the standard it has now stated, so the next rule protects both the whale and the communities that fish alongside it.
#FisheriesLaw #Lobster #EndangeredSpeciesAct #RightWhale #AdministrativeLaw
Samuel P. Blatchley is a maritime, fisheries, and insurance attorney and Proctor in Admiralty at Eckland & Blando LLP, where he represents vessel owners, commercial fishermen, marine businesses, insurers, and industry organizations in complex litigation, regulatory matters, marine casualties, coverage disputes, and commercial disputes throughout the United States. His practice includes federal admiralty litigation, fisheries and environmental regulation, marine insurance, limitation of liability, vessel arrests and maritime liens, and matters involving NOAA Fisheries and other federal and state agencies. He has represented fishing-industry interests in significant state and federal litigation, including the D.C. Circuit challenge to NOAA Fisheries’ North Atlantic right whale regulations on behalf of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. Blatchley is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New York and is a graduate of Tulane University Law School, where he earned a Maritime Law Certificate and served on the Tulane Maritime Law Journal.
September 5, 2026 — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is backing legislation that would expand the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) in federal fish stock assessments, potentially giving fisheries managers another tool to collect more frequent and comprehensive data.
According to Cornell University, the Fisheries Science Modernization Act would direct NOAA to test and validate eDNA technologies for use alongside existing fishery assessment methods. The bill is led by Senator Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Senator Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, co-chairs of the Senate Oceans Caucus, and has eight republican, democratic, and independent co-sponsors.
NOAA currently develops stock assessments using methods including research vessel surveys, bottom trawls, acoustic sonar, longlines, and commercial fishing data. Those assessments ultimately help regional fisheries managers establish annual harvest levels.
The legislation calls for NOAA to expand its use of eDNA to increase survey coverage and frequency while potentially lowering costs.
September 5, 2026 — McLean, Virginia, U.S.A.-based seafood nonprofit Seafood Task Force (STF) recently launched a first-of-its-kind risk-based assurance and remediation program on hundreds of tuna vessels to improve traceability and labor conditions.
According to a release by STF, the program was developed to improve social responsibility challenges facing tuna vessels, especially in high-sea fishing fleets. The program will run for 5 years, with a stated goal of both identifying issues and course-correcting them during that period.
September 3, 2026 — From Gulf Coast shrimpers’ lips to the Trump administration’s ear, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced an extensive set of priorities for reforming the nation’s fisheries on Wednesday, a so-called “operational roadmap” to unshackle what the administration views as a lucrative and essential but unnecessarily burdened industry.
An overture to the executive branch’s nascent America First Seafood Strategy, Wednesday’s announcement continues NOAA’s work under Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, an April 2025 White House executive order that called seafood “one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the United States.” Since then, according to a news release, NOAA Fisheries has received input from more than 700 entities, including regional fishery councils, commercial producers, and members of the public.
September 3, 2026 — The U.S. House has passed a bill that would delay the start of new federal regulations intended to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The bill, known as the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, would extend an existing moratorium on new federal rules for fishermen until 2035.
The current moratorium, which was championed by Maine’s congressional delegation and inserted into a 2023 budget measure, is set to lift at the end of 2028.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announced the beginning of a public comment period intended the launch discussions about new federal regulations, which the agency said must be in place by the last day of 2028.
September 3, 2026 — Washington D.C., U.S.A.-based advocacy organization Global Labor Justice (GLJ) recently launched a campaign called “Freedom For Fishers” targeting an unnamed U.S. seafood brand with multiple documented allegations of labor violations.
GLJ has been working with Forum Silaturahmi Pelaut Indonesia – Pingtung Migrant Fishers Union (FOSPI-PMFU) for the past three years on the campaign to collect evidence of the alleged labor violations the two organizations say involve fishers working for the U.S. seafood company’s supply chain.
September 3, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has announced an “operational roadmap” of priorities it will pursue under U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.
“Through these priorities, the agency is taking actionable steps to fulfill the president’s vision of making the United States the world’s dominant seafood leader,” NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said in a release. “NOAA is proud to deliver real-world results to the American public through innovative solutions that streamline regulations.”
September 3, 2026 — The United States has pledged USD 17 million (EUR 14.7 million) to fight counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in and around the Pacific Islands.
“The United States is a Pacific nation and has long stood with our Pacific friends and neighbors to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the U.S. Department of State said in a release. Our commitment to the security and prosperity of the Pacific Islands is steadfast, enduring, and a key pillar of our America First Foreign Policy.”
Read the full article at SeafoodSource
September 3, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed a bill to extend the pause on federal lobster rules in a 219-196 vote.
If passed by the Senate, the bill — introduced by Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Michael Lawler (R-New York) in June — would continue shielding lobstermen from new regulations to protect North Atlantic right whales until 2035.
In a statement, Golden described it as a win not only for the Maine fishing industry, but also for bipartisan work in Congress.
“While the threat of unnecessary, industry-killing regulations is a matter of survival for lobster harvesters in Maine, the issues at play affect fishermen across the Northeast,” Golden said. “Building bridges across party lines is essential for a functional Congress, but unfortunately, it’s a skill that has been lost for far too many members.”