March 25, 2025 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added eight Chinese clam exporters to a recent import alert due to contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The FDA said that products from the eight manufacturers and processors had “detected elevated levels of PFAS, notably perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in samples of clams.”
March 25, 2025 — The following was released by the National Fish Habitat Partnership:
The National Fish Habitat Partnership Board (Board) is seeking a candidate representing the commercial fishing industry to join the National Fish Habitat (Board). This three-year position offers an opportunity to contribute to the protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish habitat nationwide. The Board coordinates conservation efforts through 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships across the U.S. and includes representatives from federal and state agencies, Tribes, NGOs, and private industry.
Interested candidates must submit a resume and letter of interest to info@fishhabitat.org by Mar
Additional Information
The National Fish Habitat Partnership Board (Board) seeks nominations from organizations or individuals whose work and interests include fisheries and aquatic habitat conservation to fill one vacant seat on the Board representing the commercial fishing industry. The term of the Board seat will be three years once elected to the Board. The Board views the wide-range of its members and their respective organizations as critical to our conservation mission to protect, restore, and enhance our country’s fish and aquatic communities through a network of partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and improve the quality of life for the American people. The National Fish Habitat Partnership Board’s membership was codified in 2020 (reauthorized in 2024) through the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (ACE Act) Section 203(b)(5) to implement the vision and requirements of the ACE Act and the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.
What is the National Fish Habitat Board?
As detailed in the ACE Act and Board’s National Fish Habitat Action Plan, the Board through its bylaws facilitates the coordination of fish habitat conservation efforts through 20 Fish Habitat Partnerships across the United States. The Partnerships focus on specific geographic regions, species, or habitat types and use an evidence-based, scientific approach to conservation. The 28-member Board is composed of representatives from federal and state agencies, Tribes, non-governmental organizations, private industry, and other partners. Through participation in committees and ad hoc working groups, Board members are responsible for the following:
March 21, 2025 — Combined coastwide catch for all users is down by nearly 16 percent, more than 18 percent for commercial fishermen.
The 2025 Pacific halibut fishery kicks off today, March 20, in regions spanning from the West Coast and British Columbia to the far reaches of Alaska’s Bering Sea. And once again, all users – commercial fishermen, sport charters, anglers, and subsistence – will get smaller takes of the prized fish as the Pacific stock continues to flounder.
The coastwide “total removals” of halibut allowed for 2025 is 29.72 million pounds, a drop of 15.76 percent from 2024. For commercial fishermen, a catch limit of 19.7 million pounds is an 18.02 percent decrease from the 2024 fishery. Last year, harvesters took just over 74 percent of their 28.86 million pound commercial catch limit.
The catch limits are set each January by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), which has tracked and managed the stock for 101 years.
March 21, 2025 — U.S. Congresswoman Amata Radewagen, who represents American Samoa, has urged the Trump administration to reopen most of an enormous marine protected area in the Central Pacific Ocean to industrial fishing while also recommending the reopening of other Pacific MPAs.
In a Jan. 23 letter to President Donald Trump, Radewagen called for his administration to open the vast majority of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIH) to commercial tuna fishing. PIH, which is larger than the U.S. state of Texas, is an area of exceptional biodiversity. Radewagen’s letter called reopening it an “immediate need” that would benefit the country’s economy and challenge “Chinese fishing dominance.” She also sent Trump a background document that, among other requests, called for an executive order to open all Pacific marine national monuments and national marine sanctuaries to tuna fishing and to withdraw the U.S. from efforts to develop large marine protected areas in international waters.
Some details of the letter and background document, which Radewagen’s office shared with Mongabay, have not previously been publicly reported.
Members of the PIH Coalition, an advocacy group based in Hawai‘i that includes scientists, fishers and Indigenous leaders, criticized Radewagen’s move.
“I think it’s foolish,” Rick Gaffney, a PIH Coalition member and fisheries expert, told Mongabay.
Gaffney said conservationists have been fighting to ensure a future for fisheries in the Pacific, which is why MPAs like PIH were created: “to be sure that these extremely remote and unique island areas are protected so that they continue to be productive.”
March 20, 2025 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Council (WPRFC) is preparing to implement electronic monitoring on all commercial longline fishing vessels by 2027.
At the March meeting of the WPRFC’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) outlined its plan to begin phasing in electronic monitoring to the U.S. longline fleet. According to the office, regulators plan to have all 161 Hawai’i and American Samoan longline vessels outfitted with electronic monitoring systems by 2027.
March 19, 2025 — Commercial fishermen and seafood processors and distributors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood’s carbon footprint. Salmon harvesters in Washington state, scallop distributors in Maine and halibut fishermen in Alaska are among those who told The Associated Press their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.
“The uncertainty. This is not a business-friendly environment,” said Togue Brawn, a Maine seafood distributor who said she is out tens of thousands of dollars. “If they want to make America great again, then honor your word and tell people what’s going on.”
March 19, 2025 — President Donald Trump in his first term called marine aquaculture a potential boon to America’s seafood economy, saying a thriving industry could help the United States regain prominence in a sector dominated by other countries.
But leaders within the nascent industry — which typically involves farming of fish or shellfish in controlled environments — say it is not clear at the beginning of Trump’s second term if the nation’s primary fisheries agency will be in a position to help boost businesses.
They point to staffing cuts at NOAA Fisheries, along with policies that have made scientists and policy experts inaccessible. In recent weeks, NOAA has canceled appearances at major industry events, suspended a key government grant to advance aquaculture research in Maine and shelved an advisory panel that included industry representatives.
March 18, 2025 — Federal officials were successful in withdrawing for what is believed to be the first time an environmental permit granted by the Biden administration for an offshore wind farm. New Jersey’s proposed Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project had been singled out by Donald Trump in his opposition to the industry and this latest development adds another hurdle to an already troubled project and potentially the industry.
Atlantic Shores which was proposed as a joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables received its federal permitting including approval of its Construction and Operations Plan by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October 2024. The plan calls for a two-phase project with a total capacity of 2.8 GW. The first phase, which would be in the southern part of the state near Atlantic City has consistently been reported to be in position to become New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.
Donald Trump singled out the project during the 2024 presidential campaign and in February 2025 said he hoped the New Jersey project would be “dead and gone.” Among the presidential executive orders were steps to review the industry and its impact on the environment.
March 18, 2025 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended permits for the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project off New Jersey’s coast following a January 2025 Presidential directive that ordered an immediate halt to offshore wind development.
The Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) granted EPA Region 2’s request to remand permits for the project, which had previously received approval to construct up to 200 wind turbines capable of generating 2,800 megawatts of power – enough electricity to power one million homes.
The suspension comes amid broader industry challenges, including Shell’s recent withdrawal from the project with a $996 million impairment and the cancellation of New Jersey’s fourth offshore wind solicitation.
March 18, 2025 — More commercial fishers in the U.S. will get to try out on-demand fishing gear in 2025 as the industry continues to evaluate the technology as a viable solution for preventing whale entanglements.
NOAA Fisheries counted 67 instances of whale entanglements in U.S. waters in 2022, 40 percent of which were confirmed to have involved commercial or recreational fishing gear.
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