Saving Seafood

Management & Regulation

Biden’s clean energy agenda faces mounting headwinds

November 25, 2023 — Canceled offshore wind projects, imperiled solar factories, fading demand for electric vehicles.

A year after passage of the largest climate change legislation in U.S. history, meant to touch off a boom in American clean energy development, economic realities are fraying President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Soaring financing and materials costs, unreliable supply chains, delayed rulemaking in Washington and sluggish permitting have wrought havoc ranging from offshore wind developer Orsted’s (ORSTED.CO) project cancellations in the U.S. Northeast, to Tesla, Ford and GM’s scaled back EV manufacturing plans.

The darkening outlook for clean energy industries is tough news for Biden, whose pledge to deliver a net-zero economy by 2050 faces headwinds that the landmark Inflation Reduction Act’s billions in tax credits alone can’t resolve.

After walking into last year’s United Nations climate summit in Egypt touting the IRA as evidence of unprecedented progress in the fight against climate change, Biden is expected to skip this year’s event in Dubai amid dire warnings that the world is moving too slowly to avert the worst of global warming.

Read the full article at Reuters

Offshore wind project receives final approval from federal agency

November 23, 2023 — Revolution Wind announced on Monday that it has received the final approval from a federal agency, which will allow the project to start offshore wind construction.

Revolution Wind, a utility-scale wind farm that serves Rhode Island and Connecticut, received approval of the project’s construction and operations plan from the U.S. Department of interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The wind farm agency said it plans to deliver 400 megawatts of clean wind to Rhode Island and help the state reach its climate goals.

“This is a significant win for Rhode Island, marking an important milestone in our efforts to advance the state’s clean energy future and grow our already thriving blue economy,” Gov. Dan McKee said. “Revolution Wind will be essential to advancing the state’s 100% renewable energy standard by 2033 and achieving our Act on Climate objectives.”

Read the full article at WJAR

US land-based aquaculture projects achieve permitting, funding progress

November 23, 2023 — Nordic Aquafarms has received a “notice of intent to issue” a major permit for its land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farm in Humboldt County, California, U.S.A., while across the country in Millinocket, Maine, Katahdin Salmon’s RAS project has received additional funding.

The California Coastal Commission voted 12-0 to move a wastewater discharge permit for Nordic Aquafarm’s project forward, which the company said is the final major permit between it and groundbreaking on the aquaculture facility. Nordic Aquafarms, which was originally planning to build a salmon farm, has since changed course to build a yellowtail farm on the site of the former Samoa Pulp Mill near the town of Eureka, California.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US launches antidumping and countervailing duty investigation of imported shrimp

November 22, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will investigate whether it ought to impose antidumping duties and countervailing duties on imported shrimp from several countries.

Specifically, the DOC will conduct antidumping duty investigations of frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia and countervailing duty investigations of frozen warmwater shrimp from Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

California Dungeness opener pushed back again to mid-December

November 20, 2023 — The California commercial Dungeness crab fishery has been delayed a second time over the potential for humpback whale entanglements in gear, and poor meat quality in the northern fishing zones 1 and 2, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday.

The northern zones had been scheduled to open on Dec. 1 but testing turned up poor crab meat quality test results for Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The commercial fishery in zones 1 and 2 will be delayed until at least 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 pending another round of meat quality testing, the agency said.

Meanwhile the commercial fishery in zones 3-6 remains delayed, “due to the presence of high numbers of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement with lines and traps in this fishery,” according to the department. Whale sightings and a reported entanglement Nov. 11 have already delayed the season, a recurring situation in recent years.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US Likely To Miss Offshore Wind Energy Goal By 50% As Major Projects Stall

November 20, 2023 — The United States is likely to miss its offshore wind installation targets by nearly 50%, experts estimate, as a string of delays and cancellations in large-scale offshore wind projects continues to grow.

Energy sector analyst Bloomberg NEF’s outlook for U.S. offshore wind capacity by 2030 fell by 29% between its June and November reports, now predicting 16.4 GW of cumulative offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade.

In September, the Biden Administration reiterated its goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

“President Biden has set an ambitious goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 – and I am more confident than ever that we will meet it,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a Department of Energy press release.

In recent weeks, the U.S. wind sector has faced a series of headwinds, namely high interest rates, rising costs for wind turbine components and local opposition to large-scale offshore wind projects.

Read the full article at IBT

Three issues concerning Am Samoa to be considered by Westpac

November 16, 2023 — The 197th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will convene December 12-13, 2023, by web conference (Webex).

Of particular interest to American Samoa are:

Fishing Regulations for the Proposed Pacific Remote Island National Marine Sanctuary;

• Discontinuing the Rebuilding Plan and Annual Catch Limit Specifications for the American Samoa Bottomfish Fishery for 2024-2026; and

• Amending the Multi-year US Territorial Bigeye Tuna Catch Limit and Allocation Specification Action

Read the full article at Samoa News

NOAA Announces Decision To Withdraw Proposal To Expand SIMP Following Public Comment Period

November 16, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries announced on Tuesday that they have decided to withdraw the proposed rule to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP). The proposed rule to expand SIMP, which would have added species and amended regulations to clarify responsibilities and definitions, was initially published in the Federal Register in December 2022.

“This decision to withdraw the proposed rule stems from the extensive and varied feedback during the public comment period, and our overarching interest in strengthening the impact and effectiveness of our traceability efforts,” said Alexa Cole, the Director of NOAA’s Office of International Affairs, Trade and Commerce. “We’ve received feedback from our stakeholders indicating that SIMP may not fully meet their expectations, and now is the appropriate time to review the program’s scope, format and overall objectives as we plan for the future.”

Read the full article at Seafoodnew.com

Fishing industry in ‘fight of our lives’ over offshore wind

November 10, 2023 — The drive to develop U.S. offshore wind industry is growing along the West Coast, and fishermen should pay close attention to the political and legal battles already ongoing in the Atlantic states, a panel of experienced activists said at the Pacific Marine Expo Thursday in Seattle.

“I’ve been fighting offshore wind since 2003,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. In those early years, the first proposed projects “died because of the cost,” she said.

Today, “there are a multitude of projects going on,” Brady said, as a screen flashed map graphics showing about 30 proposed wind turbine developments from the Gulf of Maine to the Carolinas, and now more off California and Oregon.

California fishermen were later observers to what is now a concerted push by federal and state governments, but now they too are alarmed, said Jeremiah O’Brien, vice president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

BOEM Seeks Input to Inform Environmental Analysis for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts

November 7, 2023 — The following was released by the BOEM:

On Nov. 7, BOEM will publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to consider additional site assessment activities submitted via an amendment by Beacon Wind in March 2023 that were not covered under its Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for its lease (OCS-A 0520) that BOEM approved on Sept. 24, 2021. The original SAP and EA can be found on BOEM’s webpage.

The EA will analyze the environmental impacts of site assessment and foundation testing activities in the lease area, as described by Beacon Wind’s amendment.

The publication of the NOI in the Federal Register on Nov. 7, 2023, opens a 30-day public comment period that ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 7, 2023.

BOEM seeks public input on important environmental issues and the identification of reasonable alternatives that should be considered in the EA.

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

  • Through the regulations.gov web portal: Navigate to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. BOEM-2023-062 to submit public comments and view supporting and related materials available for this notice.  Click on the “Comment” button below the document link.  Enter your information and comment, then click “Submit Comment”; or
  • By U.S. Postal Service or other delivery service: Send your comments and information to the following address: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, 45600 Woodland Road, Mail Stop VAM-OREP, Sterling, VA 20166.

The public comment period for the NOI will help identify what BOEM may consider as part of its environmental assessment of Beacon Wind’s SAP. The comments received will help BOEM determine the important resources and issues, impact-producing factors, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigating measures that should be analyzed in the EA. Following the comment period, BOEM will review the comments to include information for consideration in the Beacon Wind Draft EA.

See more on BOEM’s website.