March 28, 2025 โ With U.S. President Donald Trump set on reordering international trade to align with his โAmerica Firstโ priorities, seafood companies have been quick to list areas where they would like to see improvements.
Trump has moved swiftly in the first months of his second term to change the nationโs trade policies, threatening and implementing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China.
March 19, 2025 โ 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 Trumpโs 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The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafoodโs carbon footprint.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The Associated Press their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.
โThe uncertainty. This is not a business-friendly environment,โ said Togue Brawn, a Maine seafood distributor who said she is out tens of thousands of dollars. โIf they want to make America great again, then honor your word and tell people whatโs going on.โ
March 19, 2025 โ President Donald Trump in his first term called marine aquaculture a potential boon to Americaโs 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 โ which typically involves farming of fish or shellfish in controlled environments โ say it is not clear at the beginning of Trumpโs second term if the nationโs 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 19, 2025 โ Sarah Cierpich isnโt holding her breath after learning her termination from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been โrescinded.โ
The Bourne resident received a letter on March 17 from the U.S. Department of Commerce saying her Feb. 27 termination has been stayed by a federal judge. Her termination was part of the ongoing effort by President Donald Trumpโs administration to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy and budget.
According to the letter, she was reinstated to her position โretroactive to the effective date of your termination, and placed in a paid, non-duty status until such time as this litigation is resolved or the Department of Commerce determines to take other administrative action with respect to your employment.โ
Cierpich was a fisheries management specialist working out of Woods Hole. She managed NOAAโs observer deployment systems and worked on algorithms for a program that put trained observers on commercial fishing vessels. Observers collect data that is used in fishery stock assessments and fisheries management measures.
โItโs data on marine mammals, turtles, birds, information on all creatures in the ocean and the sustainability of that resource,โ she said in an interview March 13. โIt ensures the long-term sustainability of commercial fishery resources.โ
March 18, 2025 โ 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 Jerseyโs 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 Jerseyโs 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 โdead and gone.โ Among the presidential executive orders were steps to review the industry and its impact on the environment.
March 17, 2025 โ A pair of judges have ordered the U.S. government to rehire thousands of laid off workers, frustrating U.S. President Donald Trumpโs efforts to quickly and drastically shrink the federal workforce.
The Trump administration has prioritized slashing the federal workforce, first offering employees financial incentives to join a deferred resignation plan and then implementing mass layoffs of probationary employees. More than 20,000 employees have been laid off to date.
March 13, 2025 โ Attempts from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have resulted in over USD 1 million (EUR 920,000) of funding being cut off to an Australian research organization that has heavily reported on Chinaโs fishing ambitions.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institution (ASPI), a Canberra, Australia-based defense and strategic policy think tank, reportedly lost USD 1.2 million (USD 1.1 million) in USAID funding for research on China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
March 12, 2025 โ The seafood industry has so far mostly avoided tariffs on imports amid the global trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from all countries with no exemption starting 12 March, and the European Union and Canada immediately retaliated with new tariffs of their own. Trump claimed the tariffs are being imposed as imports of steel and aluminum pose a โnational security threat.โ
March 11, 2025 โ Container ports in the United States are seeing elevated cargo levels, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. The report comes amid rising uncertainty over tariffs in the U.S., where President Donald Trumpโs rapidly evolving trade policy has shaken up the shipping industry and sent a chill through markets.
NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said that uncertainty around tariffs, particularly those on goods from China, is leading retailers to rush their imports into the country.
March 10, 2025 โ New tariffs on Chinese goods introduced by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are causing havoc for Chinese seafood exporters, according to Landy Chow, the marketing manager of seafood import/export firm Siam Canadian.
Chow, who is based in China, told SeafoodSource that the impact of the new tariffs could be devastating for processors of breaded shrimp products exported from China to the U.S. โ a seafood category in which China dominated prior to the imposition of 25 percent tariffs during the first Trump administration.
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