February 5, 2025 — U.S. support for sustainable foreign fisheries is among the humanitarian government programs thrown into jeopardy by the Trump administrations attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Our programs are at risk,” Byron Bay, Australia-based conservation group Positive Change for Marine Life said in a social media post. “The Trump administration’s freeze on all USAID-funded programs has left us facing a major funding gap.”
February 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has paused planned 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, barring a 10 percent carveout for energy, following a conversation with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trump announced on his Truth Social social media platform that Canada has “agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border” as part of a CAD 1.3 billion (USD EUR ) border plan. The move came just hours after he also balked at applying 25 percent tariffs to Mexico for a month, based on similar promises that the country would increase security at its border with the U.S.
February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that he is pausing planned 25 percent tariffs on Mexico for one month following a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Trump announced a set of sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on 1 February, following through on a proposal he made in November 2024.
February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Commerce Howard Lutnick told U.S. senators at his confirmation hearing that he would not dismantle NOAA and would work to protect American fishers.
Under questioning from lawmakers, Lutnick said that he looked forward to working with the president in implementing tariffs to gain respect from foreign nations.
January 31, 2025 — Leaders from the U.S. and Canada’s lobster fishing communities came together in Bar Harbor Wednesday to tackle what they said are pressing issues facing the industry.
At the top of mind at this year’s 21st annual meeting was the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian products.
“These tariffs, if they actually happen, will badly impact Maine harvesters and the Maine lobster sector — just as it will impact Canadians,” said Geoff Irvine, the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.
Solving this issue could mean lobbying U.S. political figures, Irvine said.
January 31, 2025 — Maine Republican legislators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump thanking him for his recent action on offshore wind and asking him to take it a step further.
The letter sent Thursday was authored by Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport). Offshore wind was a key issue for Paul in her reelection campaign last year after the state announced its hopes to build a port in her district to support its larger goals to develop 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine by 2040.
“Common sense, economics and environmental concerns are against the offshore wind projects proposed by Democrats for the Gulf of Maine,” Paul said in a news release Thursday, noting her appreciation for Trump’s swift action on the matter.
She went on to say that she and her Republican legislative colleagues “are asking his administration to finish the job before irrevocable harm is inflicted on marine wildlife, coastal communities and our quality of life.”
January 30, 2025 — The White House has rescinded a two-page memo issued by the Trump administration that called for a broad pause in federal funding – a move which would have halted potentially USD 3 trillion (EUR 2.8 trillion) in funding.
A memo released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called for a “temporary pause of agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs” which would have taken effect at 5 p.m. EST 28 January. The memo said it was meant to impact programs that may have been implicated by Trump’s earlier executive orders, “including but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
January 28, 2025 — The Trump administration has announced a broad pause in federal funding, a move which throws millions in funding for programs like SNAP and disaster relief into question.
A memo released by the budget office of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has placed potentially billions in federal funding in limbo – which could include funding for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and disaster relief programs which provide millions to the seafood industry.
January 27, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump suspended new federal offshore wind leasing on his first day back in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, pending an environmental and economic review.
On the same day, Danish energy company Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind firm, posted another impairment charge on delays to a U.S. offshore project.
Those are just the latest blows for the offshore wind industry that former President Joe Biden and several states considered key to meeting federal and state clean energy targets.
In California, where offshore wind is in early stages of development, Adam Stern, Executive Director of Offshore Wind California, an industry trade group, said most of the work was happening at the state level.
January 27, 2025 — President Donald Trump used his first day in office to slam the brakes on the renewable energy industry, issuing an executive order to temporarily halt federal leasing, permitting and approval of both onshore and offshore wind energy projects.
But a Virginia Beach wind farm already under construction will be spared the immediate effects of the order, said environmental experts and Dominion Energy officials. Still, the experts say other Dominion projects could be delayed.
“It will have an effect on any future leases,” said Eileen Woll, offshore energy program director for the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter.
Under the Monday executive order, the Trump administration will pause all offshore wind leases in federal waters, in addition to halting permitting and approvals for any wind project, both offshore or onshore. The order notes that, “Nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas.” That includes the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which began construction off the coast of Virginia Beach last year.
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