Tag Archives: President Donald Trump
What About the Fish?!! Trump signs memo to send more water to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness
“Western water mismanagement has been horrendous for commercial, recreational, and guide fisheries in California,” said Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) executive director Noah Oppenheim in a statement. “Water users have sucked our rivers dry for far too long, and the fish have been paying the price.”,,, “Just last month the Secretary of Commerce declared our 2016 and 2017 fishing seasons to be official federal fishery disasters. >click to read<09:00
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement – U.S. and Canada Reach Nafta Deal
The accord restores—for now, at least—harmony with two neighbors that Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized in public, paving the way for him to hold a late-November signing ceremony with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “It’s a good day for Canada,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters as he left a special Sunday-night cabinet meeting at his offices to go over the framework of the agreement. Early Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted: “It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our Farmers and Manufacturers, [reduces] Trade Barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three Great Nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world.” >click to read<11:45
Trump officials drafted plans to eliminate marine monument off New England
Senior U.S. Department of Interior officials prepared last fall to eliminate the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the Atlantic coast—even as they had yet to agree on the public justifications for doing so, according to newly disclosed internal documents. Interior last week accidentally released thousands of pages of unredacted internal emails in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.,, In a 22 August 2017 email, Interior official Randy Bowman, who led the monument review process, drafted two proposals: one in which Trump would revoke the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument and the other in which he would amend the proclamation to remove restrictions on commercial fishing. On 14 September, Bowman suggested in an email that impacts to the fishing industry were not a major consideration in revoking the monument’s status. >click to read<18:26
Scare-mongering Big Brother on America’s fishing boats hurts those who know the industry best
The plague on the commercial fishing industry isn’t “overfishing,” as environmental extremists and government officials claim. The real threats to Northeastern groundfishermen are self-perpetuating bureaucrats, armed with outdated junk science, who’ve manufactured a crisis that endangers a way of life older than the colonies themselves. Hardworking crews and captains have the deepest stake in responsible fisheries management — it’s their past, present, and future — but federal paper-pushers monitor them ruthlessly like registered sex offenders. >click here to read<09:47
Amid uncertain NAFTA future, lobster industry looks to other markets
President Donald Trump is known to be a steak kind of guy. But his threat to throw out the North American Free Trade Agreement is lending a whole new meaning to “surf and turf” for at least one lobster-processing plant in southwestern Nova Scotia. “Yes, we all watch the negotiations. Yes, we’re all concerned about what will happen,” said Robert MacDonald, president and general manager of Gidney Fisheries in Centreville, N.S. The U.S. is the largest consumer of lobster from the Maritimes, accounting for close to three-quarters of the roughly $2 billion this country exported in 2016, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. click here to read the story 09:24
Parents of reality show star, overdose victim Adam Moser, invited by Trump to opioid speech
East Kingston’s Jim and Jeanne Moser stood in front of President Donald Trump in the White House’s East Room Thursday with a photo of their son Adam. Trump reached out, placing his hand on Adam’s face. The Mosers traveled to Washington for Trump’s declaration of the opioid epidemic as a nationwide public health emergency.,, Twenty-seven-year-old Adam Moser died from an apparent fentanyl overdose in Portsmouth in September 2015. click here to read the story 08:36
Yes, Trump can revoke national monuments
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has finally completed a months-long review of dozens of controversial national monuments, recommending major changes to 10 monuments, including shrinking six and relaxing regulation of the other four. Before the specific recommendations became public, the president’s opponents were already threatening lawsuits, claiming the president has no authority to change existing monuments. With the recommendations now public, it is only a matter of time before the litigation floodgates open. Everyone should take a deep breath.,,, Nothing in the Antiquities Act forbids the president from revoking or shrinking a national monument. And the theory is belied by history: Seven presidents have shrunk national monuments, including President William Howard Taft, who reduced the Navajo National Monument by nearly 90 percent. click here to read the op-ed 12:10
Trump team nears decision on national monuments
As Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approaches the 24 August deadline for his recommendations to President Donald Trump on whether to alter dozens of national monuments, conservation proponents say it remains all but impossible to predict which sites the administration could target for reductions or even wholesale elimination.,,, Obama created the first Atlantic marine monument in 2016 when he designated nearly 5,000 square miles for preservation off the coast of Massachusetts.,, The Boston Globe reported that Zinke appeared sympathetic while meeting with about 20 representatives of New England’s seafood industry. “When your area of access continues to be reduced and reduced … it just makes us noncompetitive,” Zinke said at the time. “The president’s priority is jobs, and we need to make it clear that we have a long-term approach to make sure that fishing fleets are healthy.” click here to read the story 11:38
Seismic blasting, oil & gas drilling in Atlantic? Now’s the time to comment
The public is now being asked to comment on the president’s proposal to open up the Atlantic and all other federal offshore planning areas for potential oil and gas drilling. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the 45-day public comment period on a new Five-Year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program on the Outer Continental Shelf will begin Monday. The comment period will close Aug. 17. To comment on the proposed Five-Year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program: click here to read the story, scroll down page for instructions. 08:43
Rutherford, others sign letter opposing Atlantic coast seismic testing for oil exploration
The same day that President Donald Trump touted new energy policies during a speech at the U.S. Department of Energy that he said were part of a “golden era of American energy,” Rep. John Rutherford’s office released a letter signed by him more and than 100 other members of Congress that voiced opposition to the use of a controversial oil and gas exploration technique off the Atlantic Coast. “We are writing in strong opposition to your recent secretarial order to move forward with offshore oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean,” the letter, signed by members of both parties and addressed to Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, began. “Offshore oil and gas exploration, the first step of which is seismic air gun testing, puts at risk coastal economies based on fishing, tourism, and recreation,” it said before asking Zinke not to issue any permits for the surveys. click here to read the story 09:10
Trump Gave A Speech That Has The Wind Industry Terrified
Wind industry officials scrambled to fend off President Donald Trump’s criticism of wind turbines during his speech Wednesday night. “I don’t want to just hope the wind blows to light up your homes and your factories,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Iowa. “As the birds fall to the ground.” Trump’s comments triggered a response from the CEO of the country’s largest wind energy lobbying group, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). CEO Tom Kiernan published a series of tweets to push back against Trump’s critiques of wind power. ( of course, we will never see the carnage at offshore wind farms, as sea birds will simply disappear into the ocean. What a scam!) click here to read the story 17:34
Fishermen, Conservationists Go Head To Head Over East Coast Underwater National Monument
New England fishermen are hoping President Donald Trump will reverse an undersea monument designation they say has cut them off from nearly 5,000 square miles of valuable fishing grounds off the coast of Cape Cod. Trump last month directed the Department of the Interior to conduct a sweeping review of national monument designations over the last two decades, including the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, which President Barack Obama declared the first undersea national monument in the Atlantic Ocean in September. But Joseph Gilbert, owner of Stonington-based Empire Fisheries, said since the designation, “we’ve been pushed to other areas” creating unnecessary competition and pressure as more boats are fishing in a smaller area. Fishermen, who have been using the area for 200 years, Gilbert said, were given just two months to get out. Though the area represents only 1.5 percent of U.S. waters off the East Coast, Gilbert said it’s another example of fishermen “losing, one nibble or bite at a time, access to historic, productive fishing areas.” click here to read the article 08:01
Attention US East Coast Fishermen.
On may 17th President Donald Trump will be giving the commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London CT. We are seeking interested commercial fishing vessels to come together in a show of solidarity to ask our President to look into the management problems that have plagued our industry for decades. We all know the issues that are destroying our industry and we need to get the word out to his administration that we, like farmers, coal miners and a whole host of American small businessmen are struggling to hang onto our businesses because of the onerous regulatory situation that has plagued our industry. What we are seeking is if there are enough interested people to put together a flotilla of vessels to sail up the Thames River as a show of support for his plan to minimize industry and job killing over regulation. We recognize this is short notice but this is a golden opportunity to show the President who we are and the importance of our industry to the fabric of our nation and our coastal communities. If we find enough support and a commitment to show up to form a parade of vessels we will announce more details as to the time we would need to assemble and also receive other ideas to get the message to the President on our desire to “Make commercial fishing great again”. This is not a protest of our President. It is a rally in support of his pro business agenda that would benefit all Americans. If interested please call Bob Guzzo @860-608-5988 or Joel Hovanesian @401-742-3162 Thank you for your consideration to this undertaking. 14:23
Trump Orders Review Of National Monuments, Including The First In The Atlantic Ocean
President Donald Trump this week ordered a review of the U.S. Antiquities Act. The move could impact the Atlantic Ocean’s first-ever marine national monument, created last fall. The monument covers nearly 5,000 square miles off the coast of Cape Cod. It’s home to a variety of wildlife and underwater landscapes. This week, Trump ordered his interior secretary to review dozens of monuments created over the last roughly two decades, which are larger than 100,000 acres. Trump said they represent a “massive federal land grab.” Lisa Dale, with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, said the review isn’t trying to rescind or undo anything — yet. “It’s quite heavy on ideology, and rather light on realism,” she said. lol! we’ll see! click here to read the story 17:19
Seafood groups praise Trump’s “Buy American” executive order
President Donald Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order has been positively received by some U.S. seafood trade groups, who say it will help the domestic seafood industry. Representatives of industry groups in Alaska and the U.S. states on the Gulf of Mexico said the executive order will help them create jobs for Americans.“In order to promote economic and national security and to help stimulate economic growth, create good jobs at decent wages, strengthen our middle class, and support the American manufacturing and defense industrial bases, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to maximize…through terms and conditions of federal financial assistance awards and federal procurements, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States,” the order states. click here to read the story 09:58
Calling on the president to make commercial fishing great again
One boat after another offloaded their catch at Gambardella’s Wholesale Seafood. A busy day for the seafood distributor but that’s not the norm these days. Fewer fishing boats are coming in because crews say they can’t afford to go out with limits on what they can catch.“The regulations are outdated, the science is wrong, and we’ve been fishing under these conditions for too long,” said Bobby Guzzo a longtime fishermen. He says they often have to throw back fish so they don’t go over their limits and those limits are based on what state fisherman are from even though they all fish the same federal waters. Connecticut limits are a lot lower than states down south. “We’re all fishing in federal water, we’re all fishing together,” said Guzzo. “Why aren’t we all together?” It’s a question Guzzo has been asking for years and now he and fellow fishermen are hoping to ask President Donald Trump. They are calling on him to make commercial fishing great again. Video, read the story here 07:57
Fishermen at odds over impact of Trump executive order
An executive order by President Donald Trump designed to radically cut back on federal regulations has spurred disagreement among fishermen about how it will affect them — and lawmakers and regulators aren’t sure what the answer is. Groups that represent both commercial and recreational fishermen are divided over whether Trump’s “one in, two out” approach to federal regulations will benefit their industry, harm it or not affect it at all.,, Several fishing groups, ranging from the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association to the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association, are joining Democratic Reps. Jared Huffman of California and Raul Grijalva of Arizona in asking Trump to rescind.,, Other industry interests, including the Fisheries Survival Fund, said the order will likely leave fisheries unaffected. The order would apply only to financially significant regulations, and that would not include things like opening fishing seasons and enforcing catch limits, said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the fund. “All this talk about how you’re not going to be able to manage fisheries — not true, doesn’t apply, not going to happen,” he said. Read the full story here 15:04
Van Drew Measure Asks President to Reject Summer Flounder Catch Reduction
A measure sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew and Bob Smith urging President Donald Trump to reject the proposed reduction in the summer flounder catch limit – an action that would have a drastic impact on fishing in New Jersey and the economy – and urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct a new summer flounder assessment was approved today by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. “We are very concerned about the decision to move forward with a catch reduction. That fact that it was based on faulty data only adds insult to injury,” said Senator Van Drew (D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.) “We are urging the President to reject this dramatic change that will have a real negative effect on both the fishing industry and our economy and asking for a new assessment before any new catch quota is implemented.” Read the story here 09:15
Trump’s nixing of trade pact disappoints Alaska seafood exporters
Alaska seafood exporters are disappointed by President Donald Trump’s decision to officially withdraw from a sweeping trade agreement among Pacific nations that would have eradicated import duties imposed by Japan and other countries on pollock and salmon, the two fish species that bring in the most revenue and create the most jobs in the industry. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have been former President Barack Obama’s signature legacy on trade, would have helped the pollock industry by cutting import taxes of 4.2 percent to zero in Japan, the largest consumer of pollock surimi and roe. Japan imports $248 million of Alaska pollock annually. The tariff costs importers $10 million annually in Japan alone for imitation crab, or surimi, and pollock roe, meaning similar products from nations that don’t face tariffs are more price-competitive. Existing tariffs on red salmon imported to Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam also would have been removed, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Read the story here 14:21
President Donald Trump’s inaugural lunch menu will feature Maine Lobster, Gulf Wild Shrimp, and California Champagne
Soon after he’s sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump will dine on Maine lobster, Gulf shrimp, and Seven Hills Angus beef, to name a few dishes. These foods are all on the menu for the inaugural luncheon, a long-standing tradition in which the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies hosts a meal for the president and vice president at the Capitol following the inaugural address. The committee organized its first luncheon in 1953, when lawmakers welcomed President Dwight Eisenhower for creamed chicken, baked ham and potato puffs in the Capitol’s Old Senate Chamber. Trump’s, which will be held in the Statuary Hall, will feature three courses. The first, Maine lobster and Gulf shrimp with saffron sauce and peanut crumble, will be accompanied by a J. Lohr 2013 Arroyo Vista Chardonnay. Read the story here 07:51
