Daily Archives: February 1, 2025
Opinion: We need science-advice reform at Fisheries and Oceans Canada
It took months of meetings, written requests and public pressure to receive an official response from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to a 1.5-year-long wait for a request related to a widely condemned DFO report. This report found, contrary to mountains of peer-reviewed evidence, that infestations of sea lice on open-net salmon farms do not influence numbers of lice on wild salmon. Our appeal was simple: For the report’s authors to share the data used to reach their conclusion, to enable us to reproduce the analysis—a fundamental principle of modern science. The eventual response? A data sheet with much of the key data removed. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:30
Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge Closure to Trap/Pot Gear Upheld and Effective February 1 – Compliance Assistance Available
On January 30, 2025, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the final regulation amending the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) to expand the boundaries of the seasonal Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) to include the “Wedge”—that area of federal waters in Massachusetts Bay between state waters and the federal waters within the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge was lawful and may be enforced. Therefore, the Wedge is closed, effective February 1 2025, to the use of trap/pot gear (except the authorized use of on-demand gear by NOAA Fisheries) from February 1 through April 30. chart, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:03
U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods will come into effect Saturday, White House says
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday offered vague details on his plans to impose tariffs on goods coming from Canada, Mexico and China, after a spokesperson said they would take effect Saturday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would put a 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent tariff on goods from China during a briefing on Friday. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours later, Trump said he expects the tariffs would include oil, gas, steel, aluminum, copper and microchips — but potentially with staggered dates and rates, depending on the product. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she heard the president’s public comments but had not received any further information. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:36
‘Revolving Door’: Biden’s Ocean Energy Chief Went to Work for Major Offshore Wind Company After Admin Boosted Industry
Amanda Lefton, the former director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), went to work for a major offshore wind company after the agency boosted the industry and worked to limit offshore fossil fuel development on her watch. Lefton spearheaded the Biden administration’s effort to build out 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity along America’s coasts by 2030 in her capacity as the leader of BOEM, playing a key role in the administration’s all-of-government offshore wind push from February 2021 to February 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. She then went to work on green energy-related issues for Foley Hoag LLC, a major D.C. law firm, for approximately six months and then joined RWE, a major player in the offshore wind space, as the head of development for the east coast in July 2023. This is hardly surprising given the incestuous relations between the Biden BOEM and the wind industry. On Ms. Lefton’s watch the agency helped rush the so-far disastrous Vineyard Wind project through. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:30
