Daily Archives: June 16, 2025
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR June 16, 2025: An Urgent Call to Action. Trawl Ban Legislation Tomorrow
An amendment to H.B. 442 includes language to ban shrimp trawling in all inside waters and ½ mile off the beach! This amendment with the language below will be read and voted on tomorrow (Tuesday, June 17th) at 10:00am in the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee. ROHIBIT SHRIMP TRAWLING IN ALL INSHORE FISHING WATERS AND WITHIN ONE-HALF MILE OF THE SHORELINE SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 113-187(d) reads as rewritten: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:37
‘Making decisions closer to the wharf’ can ensure the sustainability of Canada’s fisheries and oceans
During the federal election campaign, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that if elected, he would look into restructuring Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Carney stated that he understood the importance of DFO and of “making decisions closer to the wharf.” Carney’s statement was made in response to protesting fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador who decried recent DFO decision-making for multiple fisheries, including Northern cod and snow crab. Although addressing industry concerns is important, any change to DFO decision-making must serve the broader public interest, which includes commitments to reconciliation and conserving biodiversity. Major reforms could fundamentally reshape fisheries science and management in Canada, yet most Canadians are unaware of how DFO’s science-management process works, or why change might be needed. Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:05
How Trump’s plans to boost catch limits could hurt Gulf fishermen
When President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April ordering an increase in fishing limits to restore “American seafood competitiveness,” fishermen from Texas and other coastal areas cheered him on. But behind the scenes, many were concerned. The limits, set up by Congress 50 years ago to manage how much fisherman could catch, helped critical species like red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico rebound after overfishing through much of the 20th century. And Trump was proposing to raise them while cutting fisheries staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is charged with conducting the fish counts that determine catch limits, at a time when some fishermen say they’re suddenly seeing less stock in the sea. In his executive order, Trump described existing catch limits as overly “restrictive.” At the same time, he called for the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, to “modernize data collection and analytical practices” toward a better understanding of “real-time ocean conditions.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:39
Bell Island fishermen went out for lobster, but caught an ‘apparent’ artillery shell
When Tara Saunders’ husband went out to check his lobster pots on Saturday afternoon, she didn’t expect he would also bring home an apparent military artillery shell. She couldn’t believe it when her husband, Stewart Saunders, called to tell her he jumped in the water to pick up the object, and then he and his skipper Randell Clarke put the object in their boat and brought it home. Saunders says her husband and son were picking up the object when she made the call to police. The Bell Island RCMP told them to immediately vacate the premises, and within five minutes, officers had arrived. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:15
Letter to the Editor: The New York Times missed the mark on ‘shrimp fraud,’ but reforms are needed
This letter to the editor comes from Chef Dean Neff of Wilmington. Neff is responding to an article by food writer and journalist Brett Anderson, published in The New York Times. The article, with the headline “Investigating Shrimp Fraud Is an Urgent Matter on the Gulf Coast,” ran online with the sub-head, “With a flood of imported seafood driving the U.S. shrimp industry to the edge of ruin, a consulting company out of Houston is testing truth in menu labeling,” on April 30, and was published in print in early May. For the past decade I’ve worked as a chef in Wilmington, North Carolina, where I’ve been a two-time semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southeast Award. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 90:07
LEGAL ACTION INTENSIFIES AGAINST OFFSHORE WIND
A coalition of commercial fishermen, seafood processors, fish buyers and environmental groups from New Jersey to Massachusetts have filed an emergency motion in federal court to halt construction of Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project, citing imminent, irreversible harm to marine life, fishing grounds, the seafood supply chain and coastal economies. The motion seeks a preliminary injunction to immediately halt pile driving and construction activities. Plaintiffs argue the project threatens endangered whales, destroys seafloor habitat, and cripples a multi-generational American industry that provides food, jobs, and economic stability across the East Coast. “To allow Empire Wind to continue construction is to abandon us fishermen and our coastal communities who have, for generations, fed our great country and kept local economies thriving,” said Captain Shawn Machie of the F/V Capt. John in New Bedford, MA. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:55
