Tag Archives: President Trump
Why Isn’t Big Fishing Putting America First?
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump proclaimed his love for America’s fishermen and coastal communities. He’s right to do so considering that the rank-and-file fishermen are part of our new Republican coalition of blue-collar workers that contribute enormously to our economy. While the president continues to do his part to deliver for them, most recently through an Executive Order, it’s growing clearer that the love isn’t reciprocated. So, it’s fair to ask: why isn’t commercial fishing doing their part to put America First? For decades, the elites have pushed policies that favor massive industrial fishing operations, many of which use foreign vessels and foreign labor. Meanwhile, hardworking American fishermen are pushed out of business by overregulation and unfair competition. It’s the same playbook they used with manufacturing – ship the jobs abroad, let foreigners overexploit our resources, and leave Americans holding the empty nets. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:15
Blaming low P.E.I. lobster prices on low P.E.I. lobster prices not a good excuse, says marketing board
Some fishermen on the south shore of Prince Edward Island say there’s no good explanation for the low prices they’ve been getting for lobster so far this spring season. Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the Lobster Fishers of P.E.I. Marketing Board, said smaller canner lobsters are selling for between $6 and $6.50 per pound. Larger market-sized crustaceans are fetching around $6.50 to $7. McGeoghegan said buyers are blaming the threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs on Atlantic lobster exports for the low prices — but without those actually in place at this point, he insists fishers should be getting more. “They’re saying, well, ‘Trump could do this and Trump could do that.’ Well, he could,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:40
Saving our shrimpers
It’s no secret that Georgia’s shrimpers are struggling to stay in business due to foreign imported shrimp that continues to saturate the market through unfair trade practices. Not only is the price of foreign shrimp artificially lowered to undercut domestic producers, but it is also harvested in an unsustainable way, making it a product that is more harmful to the environment and personal health than its American-sourced equivalent. In fact, the price manipulation has gotten so bad that shrimpers can’t even cover the cost of their fishing trip with the profits from their harvest. These are the kinds of inequities that President Trump is seeking to address through his tariff policies, and we are already seeing results from his America First leadership. For the first time in a long time, domestic shrimpers are able to compete on a level playing field, and with a superior product, this vital industry for our coast is stronger than ever. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:44
President Trump Cutting Red Tape to Strengthen Louisiana’s Seafood Industry
Louisiana’s commercial fishing families have long been the backbone of the state’s working coast. From shrimp docks in Terrebonne to oyster reefs in Plaquemines, Louisiana’s fishermen are vital to the state’s economy and the nation’s seafood supply. Now, a national push to reduce unnecessary regulations in the fishing industry offers a turning point for Louisiana’s shrimpers and other local fleets burdened by outdated, one-size-fits-all rules. This initiative could revitalize the industry by aligning federal policies with the realities of modern seafood production. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:09
Local fishing community happy with Trump’s order to open Pacific monument
The move brought a wave of mixed reactions. For local fishing communities like American Samoa, their economy depends on it. “I know that America Samoa was working really hard to ensure they had access to different monument areas so that their fishery was still sustainable and still survives because it supports a huge portion of their economy. So, I know that they’re really happy about this,” said Guam Department of Agriculture Director Chelsa Muna. But it’s good news for Manny Duenas, Fisherman Co-Op President, who says local fishing communities in the Pacific often pay the price of over regulation. “I’m really happy that President Trump is finally listening to the people of the Pacific. And hopefully someday Guam, instead of importing over 95 percent of the fish we have out in our ocean, we can go back and be self-sustaining and catch our own fish that we are buying from foreign countries that are not following any rules. To me, that’s a better program to strive for to better protect our reefs from over exploitation,” said Duenas. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:48
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP – By Jim Lovgren
President Trump proved he is a man of his word on April 16, when he announced a temporary hold on the Empire wind project off of New York, along with all other projects, pending a comprehensive review of the Biden administrations shenanigans in the permitting process. The Executive Order, called, “Restoring American seafood competitiveness” would initiate a 180-day review of ocean National monuments, while temporarily stopping the Empire wind project. The wide ranging EO also plans to reduce the regulatory burden on fishermen, address foreign trade imbalances, improve fishery management, and more. The most important point that has come out of this offshore wind issue is that Citizens can fight against the machine, and win. While a number of fishing groups had been fighting for years against the planned destruction of their fishing grounds by offshore wind companies, it wasn’t until the general public became enraged more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:40
U.S. Shrimp Industry Hails New Tariffs as Crucial Lifeline
In a move aimed at protecting American jobs and ensuring food security, the Trump Administration has announced new tariffs on major shrimp-supplying countries, a decision praised by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We’ve watched as multigenerational family businesses tie up their boats, unable to compete with foreign producers who play by a completely different set of rules,” said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We are grateful for the Trump Administration’s actions today, which will preserve American jobs, food security, and our commitment to ethical production.“ Unfair trade policies that disadvantage American shrimpers include billions of dollars in subsidies from international financial institutions to develop foreign shrimp aquaculture, along with widespread use of forced labor, banned antibiotics, and environmental destruction that reduce the cost of shrimp production in major supplying countries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:39
Trump’s tariffs are fishing sector’s biggest challenge since cod moratorium, minister says
Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishing industry is preparing for life with heavy economic tariffs in place. Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne is calling this moment the biggest challenge to the industry since the 1992 cod moratorium. “Never since the 1992 moratorium has such a challenge been put before us,” Byrne told reporters on Tuesday. “While all sectors of the economy are affected by our ally’s betrayal, none more so than our fishery.” Ninety-six per cent of snow crab harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2024 was shipped and sold to the United States. But Byrne says it’s unlikely the U.S. market is avoided entirely, and it will likely come down to what markets are willing to pay. “I have absolutely no doubt that even with a 25 per cent tariff, we can indeed sell to the United States. Buyers will buy, consumers will consume, it’s a question of the details,” he said. “U.S. consumers love Newfoundland and Labrador’s snow crab.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:41
On Louisiana’s coast, communities embrace ‘Gulf of America’ rebrand
Sitting in the business office next to his boat dock and shrimp processing plant, David Chauvin couldn’t be more excited about the Gulf of Mexico’s rebrand to the Gulf of America. Chauvin is already scrawling Gulf of America on his seafood companies’ invoices. Last week, he submitted a trademark application for a new Gulf of America logo he plans to use on his shrimp packaging later this year. Chauvin’s life is intimately tied to, and almost entirely dependent on the gulf. His family businesses include David Chauvin Seafood, Bluewater Shrimp and Chicky Lou’s. They cover nearly all the stages of getting shrimp from the gulf to people’s plates. The companies sell fresh shrimp wholesale and through a retail store. They also peel, process and freeze shrimp, and supply shrimp boats with fuel and ice. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:18
Two more NJ Offshore Wind Setbacks push wind further away from the Jersey Shore
Offshore wind, one of the most debated topics along the Jersey Shore in 2024, is now facing significant challenges as the economic landscape grows more difficult and political uncertainty mounts. Following the results of the November 5 election and a continued challenge to the economics of offshore wind, a flurry of changes has emerged, signaling a shift in momentum for offshore wind projects in the state. Offshore wind, one of the most debated topics along the Jersey Shore in 2024, is now facing significant challenges as the economic landscape grows more difficult and political uncertainty mounts. Following the results of the November 5 election and a continued challenge to the economics of offshore wind, a flurry of changes has emerged, signaling a shift in momentum for offshore wind projects in the state. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44
Democrats accuse DOGE of going after NOAA
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday accused Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of improperly inserting itself into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In a joint statement, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Musk’s cost-cutting group of accessing NOAA’s computer systems. NOAA is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring atmospheric conditions and mapping the seas, among other things. “Elon Musk and his DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the federal government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on,” said Huffman and Lofgren, the top Democrats on the House Natural Resources and Science, Space and Technology committees, respectively. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:57
Golden, Van Drew introduce bill to guarantee critical Gulf of Maine fishing waters are protected from offshore wind development
Congressmen Jared Golden (ME-02) and Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02) today introduced the bipartisan Northern Fisheries Heritage Protection Act of 2025. The bill would prohibit commercial offshore wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA1), which includes nearly 14,000 square miles of nearshore fishing waters from the U.S.-Canada maritime border to the north shore of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. “Maine’s fishermen deserve to know that waters critical to our historic, high-value industry are protected — not by promises, but by federal law,” Golden said. “Protecting the bountiful natural resources of LMA1 from development will preserve our way of life, local economies and communities. President Trump’s recent Executive Order provides some measure of reprieve, but we need a more permanent solution.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:05
Biden to restore Obama’s marine national monument
President Biden announced that he will restore protections to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, The restored protections, which Biden will sign on Friday, will prohibit commercial fishing in the monument, with fishing for red crab and American lobster phased out by September 15, 2023. Recreational fishing in the monument will still be allowed. Former President Barack Obama originally established the conservation area in 2016, creating the country’s first and only marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. President Trump re-opened large sections of the area to fishing in June 2020, calling the restrictions “ridiculous,” “terrible” and “deeply unfair.”(He was right) Advocates for the commercial fishing industry expressed dismay at Biden’s proclamation,,, “Prohibiting hard-working commercial fisherman from sustainably harvesting while allowing owners of luxury yachts to spear fish for the same species in the same location is hypocritical,” said Bob Vanasse of Saving Seafood,,, >click to read< 10:00
“Sea Otters To End West Coast Fishing” Huh! fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job?
For decades, Julie Packard has spearheaded a campaign to curtail fishing under the guise of “conservation.” As this campaign has evolved, it has become a tale of precaution. The campaign started as a need to save the sea otter. Did otters really need “saving?” That is entirely debatable, and was, extensively. The result was clearly non-scientific and summarized as a “choice” between fishing or sea otters. Friends Of The Sea Otter shill Steve Schmeck was quoted saying fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job.” The California urchin divers took issue and were represented by Pacific Legal Foundation in litigation. USFWS cited inability to manage the otter population. The result was USFWS having zero oversight and getting away with lying and breaking the law.,,, Fast forward to today: The Monterey Bay Aquarium & Julie Packard have infiltrated the government and the economic chain. The money, influence and placement of persons in nonprofits, universities and government positions has created an oligarchy and a serious ethics problem. This is a big read with links and information from California Sea Urchin Diver Jeff Crumley. > Click to read< 22:01
Lobsters Are A Prawn In The Trade Wars
American lobster and lobster fishers got caught in a trade war being fought on multiple fronts. The United States is battling China on one major front and the European Union (EU) on another, but as is typical in trade wars, it’s lobster production in another country that’s winning the war. In this case, Canada. If that weren’t enough, tariffs are the root cause of the trade war, but not in the way you might think. China’s tariffs on U.S. lobsters are in retaliation for President Trump’s China tariffs over intellectual property. The EU didn’t raise its tariffs on U.S. lobster, but rather lowered them on Canadian ones as part of their free trade agreement. In other words, U.S. lobsters were never meant to be the target of either Chinese or EU,,, How the lobster trade war started isn’t nearly as interesting as the efforts to stop it. >click to read< 10:28
$36 million in trade relief awarded to Maine lobstermen
Maine lobstermen have been awarded a total of $36,284,110.12 to date to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to China’s retaliatory tariffs, according to a news release. The funding has been provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Seafood Trade Relief Program. Following a letter the Maine Delegation sent to President Trump in June 2019, the Administration issued a Presidential Memorandum that called on USTR and USDA to provide the lobster industry with the same form of financial assistance,,, >click to read< 08:50
Eric Trump tells Maine lobstermen: ‘We will never, ever let you down’
When Seth Dube was growing up in Camp Ellis, Saco’s gritty seaside community boasted a robust ground fishing fleet, but the draggers are mostly gone now, replaced by lobster boats like his. The sixth-generation fisherman blames government overregulation for that industry’s demise, and used to worry lobstering could be next. That was before President Trump became a friend of the Maine fisherman, Dube said – reopening marine monuments to fishing, delaying environmental rules that would have forced some lobstermen to install greener diesel engines, inking a trade deal allowing tariff-free lobster trade with Europe and giving lobstermen trade relief for lost China sales. >click to read< 11:19
President Trump to to prohibit offshore drilling along Florida, Georgia and S.C. coasts
The president signed a memorandum on Tuesday instructing the interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off the South Carolina coast, Georgia coast and both Florida coasts. The ban would last for a period of 10 years, from July 1, 2022, to June 20, 2032. “South Carolina is blessed with the most beautiful and pristine beaches, sea islands, and marshes in the nation. Seismic testing and offshore drilling threatens their health and jeopardizes the future of our state’s $24 billion tourism industry. Today’s announcement is good news, but we must remain vigilant in the conservation and preservation of our coastline,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. The existing moratorium covers the Gulf of Mexico, and Trump said the new one would also cover the Atlantic coast. >click to read< 08:30
USDA trade aid for lobster industry using coronavirus coffers
The Trump administration is committed to starting an aid program to help the struggling lobster industry, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Wednesday, but the funds to do so will come from the coronavirus stimulus package, not the aid used to bail out farmers after President Trump’s trade war with China. The lobster industry, like many others during the coronavirus outbreak, has seen losses as markets on cruise ships and restaurants evaporate.,, Trump has began paying considerable attention to Maine’s lobster industry starting this summer, traveling to Bangor in June to announce he would reverse protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. >click to read< 18:07
Northern Right Whales Are on the Brink, and Trump Could Be Their Last Hope
The task of responding will fall to an unlikely champion, President Trump, whose recent appeals for support from Maine lobstermen could clash with the task of saving the right whale. Peter Corkeron, a senior scientist at the New England Aquarium who spent nearly a decade chronicling the gruesome deaths of right whales as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s research program for large whales, said he feared the listing would have little impact. “Lobstermen certainly recognize the dire circumstance that the right whale species is in right now,” Patrice McCarron, “We’re in this awkward situation where right whales are not doing great, and it’s certainly not the fault of the commercial fisheries.”PEER also filed a complaint last year with the inspector general of the Commerce Department, which oversees NOAA, arguing that federal officials intent on reopening fishing areas have been ignoring their own scientists on climate change as well as other threats to whales. >click to read< 11:37
Point Judith fishermen optimistic as Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument restrictions ease
Removal of restrictions for an underwater national park sealed off from commercial fishing trawlers and lobstermen will now provide a bonanza of opportunities for fishing boats in Point Judith, said Fred Mattera, advocate for commercial fishing. According to Mattera, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, this once lucrative fishing spot will now again enable them to bring back large hauls to be sold to for restaurants, grocery stores and ingredients for other foods. Last Friday President Trump removed those restrictions and opened the area once more to fishing, but the decision has produced an outcry from various environmental groups warning of the potential destruction to unique marine life. >click to read< 14:49
Trump Rights a Wrong by Opening Marine Monument to Commercial Fishing
President Trump used the occasion of a visit to Maine last week to do right by an industry that hasn’t had much good news lately when he reopened to commercial fishing nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean south of New England that President Barack Obama closed in 2016. Stay tuned. In the process of righting a wrong,,, Obama created the area, known as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, just a few months before he left office. He portrayed the monument, the only one in the Atlantic, as a hedge against climate change.,,, Obama also >considered the area around Cashes Ledge<, 80 miles off Rockland, for monument status, which would have been devastating for Maine fishermen. Ultimately, he took a pass, but environmentalists have not given up on the idea. By Jerry Fraser, >click to read< 08:00
President Donald J Trump:“We are reopening the Northeast Canyons to commercial fishing”, Threatens New EU, China Tariffs Over Maine Lobster
President Trump on Friday announced that he will reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of Massachusetts for commercial fishing. “We’re opening it today. We’re undoing his executive order,””We are reopening the Northeast Canyons and the Seamounts Marine Region to commercial fishing.” >click to read<
Remarks By President Trump In A Roundtable On Supporting America’s Commercial Fishermen >click to read<
Trump Threatens New EU, China Tariffs Over Lobster in Maine Trip – President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on cars made in the European Union and on unspecified Chinese products unless the two regions reduce their duties on U.S. lobster, during a visit to Maine where he plans to lift Obama-era fishing restrictions. “If the European Union doesn’t drop that tariff immediately, we’re going to put a tariff on their cars, which would be equivalent,” Trump said in a roundtable event in Bangor, Maine, with commercial fishermen and the state’s former Republican governor, Paul LePage. “It’ll be the equivalent, plus,” he added. >click to read< 15:51
CARES Act : Maine’s cut of $300 million in federal seafood industry funding is nation’s fifth-highest.
Maine is in line to get $20 million to help its battered seafood industry weather the COVID-19 storm. The award, announced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, comes out of the $300 million in federal funding included in the CARES Act to help the U.S. fishing industry survive the economic losses associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Maine’s award was the fifth-highest out of 31 states. Commissioner Patrick Keliher said Thursday that he was only just learning about the award and would not be making any comments about distribution plans, , or priorities, until he received specific guidance from the NOAA. >click to read< 13:44
Trump signs $2T coronavirus relief package to help American workers and businesses
President Trump on Friday signed a bipartisan $2 trillion economic relief package aimed at helping American workers and businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill includes $1,200 one-time payments to many Americans; sets up a $500 billion corporate liquidity fund to help struggling industries like airlines; allocated $377 billion for aid to small businesses; and boosts the maximum unemployment benefit by $600 per week for four months, among other provisions. Trump signed the legislation hours after it passed the House, thanking Republicans and Democrats “for coming together, setting aside their differences and putting America first” with the legislation. >click to read< 06:52
Coronavirus: Letter from 200+ US seafood industry stakeholders to Trump Administration
March 24, 2020, Dear President Trump. We write as participants in America’s seafood supply chain, a critical component of the country’s domestic food infrastructure and one of the major economic drivers in our country’s coastal communities and states. Empty restaurants, cafes, and dining halls are a visible reminder of the ongoing, unprecedented public health efforts to blunt the spread of COVID-19. The livelihoods of the chefs, cooks, servers, and other staff are obvious and direct casualties of those government efforts. The economic disruption caused by forced restaurant closures and active encouragement for Americans to “shelter in place,” however, extend far beyond the food service sector. >click to read< 19:37
Coronavirus: Perfect storm?
What no one could foresee when the sun rose in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) on Jan. 23 and everything seemed so normal was that the planet was already hurtling toward a global economic slowdown with possibly devastating repercussions for a fragile, Alaska economy dependent on oil, tourism, fisheries and the state Permanent Fund – all now suffering the fallout from the consequences of an invisible, contagious and too-often-deadly pathogen. A month before that sunrise, with Utqiagvik still cloaked in darkness, a new coronavirus spawned no one knows exactly where was already spreading in Wuhan, China far to the south and west. more, >click to read< 15:09
California water debate heads to court after Trump joins discussion
After years on the sidelines, the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman says new federal plans to divert water from the delta region in Northern California to farms in the southern part of the state will bring water where it’s needed most. “It is meant to balance all of the factors. More for people, more reliable for some of the best farmland in the world, more reliable for fish as well,” Burman said. But for decades, environmentalists and the fishing industry argued pumping threatens endangered fish species. Video, >click to read< 09:37
“This is our line in the sand,”: Facing new threats, lobstermen take hard line against right whale protections
“My administration will not allow any bureaucrat to undermine our lobster industry or our economy with foolish, unsupported, and ill-advised regulations,” Governor Janet Mills told a crowd of cheering lobstermen at a protest this summer at a protest this summer in Stonington. The backlash started shortly after a government-appointed team of scientists, fishermen, and others urged the agency to require lobstermen to reduce their buoy lines, among other measures.,, But with increasingly vocal protests across Maine’s rugged coast from rank-and-file lobstermen, the state’s leaders — including their entire congressional delegation,,, >click to read< 12:17
Booming wind industry’s big worry
Land-based turbines are rising by the thousands across America, from the remote Texas plains to farm towns of Iowa. And the U.S. wind boom now is expanding offshore, with big corporations planning $70 billion in investment for the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farms.,,, The Interior Department cited the surge in corporate interest for offshore wind projects in saying it wanted more study before moving forward. It directed Vineyard Wind to research the overall impact of the East Coast’s planned wind boom.,, Federal fisheries officials have been among the main bloc calling for more study, saying they need to know more about the impacts on ocean life. >click to read< 14:23
