Nathan Strout

The European Commission has approved a temporary framework for member states to offer financial aid to the sectors most impacted by the rapid rise in fuel prices caused by the Iran war, including the commercial fishing industry. “Fishermen and transport operators are exposed to fuel costs with no realistic immediate alternatives,” European Commission Executive Vice President for Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera said in a… Read More

United States lawmakers representing the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have introduced legislation to extend their respective state waters' boundaries from 3 miles off the coast to 9 miles. The legislators behind the bill say it’s unfair that their Gulf of Mexico – currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the administration of President Donald Trump – neighbors, Texas and Florida, control resources in waters up to 9… Read More

Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Maryland have voted to pass legislation expanding its blue catfish pilot program, which was instituted to help remove more of the invasive fish from the state’s waterways. Introduced recreationally in the 1960s, voracious blue catfish have since spread throughout Maryland, outcompeting native species and harming local ecosystems. State governments in both Maryland and neighboring Virginia have tried to encourage… Read More

A Louisiana resident was cited by law enforcement after being caught buying, shucking, and then reselling oysters without a commercial license. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents received an anonymous complaint about Destrehan, Louisiana, U.S.A. resident Ursin Abbate buying sacks of oysters, shucking them, and then selling the shucked oysters in quart-sized containers – a service he advertised on social… Read More

U.S. lawmakers are pushing to attach several seafood amendments to the forthcoming Farm Bill renewal as part of an ongoing effort to grow the seafood industry’s presence within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “We urge Members of the House to support these amendments and deliver a Farm Bill that recognizes America’s commercial fishing families as the food producers they are,” Southern Shrimp Alliance Director Blake Price said… Read More

Update: This story has been updated with additional statements from Pacific Seafood The U.S. state of Oregon has fined Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based seafood processor Pacific Seafood USD 3.2 million (EUR 2.7 million) for wastewater violations at three of its processing facilities.  “Pacific Seafood has operated in Oregon for 85 years – we started with a small storefront on Powell Street in Portland. Now we are facing obstacles that call… Read More

Conservation groups have filed a petition with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources asking the state to require bycatch-reduction devices on all blue crab pots moving forward. Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Port Royal Sound Foundation, and Lowcountry Ecological, the petition claims that diamondback terrapins – a species of turtle found along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States – get stuck in… Read More

The U.S. state of Washington is taking emergency action to reclassify golden mussels as a Prohibited Level 1 invasive species following the discovery of the species in Oregon earlier in the month. Originally from China and Southeast Asia, golden mussels are an invasive species in the U.S. that are known to cause damage to infrastructure and reduce water quality, harming local fishing operations. The species was first detected in California in… Read More

Three years after releasing a series of explosive reports documenting the prevalence of alleged forced labor in China’s commercial fishing and seafood sector, the Outlaw Ocean Project is back and preparing to drop a new report highlighting issues with the global aquaculture industry. “The last time I was here was in 2023, when the Commission asked me to testify about an investigation by my news team, The Outlaw Ocean Project, into China’s… Read More

NOAA Fisheries has determined that some tope shark populations should be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but others are at no risk of extinction. “After reviewing the best scientific and commercial data available, we have determined that this species is comprised of six distinct population segments (DPSs) and that two, the Southern Africa and Southwest Atlantic DPSs, are likely to become in danger of extinction throughout all… Read More