Nathan Strout

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has completed the latest iteration of Operation North Pacific Guard, an annual patrol of international waters meant to stop and discourage illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. “Protecting fish stocks does not stop at our borders. Canada has taken a key role in the fight against illegal fishing, and I am proud of the fishery officers and Canadian Coast Guard crews carrying out this mission across… Read More

The first commercial oyster season in Florida’s Apalachicola Bay since it was closed in 2020 resulted in a harvest of 4,233 bags of shellfish, roughly 90 percent of the commercial limit set by state regulators. While Apalachicola Bay was historically a major producer of oysters, at one time providing roughly 10 percent of the oysters in the United States, the population collapsed in 2013. Regulators ultimately closed the fishery in 2020,… Read More

The European Union’s Market Advisory Council (MAC) acknowledged that there have been difficulties in rolling out the bloc’s CATCH digital certification system and improvements must be made to ensure the initiative’s long-term success. “Food business operators (FBOs) have identified a number of recurring operational, technical, and administrative challenges arising during the early implementation phase, particularly affecting supply… Read More

Democrats in the U.S. senate have introduced legislation that would restore the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act (ESA), undoing the federal government’s attempt to rescind habitat protections for threatened species. In July, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump decided to change the definition of harm, rescinding a 50-year-old policy of considering damage to the habitat of endangered species when regulating… Read More

The Mexico government is offering aquaculture operators high quality seed and funding as part of its efforts to boost aquaculture production. “It is a priority for the Government of Mexico – headed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo – to promote the production of aquaculture and fishing producers because they generate jobs and are a pillar for the food sovereignty of our country,” Conapesca said in its 28 July announcement. Conapesca… Read More

A pair of fishermen have asked a federal judge for permission to defend U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing in court. The status of commercial fishing in the 5,000-square-mile area off the coast of New England has flipped multiple times over the last decade, with U.S. President Barack Obama initially banning all commercial fishing except for lobster… Read More

The European Union is collecting input on OceanEye – a new initiative to expand the bloc’s ocean intelligence – with a new survey. The European Commission launched OceanEye in June with an initial investment of EUR 92 million (USD 106 million), seeking to grow its ocean observation systems to the point of providing 35 percent of global capacity by 2035. At the same time, the bloc aims to secure a quarter of the global ocean observation… Read More

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has once again ordered work to stop on a project designed to stop invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes, drawing frustration from state officials. "Under my administration, Illinois has spearheaded this project to protect the entire Great Lakes region. Yet, the Trump administration repeatedly throws up roadblocks and has now ordered work to stop altogether with no explanations,”… Read More

The European Commission has approved an Italian plan to provide EUR 20 million (USD 23 million) in financial aid to agriculture and fisheries companies in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Fuel and fertilizer prices remain elevated around the world due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for transporting oil out of the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump has vacillated between threatening large-scale attacks on Iran and… Read More

Wildlife officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cited multiple individuals for illegally harvesting spiny lobsters in July, when the season is closed. The state closed the season back in March, as it does every year to allow the species to safely reproduce for part of the year. According to CDFW, officers on a late-night patrol in Palos Verdes, California, U.S.A., encountered multiple suspects illegally taking… Read More