Nathan Strout is a Portland, Maine-based editor of SeafoodSource. Previously, Nathan covered the U.S. military’s space activities and emerging technologies at C4ISRNET and Defense News, where he won awards for his reporting on the U.S. Space Force’s missile warning capabilities. Nathan got his start in journalism writing about several communities in Midcoast Maine for a local daily paper, The Times Record.
Author Archive
The Wild Fish Conservancy has petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list Alaska king salmon under the Endangered Species Act.
The organization claims the petition is a response to “the severe decline and poor condition of Chinook populations” in Alaska.
“For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm that Alaska’s Chinook are in dire trouble,” Wild Fish Conservancy Executive Director Emma Helverson said. “Despite
… Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Commerce has finalized antidumping tariffs for imported tin products used in seafood canning.
The tariffs are largely unchanged from the preliminary rates announced in August 2023, with the department implementing dumping rates of 123 percent for Chinese tin imports, 5 percent for Canadian tin imports, and 7 percent for German tin imports. However, the department also opted to set tariffs on some imported steel from South
… Read MoreThe administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a USD 10 million (EUR 9.1 million) contract to the Center for Enterprise Modernization to develop technologies that can help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.
“NOAA and its partners are working to stabilize the North Atlantic right whale population and prevent extinction of this species,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “This partnership,
… Read MoreThe Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Turtle Restoration Network have jointly filed a lawsuit against NOAA over the latter organization's alleged failure to protect Pacific leatherback sea turtles from becoming entangled in sablefish pot gear on the U.S. West Coast.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of NOAA Fisheries’ December 2023 decision to reopen about 2,000 square miles of critical sea turtle habitat for commercial sablefish
… Read MoreThe government of the U.S. state of Maryland has vowed to continue its fight against invasive catfish and snakehead in the Chesapeake Bay watershed after NOAA Fisheries denied its request for a federal fishery disaster declaration in December 2023.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore submitted the request in March 2023 as his state has struggled to contain an exploding population of invasive blue catfish, which was first introduced to the bay to create
… Read MoreU.S President Joe Biden has signed into law a clarification of the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) that will ensure projects supporting commercial fishing operations can access funding under that program.
The PIDP is a federal program that provides grants to port authorities, states, and local governments for port-related infrastructure projects; however, vague language left it unclear whether PIDP grants could be awarded to
… Read MoreU.S. senators are lining up behind legislation that would exempt seafood processors from the nation’s annual cap on H-2B temporary worker visas.
The seafood processing sector depends on foreign workers to meet seasonal demands. The Maryland crab industry, for example, brings in 500 workers annually via the H-2B program during the crab season.
“For years, the struggle to hire seasonal workers has put an incredible strain on
… Read MoreSeveral U.S. senators want to be able to track fishery disaster determinations the same way consumers track packages throughout their shipping process.
The Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from NOAA Fisheries on how the agency makes determinations of fishery disasters – a designation that makes communities and industries eligible for federal financial relief.
In a 21 December 2023 joint letter to NOAA Assistant
… Read MoreU.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) has introduced legislation that would provide an additional USD 36 million (EUR 33 million) for audits of imported shrimp and red snapper under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).
“Big seafood exporters, such as India and Ecuador, are flooding America’s markets with illegal shrimp and selling it for cheaper than quality Gulf shrimp caught right here at home,” Kennedy said.
… Read MoreThe administration of U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled an environmental justice strategy focused on communities dependent on the ocean or marine resources during the United Nations’ Conference of Parties in December 2023.
The federal strategy outlines overarching goals for advancing environmental justice for communities relying “on the ocean and Great Lakes for economic, cultural, spiritual, recreational, and food security
… Read More