Steve Bittenbender

Environmental conservation group Oceana announced on Monday, 14 September, that it contributed USD 1 million (EUR 845,500) to California’s efforts to end the drift gillnet fishery in the U.S. state.

Oceana’s contribution matches state funding and goes toward a buyout program for fishermen who have been using the controversial gear to catch swordfish. The buyout program was part of a state law passed two years ago that calls for their

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused only 37 seafood entry lines in July, continuing a trend where federal officials were rejecting a historically low number of products.

According to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, that amount is by far a record low for the month. It’s only 21.3 percent of this historical average the alliance has tracked since 2002. It’s also significantly lower than the previous record low of 91 entry

A crowdsourcing platform, HeroX, launched an initiative on Thursday, 20 August on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find innovative solutions to keep blue-green algae from wreaking havoc on catfish farms.

According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, catfish exposed to the algae can develop an off-taste. If found, farmers will often delay harvesting their stock for months in an attempt to get a better-tasting fish to

La Coste, Texas-based aquaculture company NaturalShrimp, Inc. announced on Tuesday, 11 August, that it has entered into a letter of intent to buy Alder Aqua, Ltd., an Iowa-based aquaculture company that produced barramundi under the VeroBlue brand.

NaturalShrimp will pay USD 10 million (EUR 8.5 million) for Alder Aqua’s assets, which include tanks, rolling stock, inventory, permits, customer lists, and contracts. Alder Aqua’s

A task force looking at bolstering the competitiveness of the U.S. seafood industry submitted its recommendations to do just that to the U.S. Trade Representatives on Wednesday, 5 August, NOAA announced in a release on Thursday, 6 August.

A list or summary was not released. Kate Goggin, a NOAA Fisheries spokesperson, told SeafoodSource the recommendations are “an internal, deliberative document.”

“The final plan will be made

A bipartisan bill that would eliminate the use of drift gillnets to catch swordfish and thresher sharks in Pacific Ocean waters within five years passed the U.S. Senate last week.

Senate Bill 906 passed by voice vote in the chamber on Thursday, 23 July. It now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, which has until the end of the year to consider the legislation.

“We are now one step closer to removing these nets from our