Steve Bittenbender

Contributing Editor

Steve Bittenbender works as a freelance journalist based in Louisville, Kentucky. Besides working for SeafoodSource.com as a contributing editor, Steve also works as an editor for Government Security News and as the Kentucky correspondent for the Reuters News Service. He also works as a sports writer for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal and The Associated Press. He has received awards from the Kentucky Press Association and the Louisville Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for his on-going and enterprise reporting work.


Author Archive

Published on
November 1, 2021

Three U.S. senators have reintroduced legislation that would open the door for expanded aquaculture in American waters.

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) are the initial sponsors behind S. 3100, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act. The bill would create federal regulations for fish farms established in the country’s exclusive economic

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Published on
October 29, 2021

A plan to divert sediment from the Mississippi River may help build up fish and shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.

If U.S. officials approve the USD 800 million (EUR 689.1 million) plan, it will create more than 15,800 acres of new marshes in two U.S. states over a 50-year period and potentially nearly double that amount. The diversion would build up Louisiana’s delta would also help neighboring Mississippi, according to Chip Klein,

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Published on
October 22, 2021

In advance of next year’s golden anniversary for the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, two congressmen representing key fishery regions have joined forces to relaunch a bipartisan caucus to promote and continue protecting habitats crucial for coastal economies.

U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-California) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) will serve as co-chairs for the reestablished caucus, which according to the National Marine Sanctuary

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Published on
October 19, 2021

A consortium of commercial fishing industry stakeholders announced on Tuesday, 19 October, it intends to file a lawsuit against federal officials over their approval of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore energy development project if the U.S. government fails to address violations the stakeholders allege were made in its approval process.

The law firm representing the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) sent a 27-page letter Tuesday to

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Published on
October 18, 2021

A U.S. congressional committee has passed an amended bill that seeks to prevent more seafood produced through illegal practices from entering the country – in part by expanding the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, 13 October, voted to advance the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act, legislation sponsored by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-California) and Garret

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Published on
October 13, 2021

The energy company that reported one of its offshore pipeline began spilling oil off the coast of the U.S. state of California earlier this month now finds itself facing a multitude of lawsuits from companies and individuals impacted by the environmental disaster, including representatives of the fishing industry …

Photo courtesy of

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Published on
October 12, 2021

Starting Tuesday, 12 October, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will begin taking comments on whether the United States should renew tariff exceptions for nearly 550 products from China that the federal government chose to let expire last year.

That list includes four frozen crab meat products sold in airtight containers – king, snow, Dungeness, and “other” – as well as frozen Alaskan sole. The weight limit

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Published on
September 30, 2021

Nearly 130 members of the U.S. fishing industry signed a letter sent earlier this month to the top members of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees fishing policies, expressing concerns about a bill they said would create technological redundancies, add to their costs, and raise privacy concerns.

The industry members told U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-California) and Cliff Bentz (R-Oregon), in the 14 September

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Published on
September 21, 2021

A bill banning large drift gillnets from being used in federal waters has unanimously been approved in the U.S. Senate.

Now S.273, also known as the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. The bill’s chances there are good, considering the legislative body passed the same measure last year. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed the bill on 1 January,

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Published on
September 14, 2021

A group of fishing industry stakeholders on Monday, 13 September asked a federal appeals court to review the decision approving the Vineyard Wind I offshore energy development project …

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