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
… Read MoreA 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
… Read MoreThe 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 …
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… Read MoreStarting 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
… Read MoreNearly 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
… Read MoreA 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,
… Read MoreA 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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… Read MoreMore than a dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the heads of NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife on Thursday, 19 August, asking them to investigate the effect a toxic chemical has on salmon species.
Led by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Katie Porter, both Califiornia Democrats, a total of 14 lawmakers are seeking answers from NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad and FWS Principal Deputy Director Martha Williams about
… Read MoreTwo major offshore wind projects off the coast of the U.S. state of New York have taken steps forward over the past week, according to announcements made by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and those developments have raised some significant concerns from the fishing industry in the U.S. Northeast.
On Monday 16 August, the agency issued its final environmental impact statement on South Fork Wind, a development that could generate
… Read MoreA federal judge in the U.S. state of Louisiana will hold a hearing on Tuesday, 24 August to determine if an injunction should be issued against NOAA Fisheries that would require the agency to postpone implementing a rule mandating shrimp fishermen install turtle excluder devices on their inshore skimmers.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sought the restraining order after NOAA Fisheries failed to continue a delay on a 2019 final rule that
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