America’s maritime economy is firmly in the black, according to the first-ever ““blue economy” report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
According to the report, released Tuesday, 8 June, the marine economy generated USD 397 billion (EUR 326 billion) to the United States’ gross domestic product in 2019. That sector grew at a 4.2 percent clip from 2018, nearly double the growth of the country’s entire GDP
… Read MoreThe “dead zone” that appears in the Gulf of Mexico ever summer is expected to be smaller than normal this year, according to an announcement Thursday, 3 June from NOAA scientists.
This year’s hypoxic area – which features little or no oxygen to sustain marine life – is forecasted to be about 4,880 square miles, or roughly twice the size of Delaware. The five-year average for the “dead zone” is about
… Read MoreA Chinese spokesperson on Monday, 31 May, rejected American claims that a Chinese fishing company has committed forced labor violations, calling the claims “totally unfounded.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday, 28 May, that Customs and Border Protection officials had issued an order against the Dalian Ocean Fishing Company, Ltd. That order came after agency officials said they identified all 11 signs of
… Read MoreThe Southern Shrimp Alliance reported that its request to U.S. officials to add frozen raw warmwater shrimp imports to the harmonized tariff schedule has been accepted …
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… Read MoreMike Conroy, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, hoped he’d have a little more time to get ready before the federal government planned to move forward with offshore wind energy projects on the U.S. West Coast. But that was before the U.S. Department of the Interior announcement on Tuesday, 25 May, indicating two areas off the California coast would be targeted for wind energy
… Read MoreNOAA Fisheries has published a report on the implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and detailed how the initiative to deter illegal and unregulated seafood products from entering the country can be fine-tuned in the years ahead.
Among the possibilities is the use of predictive analytics, which other government agencies have used to fight fraud. The report states that giving authorities that technology will help it better
… Read MoreCommercial fishermen in the United States landed 9.3 billion pounds of seafood products worth a total of USD 5.5 billion (EUR 4.5 billion) in 2019. That’s according to one of two reports NOAA Fisheries released on Thursday, 20 May.
The reports, Fisheries of the United States 2019 and the agency’s Annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries, indicate that the country saw slight increases to the number of stocks that were
… Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has made its biggest seafood purchase ever
… Read MoreDespite objections coming from U.S. fishing industry, the Biden administration on Tuesday, 11 May announced the approval of the country’s first large-scale offshore wind energy development project.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project will include no more than 84 turbines off the coast of Massachusetts.
“A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United
… Read MoreTwo U.S. congressmen have filed legislation that would expand the role of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to include all species.
U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-California) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) unveiled the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act on Tuesday, 11 May. The purpose of the legislation is to better connect illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing to forced labor practices in the seafood
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