Regional fishery management councils across the U.S. are submitting a laundry list of items they claim to be tackling or considering in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.”
Issued in April, the executive order instructed government officials to identify ways to improve the commercial fishing and aquaculture sectors while reducing their regulatory burden. The directive follows an executive order issued in Trump’s first term that claimed commercial fishing was heavily regulated, and encouraged the removal of "unnecessary regulatory burdens" such as “restrictive catch limits.”
“This latest order contained a provision, 'A New Era of Seafood Policy,' that promotes productive seafood harvests; unburdens commercial fishermen from costly and inefficient regulation; combats illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; and protects our seafood markets from the unfair trade practices of foreign nations,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick explained in a September joint op-ed published in the Anchorage Daily News.
The new executive order instructed Lutnick to work with the regional fishery management councils and other partners to “identify the most heavily overregulated fisheries requiring action and take appropriate action to reduce the regulatory burden on them.” The order also directs the councils to provide updates on the recommendations they submitted to the 2020 executive order “to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and to increase productions.”
“Building upon the earlier goals, identified actions should stabilize markets, improve access, enhance economic profitability, and prevent closures,” the order reads. “The Regional Fishery Management Councils will commit to a work plan and a schedule for implementation to ensure these actions are prioritized.”
Those updates were due within 180 days, and councils are now submitting lists of action items and recommendations they believe correspond to the president’s orders. Councils have been deliberating the order and soliciting feedback over the summer months, and they’ve begun sending their recommendations on to NOAA Fisheries.
“Over several meetings, the Council evaluated and prioritized a wide range of concerns and issues raised by members, staff, fishermen and advisors. The Council also solicited input from advisors and the public,” South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) Chair Trish Murphey wrote in a 30 September letter. “We appreciate the opportunity to elaborate on the fishery management challenges within our region and look forward to working with NOAA Fisheries to address the topics identified in response to this Executive Order.”
Read the entire article on Seafood Source. Republished with permission.
