OPINION: Seafood Producers Cooperative Responds to WFC Lawsuit Against NOAA On Chinook ESA Listing

On behalf of the nearly 400 members of Seafood Producers Cooperative, who are very dependent on the wild Chinook fishery for a large part of their livelihoods, and as such, are very supportive of conservation efforts regarding Chinook, I would like to respond to the recent news of another attempt by the Wild Fish Conservancy, in their typical fashion of accusations and demands via litigation, to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for not listing Alaska Wild King Salmon stocks under the Endangered Species Act...

Wild Fish Conservancy Sues NMFS for Missing Deadline on Alaska Chinook ESA Decision

The Wild Fish Conservancy, an organization based in Duvall, Washington, filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) on May 8, 2025, for missing a deadline under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to submit a full review on the status of Chinook salmon in the Gulf of Alaska.

The review, a massive endeavor, as the Gulf covers 600,000 square miles and includes Chinook salmon rivers from Southeast Alaska across to the Aleutian Chain, is ongoing.

National Marine Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator for...

The Winding Glass: Heavy Lobster and Crab Tariffs Could Cripple the US; Canadian Seafood Industry

Canadian lobster and crab industries face severe stress due to President-elect Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs across the board on all Canadian imports to the US.

Under the worst-case scenario, higher sale prices would cut demand to the extent that lobster and crab would be left in the water. For both exports, the Canadians have no replacement for the US market. To increase sales to China, Japan, and Europe, they would have to offer drastic price cuts...

OPINION: Offshore Wind Energy Development: A David vs Goliath Story

As the aggressive pursuit to privatize and industrialize our oceans with offshore wind turbine factories marches on, the small yet powerful voices of coastal communities around the nation continues to fight to be heard in the process.  It is a veritable David versus Goliath story.

Goliath takes many forms.  Is it BOEM?  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is uncompromising in their quest to lease out our oceans to multinational corporations for industrial development. I have sat face to face in Washington, DC with BOEM director Liz Klein who claims...

The Winding Glass: Everything You Want to Know About Cod and the Demise of Whitefish

As a New Englander cod is my iconic fish.  Just as in Newfoundland, where ‘fish’ means cod, so in New England we have Cape Cod.  The sacred cod hangs in the Massachusetts State House. Cod has fished here for more than 500 years, about a century before the first permanent European settlements.

Our old sea shanties reflect the dominance of cod.

Cape Cod Girls they have no combs,
(heave away, heave away)
they comb their hair with codfish bones,
we’re bound for Australia..

The Winding Glass: Destruction of NMFS Cancels Trump’s Order Supporting American Fisheries

[The Winding Glass is the opinion and commentary column by John Sackton, Founder, SeafoodNews]

Staff firings and budget cuts are dismantling the fishery management regime established through the Magnuson Stevens Act.  In 2005 when NOAA implanted a system for monitoring the sustainability of fish stocks, only 38% of US commercial stocks were not overfished or within 80% of their biomass targets.  By 2023, this had increased to 78% of the monitored commercial stocks.   

This record was achieved despite climate factors decimating some important commercial fish species, such as pacific salmon, crab, and American lobster.  That means that while total commercial landings have...

The Winding Glass: What’s in Store for U.S. Fisheries After the Election?

The US government and the seafood industry are deeply intertwined.  Since the outcome of Tuesday’s election is unknown the industry is facing significant uncertainties about regulatory policies and trade dynamics.

I want to call out a few areas where monumental changes may occur, depending on which candidate wins.

Of course, the seafood industry exists within the larger macro-economic environment, and things like consumer confidence, real wages, inflation, and cost of competing proteins all impact demand for seafood....

The Winding Glass: Why Fish Markets Are a Mainstay of American Seafood

Want to know the bright spot in retail seafood? It’s your local fish store. 

For months we have chronicled the decline in overall U.S. retail seafood sales. Again in June, Circana data from US supermarkets and warehouse stores showed continuing problems.

Retail seafood experienced continuing deflation, led by frozen fish that was down -4.5% from a year ago. On the fresh side, everything but tilapia was lower priced than a year ago. And despite price decreases, dollar sales, unit sales, and volume continued to...