By The Seattle Medium
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued a sharp rebuke of a new executive order signed by former President Donald Trump aimed at reforming federal seafood and fisheries policy.
“You can’t manage and grow American fisheries when you fire the very scientists and fishery managers who are charged with supporting the more than one million jobs that rely on sustainable fisheries,” Cantwell said. “This executive order comes on the heels of the leaked Trump Administration draft budget which would slash the National Marine Fisheries Service budget by 27 percent and eliminate the Habitat Conservation Program and the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, which fishermen rely on to restore salmon and other fish populations. The administration’s actions are hurting fishing families, not helping them.”
Cantwell’s comments were in response to Trump’s newly signed executive order titled “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,” which outlines a sweeping overhaul of the federal approach to regulating and promoting the domestic fishing industry. The order criticizes what it calls federal “overregulation” that has restricted the ability of American fishermen to harvest seafood and compete globally.
The order directs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with other federal agencies and fishery councils, to identify and revise or rescind burdensome regulations within 30 days. It also instructs federal officials to explore opening marine national monuments to commercial fishing, expand fishing permit programs, and pursue trade enforcement strategies against nations engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing or forced labor.
Trump’s directive builds on his 2020 executive order on seafood, which he claims streamlined regulations and improved data collection. The new policy aims to update those efforts by implementing an “America First Seafood Strategy” focused on increasing domestic seafood production, improving marketing and exports, and strengthening U.S. seafood supply chains.
Among its broader mandates, the executive order calls for:
• Public comment from the fishing industry, scientists, and stakeholders on modernizing fisheries management
• Reassessment of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program
• Development of a comprehensive seafood trade strategy
• Expansion of seafood education and nutrition initiatives through the U.S. Department of Agriculture
While the administration argues that the order addresses unfair trade practices and promotes American competitiveness, Cantwell and other critics argue that it undermines scientific integrity and removes essential environmental protections. Cantwell emphasized that proposed cuts to programs like the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund would directly affect efforts to restore declining salmon populations critical to the Northwest’s economy and ecosystem.
The executive order also includes provisions that could roll back conservation protections by re-evaluating the designation of marine national monuments, with the possibility of reopening them for commercial fishing.
Environmental and fishing advocates have expressed concern that the changes prioritize deregulation over sustainable fisheries management. Cantwell’s statement underscores growing fears among Pacific Northwest stakeholders that the executive order could lead to long-term damage to fragile fish stocks, particularly salmon, and undercut the scientific resources needed to sustain the industry.
Source: Seattle Medium
