NOAA Pushes to Roll Back Marine Protections in Favor of Fishing Profits

In line with President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order to restore U.S. seafood competitiveness, NOAA dispatched nine letters to the nation’s eight fisheries management councils and the migratory species division, urging a rollback of longstanding environmental safeguards. The letters request revisions such as broader sardine definitions in the Pacific, state-level control of Caribbean spiny lobster and queen conch fisheries, and permitting the harvest of bluefin tuna under 73 inches.

They also press councils to cut or eliminate marine protected areas, including Tourmaline Bank near Puerto Rico and parts of Georges Bank in New England, and to relax gear restrictions that protect endangered species. Critics from Earthjustice and Ocean Conservancy argue the proposals jeopardize endangered leatherback turtles, Steller sea lions and right whales, and neglect the impacts of climate change on marine stocks. NOAA officials declined to comment on specific species or area reductions, citing the letters and press releases as the primary source of information.