The US regime under President Donald Trump is slashing commercial fishing regulations nationwide, including reopening New England waters to scallop fishing that was previously banned due to overfishing.
White House adviser Peter Navarro told reporters: "We're opening the Atlantic and the Pacific, and the American consumers are going to benefit from what we're doing now."
The US Commerce Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced regional priorities allegedly designed to revitalize the seafood sector.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed he was declaring a national scallops day to celebrate the action by NOAA. He also alleged he had "opened up the Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, and Seas to our Fishermen, and freed them from ridiculous Environmental restrictions."
These moves follow an April 2025 executive order from Trump supposedly aimed at increasing domestic seafood production by loosening regulations and opening marine monuments to commercial fishing.
The desire to ease restrictions on scallop fishing purportedly came from an Oval Office meeting between Trump and scallop fishermen who complained they were not allowed to fish in parts of Georges Bank, Navarro said.
Georges Bank is an area between Cape Cod in Massachusetts and Cape Sable Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The northern edge of those waters is closed to scallop fishing.
Officials closed a large segment of fishing grounds in Georges Bank in 1994 after a assessment found a 40 percent decline in cod stock over four years.
The New England Fishery Management Council voted in 2024 not to reopen those grounds, which are also spawning grounds for Atlantic cod, to protect long-term scallop productivity.
Other actions prioritized by NOAA include evaluating restrictions, permit policies, accountability measures, boundaries and stock definitions along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts.
America's $320 billion fishing industry relies on NOAA to manage coastal fisheries. NOAA develops management plans for 45 fisheries, setting quotas and determining fishing seasons.
Source: www.aljazeera.com