Your thoughts on Trump's order

The National Marine Fisheries Service has opened a 45-day public comment period on implementing President Trump's executive order, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.

Coast Guard gushes over 'big beautiful bill'

"This historic investment marks a new era for the Coast Guard," the acting commandant, Adm. Kevin Lunday, says in this press release.

A 'big beautiful' tax break for processors

The "big beautiful bill," which cleared Congress today, includes a tasty tax provision for Alaska seafood processors.

Section 70305 of the bill allows processors to deduct the cost of meals served to workers on vessels and in processing plants.

It's a tax break the processors have been chasing for years, as evidenced by this congressional press release from 2021.

A plum for CDQ program in Trump's megabill?

The "big beautiful bill" now under debate in Congress appears to include certain tax benefits for Alaska's community development quota program.

The Alaska Beacon news website, in a story posted Saturday, linked to the latest version of the huge bill.

The CDQ provisions can be found in Section 70428, pages 468-70.

We'll certainly endeavor to learn more about what this is and exactly who would benefit.

Council starved for cash?

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council says it will hold its October meeting by webinar, rather than in person in Anchorage, due to funding uncertainty.

NMFS Alaska loses nearly a quarter of its staff

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region, had 115 federal employees on Jan. 1. Now, the count is 87, down 24 percent.

The staff losses are "due to a combination of probationary terminations, the Deferred Resignation Program, Voluntary Early Retirement, and voluntary separations in anticipation of a Reduction in Force," NMFS says in this report to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The agency names many of the departed folks, saying something nice about each.

Recommended reading

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has sent Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick a three-page letter stressing the importance of maintaining NOAA marine surveys and the council process.

"Without these surveys, scientists would be required to account for substantially increased uncertainty by lowering catch limits for U.S. fishermen," the letter says.

'I'm starting to get really upset'

Alaska's junior U.S. senator, Dan Sullivan, kinda went off in a hearing this week, saying the Trump administration — which has been busy cutting budget and staff — needs to make sure fisheries stock surveys get done.

"When you don't do stock assessment surveys, you know what happens? My fishermen can't fish," Sullivan said.

Lots more in this press release from Sullivan's office.

Trump watch

President Trump today issued an executive order titled Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.

New boss for NMFS

The Trump administration has named Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, from Puerto Rico, as head of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Last days for NMFS?

CNN reports the Trump administration's proposed budget "severely defunds" key offices of NOAA including the National Marine Fisheries Service and "transfers most of the fisheries service functions to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which sits under the Interior Department."

NMFS currently is part of the Commerce Department.

Sen. Cantwell rips reported NOAA purge

Here's her statement.

The Gulf of Mexico

We don't often have occasion to mention the Gulf of Mexico here on Deckboss.

When we do, going forward, we will follow AP style guidance and continue to refer to that body of water as the Gulf of Mexico rather than the "Gulf of America," as President Trump renamed it in a recent executive order.

Washington watch

Howard Lutnick, President Trump's pick for commerce secretary, today sat for his confirmation hearing in Congress.

Part of the secretary's job is managing fisheries via the National Marine Fisheries Service, a Commerce Department agency.

Here's an NPR report on the hearing.

And here are press releases from Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Gunnar Knapp: Trump's Greenland talk isn't serious

Here's his letter posted on the Anchorage Daily News website.

Trump administration fires Coast Guard chief

The administration of Donald Trump, who was sworn in yesterday for his second term as president, has relieved Adm. Linda Fagan as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Here's a memo to all hands across the service.

And here's a news story from The New York Times.

Five things to watch

As we enter the new year, we're looking for big news on multiple fronts. Here's a handful of items worth tracking.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service has a Jan. 11 deadline for completing a status review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon. NMFS began the review after the Wild Fish Conservancy petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

• The halibut stock is struggling, and we'll get a new read on the situation when the International Pacific Halibut Commission convenes its annual meeting Jan. 27-31 in Vancouver, B.C. "Harvest limits in Alaska will all likely be reduced in 2025," the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association reports in its most recent newsletter. Bob Alverson is association's manager and an IPHC commissioner.

• What will become of the huge King Cove processing plant? The facility was idled with the financial collapse of Peter Pan. Last we heard, a working group was considering the plant's future.

• The legislative task force evaluating the Alaska seafood industry's economic troubles has been meeting since summer. Will anything substantive come of this effort? The Alaska Legislature begins a new session on Jan. 21.

• Inauguration day for Donald Trump is Jan. 20, and a new president is always consequential for the fishing industry. We're eager to see who the administration names to lead NMFS. And Trump's vow to impose sweeping tariffs could have a major impact on the seafood business.

Trump's pick for commerce secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has named Wall Street billionaire investor Howard Lutnick as his choice for commerce secretary.

The Commerce Department houses key agencies including the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Weather Service.

Trump's boast

President Donald Trump recently vetoed S. 906, a bill that would have affected the California swordfish fishery and the Alaska halibut fishery.

Trump's veto message explains the action and also asserts:

My administration has done more for American fishermen than any president before me.

That's quite a statement considering the landmark actions of previous presidents. Some examples:

President Gerald Ford in 1976 signed what is today known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

President Bill Clinton in 1996 signed the Sustainable Fisheries Act. And in 1998, he signed the American Fisheries Act into law.

President Ronald Reagan established the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone with a 1983 presidential proclamation.

Going farther back, President Andrew Johnson in 1867 signed the treaty for the purchase of Alaska, which has proven to be a pretty good place for fishing.

Easy with the tariffs!

Major seafood organizations are raising concerns about Trump administration trade policy. Here are some comment letters submitted recently.

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
At-sea Processors Association