Bob Zales - Executive Director

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT

Busy Times for Fisheries & and Industry Impact

As you can see from the many reports you receive, these are busy times for fisheries and the businesses they support. The Trump Administration continues to advance policies that impact us all in one way or another. On the regulatory front, every agency is working to ease burdens and improve business operations.

Regarding fisheries, Executive Order 14276 — Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness —directs NMFS and the Councils to seek input on how to improve the commercial seafood industry. They are looking for suggestions on regulations that negatively affect you, ideas for deregulation, and proposals to help the industry move forward. We have already shared information about scheduled meetings to collect comments and will continue to provide updates via email.

In The New Edition of Emailed Hotlines:

 New Council Appointments: Dr. Mike Allen (Gulf Council) and Dewey Hemilright (South Atlantic Council).

 Grouper Sandwich Controversy: Governor DeSantis claims $32 is too much for a grouper sandwich & SFA’s Vice President, Mike Lombardi, responds.

 Shrimp Labeling Explained: Understand restaurant and market terms.

 Regulatory Updates: Coverage of actions by the Trump Administration and the new

“Big Beautiful Bill.”

Red Grouper Lawsuit Settled

The Gulf of America red grouper lawsuit related to Amendment 53 has been settled. As part of the agreement:

 Plaintiffs receive $20,000 in legal fees.

 DOJ will instruct NMFS to have the Gulf Council revisit allocation issues.

 The review will use Florida State Reef Fish Survey data instead of MRIP-FES.

Impact: This could increase the commercial sector allocation from nearly 60% to close to 70%, resulting in a potential 10% increase in quota share.

New Lawsuit: Recreational Sector Accountability

On July 3, Slash Creek Waterworks and others filed a suit against the Secretary of Commerce and NMFS. The suit addresses:

 Excessive discards and mortality by the recreational sector.

 Lack of accountability in recreational data and harvest.

SFA Position:

 We have long advocated for a recreational data collection program.

 We support quota accountability where each sector covers its own discards and mortality. We will monitor this case closely and provide updates.

SpaceX Activity on Northeast Florida Coast

Recent SpaceX activity and public hearings have raised major concerns:

 Restricted fishing access.

 Damage from launch debris.

 Excessive noise and potential runoff impacts.

We are hopeful of improved cooperation between the company and federal agencies and stakeholders to resolve these issues.

SFA 2025 Mid-Year Accomplishments

We have made significant progress on many industry priorities. A full report of our 2025

accomplishments (January–June) is included below.

Membership Drive Launching Soon We will be launching a membership campaign to increase

our support base across all sectors. Your participation makes our advocacy possible.

How You Can Help:

 Share this newsletter.

 Encourage others in the seafood industry to join.

 Let us know how we can better support your business.

We are Here for the Commercial Seafood Industry

Contact us with questions, concerns, or suggestions. Together, we will continue working to protect and strengthen the industry we serve. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Capt. Bob

Please read the below statement

WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD FOR THE OVERSIGHT HEARING On restoring AMERICAN SEAFOOD COMPETITIVENESS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER, WILDLIFE, AND FISHERIES HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2025

NOAA FTR - Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.pdf

June 2-5, 2025 Bob and other members of SFA are in Washington for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation "Capitol Hill Ocean Week" CHOW 2025.

In May Bob was in Washington DC to meet with Jason Becker, White House Public Liaison to discuss Fishing Issues

FL state private recreational season for 2025

https://www.wjhg.com/2025/04/28/longest-red-snapper-season-date-governor-desantis-announces/

LA residents accused of false crab landings

https://www.kplctv.com/2025/04/23/several-swla-residents-accused-falsifying-fishing-records-over-59k-lbs-crabs/nk 

Info on trump EO and worldwide impacts

https://www.forbes.com/sites/aldenabbott/2025/04/23/trump-fisheries-order-may-be-a-first-step-toward-global-reforms/2

Gulf Council name and web site change

Gulf Council

Info from South Atlantic Council

https://safmc.net/posts/the-south-atlantic-bite-4-25-2025/