Category: Policy

Understanding the Executive Order on Deep-sea Mining and Critical Minerals: Part 2, what is in the Executive Order?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, News, Policy

Last night, the President signed an Executive Order on Deep-sea Mining. The order directs primarily NOAA and DOI to develop an expedited permitting process for mining in both the US EEZ and, chaotically, the high seas beyond US jurisdiction. I provide a brief overview of the industry here: Understanding the Executive Order on Deep-sea Mining … Read More “Understanding the Executive Order on Deep-sea Mining and Critical Minerals: Part 2, what is in the Executive Order?” »

5 things you can do if you’re pissed off about the latest Trump EO

Posted on By Angelo Villagomez
Conservation, Featured, News, Policy

Donald Trump opened an area of about 250 million acres of protected American waters to industrial fishing fleets on Thursday.  This sets a very dangerous precedent that our public lands and waters are for sale to the highest bidder. I know that we’re all exhausted from the onslaught of daily outrages by the Trump administration.  … Read More “5 things you can do if you’re pissed off about the latest Trump EO” »

The Metals Company has a Jones Act Problem

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, News, Policy

The deep-sea mining world was thrown a curveball last week when, as the spring session of the International Seabed Authority came to a close, the Metals Company, one of several commercial ventures seeking permission to mine polymetallic nodules in the Clipperton-Clarion Zone, announced that they would seek permission to mine directly from the United States, … Read More “The Metals Company has a Jones Act Problem” »

We are a maritime nation: my comments at the March 3 Defend NOAA rally.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Policy

On March 3, 2025, hundreds of people gathered in front of NOAA headquarters to protest the illegal, wasteful, and capricious firing of career civil servants at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I was invited to speak on the value of NOAA scientific research. Below is a transcript of my remarks. NOAA is the original … Read More “We are a maritime nation: my comments at the March 3 Defend NOAA rally.” »

NOAA carries a two century legacy of America’s first government science agency

Posted on By David Shiffman
Featured, Policy, Science

NOAA, the US government science and management agency in charge of sustainable fisheries, the national weather service, and ocean exploration, is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and Project 2025. Though criticisms from “small government” types imply that having a US government science agency at all represents some kind of expansion of government power … Read More “NOAA carries a two century legacy of America’s first government science agency” »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Experts respond to Executive Order renaming a subsection of the Gulf of Mexico

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Policy

In an Executive Action entitled Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness, the President declared that: “The U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf … Read More “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Experts respond to Executive Order renaming a subsection of the Gulf of Mexico” »

People and Ideas You Should Know: 5 Questions with Anupa Asokan

Posted on By Angelo Villagomez
Conservation, Education, Featured, Policy, Reviews and Interviews, Science

Anupa Asokan, founder and executive director of Fish On—a new fishing interest organization working to advance ocean conservation policy—recently published a peer-reviewed perspective in Frontiers, “Marine Protected Areas as a Tool for Environmental Justice.” Anupa is a lifelong fisherwoman and has become a passionate advocate for ocean conservation and justice.  I’ve known her for several … Read More “People and Ideas You Should Know: 5 Questions with Anupa Asokan” »

How Donald Trump’s Day 1 Executive Actions Impact the Ocean

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Policy

It is day two of the Trump Administration. Yesterday saw a flurry of Executive Actions targeting immigration, climate change, energy, and social and justice issues. Trump also issued an executive order to overrule Trump’s Supreme Court’s upholding of Trump’s TikTok ban. In a sea of disinformation fueled by both propaganda, the reaction economy of social … Read More “How Donald Trump’s Day 1 Executive Actions Impact the Ocean” »

Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Policy

The march towards deep-sea mining is a slow and stately trudge through a complex international negotiation. The real progress isn’t made in flashy headlines or overhyped announcements, but in painstaking deliberations and incremental progress in the mining code and the environmental and financial regimes. In as much as 2024 was a fairly standard year in … Read More “Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?” »