Dear [Elected or Appointed Official],

We ask you to join us, employees, vendors, and customers of several U.S. fisheries that are under escalating attack from national activist groups, in calling on President Trump to protect thousands of American jobs and long-standing fishing operations.

We are asking President Trump and members of his Administration to reject a an Executive Order proposed by these groups titled "PROTECTING US FISHING JOBS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND GULF OF AMERICA," and to preserve the regulatory stability that enables private enterprise to thrive in the United States.

By signing this letter, we are asking President Trump not to take any action that will harm our jobs, companies and livelihoods.

These campaigns misrepresent the science and seek to shut down menhaden harvests through lawsuits, media pressure, and unilateral federal action--bypassing the state and interstate regulatory bodies that have successfully managed the fishery for decades.

These efforts are often driven by ideology or competing commercial interests, not by genuine concern for science-based conservation. Our fisheries are sustainable, with robust management frameworks ensuring ecological balance and long-term viability.

A copy of the letter we are sending the President follows below:

____________________________________________________________

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are the working men and women who participate in the Atlantic shortfin (illex) squid, Atlantic longfin (loligo) squid, Atlantic & Gulf menhaden (bait and reduction), Atlantic herring, and Atlantic mackerel fisheries. We are the captains, deckhands, net menders, welders, shoreside staff, administrative staff, bookkeepers, welders, electricians, refrigeration specialists, mechanics, salesmen and truck drivers who keep these domestic fisheries productive. We want to thank you for your long record of standing up for working people and American enterprise—and to explain, respectfully and clearly, why an executive order that has been proposed for your consideration would unintentionally devastate our businesses, our crews, and the working waterfronts we anchor.

President Trump, you have always been a champion for American jobs, industry, and energy independence. These fisheries are aligned with those values, and we respectfully urge you to reject the proposed Executive Order titled “PROTECTING US FISHING JOBS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND GULF OF AMERICA,” and preserve the regulatory stability that enables private enterprise to thrive in the United States.

Our fisheries are well-managed, science-driven, and essential to coastal economies.

Our companies have collectively invested in shoreside infrastructure, refrigeration, transportation and marketing to make US seafood products competitive and desired around the world.

The result of our investment in science and traceability and auditing has gained us the privilege of certification, by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), specifically for the Illex and Loligo squid and Atlantic and Gulf of America menhaden fisheries. The Executive Order condemns fisheries that are independently certified as sustainable by the MSC, with no basis in fact. The MSC is a globally recognized organization that has set the international standard for responsible fisheries management and works to provide access for U.S. seafood producers to the top markets domestically and in the EU and Asia.

We have participated in every aspect of fisheries management; we conduct cooperative science to better our understanding of our marine resources and consider ourselves to be an integral part of the coastal economy.

Illex (Shortfin) Squid. Managed jointly by NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council under the Mackerel–Squid–Butterfish plan, the Illex fishery operates with limited-access permits, hard annual catch limits, and accountability measures. In 2023, U.S. landings were 12 million pounds ($6 million). Most landings come from Rhode Island and New Jersey, supporting ports such as Point Judith/Galilee (RI) and southern New Jersey.

Longfin (Loligo) Squid. Also managed under the same FMP with trimester quotas, possession limits, and monitoring. Most landings come from Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, sustaining ports like Point Judith (RI), Shinnecock, Hampton Bays and Montauk on Long Island (NY), and New Bedford and Gloucester (MA).

Atlantic Herring. Herring is co-managed by NOAA and ASMFC with strict area-based catch limits, spawning closures, and intensive monitoring (eVTR, VMS, dealer data). While the stock is overfished (biomass low) but not experiencing overfishing, managers have already reduced specifications for 2025-27 to rebuild. Landings and shoreside jobs are concentrated in Gulf of Maine ports such as Portland and Rockland, with processor links into Massachusetts (Gloucester, New Bedford).

Atlantic Mackerel. NOAA approved Amendment 23 to accelerate rebuilding by 2032 and set conservative quotas and bycatch caps (river herring/shad) with in-season closures. The majority of 2023 landings were from Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maine, supporting ports across those states.

Atlantic Menhaden—Bait Fishery. ASMFC manages menhaden with Ecological Reference Points that explicitly account for predator needs. The fishery supplies bait for high-value U.S. lobster, blue crab, and other fisheries and supports numerous small and family-owned businesses—especially in New Jersey and Virginia, where purse-seine bait landings have historically concentrated.

Atlantic Menhaden—Reduction Fishery. On the Atlantic coast, reduction landings (fishmeal and fish oil) are centered in Reedville, Virginia, home to the only active Atlantic menhaden reduction plant—a cornerstone employer for the Northern Neck with union and non-union jobs across the fleet, plant, and support services. ASMFC’s current assessments under ERPs and single-species reference points find Atlantic menhaden neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

Gulf Menhaden—Reduction Fishery. Managed by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, this purse-seine reduction fishery lands the majority of its catch off Louisiana and processes menhaden into fishmeal and fish oil at long-standing plants in Moss Point, Mississippi, and Empire and Abbeville, Louisiana. Independent certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (2019) recognized the fishery’s sustainable practices. In recent assessments and management plans, GSMFC documents a consolidated, professionally operated fleet and reports substantial, yet responsible landings—underscoring the scale of this supply chain and the shoreside jobs it supports.

Across these fisheries, the management playbook is the same: hard caps (ACLs/quotas), closed areas and seasons, accountability measures, and continuous stock assessment updates by NOAA/ASMFC—exactly the transparent, rules-based framework businesses need to invest and hire.

Why the draft order would harm American jobs and supply chains

We have reviewed the draft Executive Order, “PROTECTING US FISHING JOBS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND GULF OF AMERICA.” Among other provisions, it would: (1) prohibit reduction fishing and all “midwater trawl” fishing in the Atlantic and Gulf; (2) declare several forage species “in crisis” and take emergency action halting menhaden (Atlantic and Gulf) for reduction and shad/river herring by midwater trawl; (3) prohibit harvest of squid (Illex and Doryteuthis), Atlantic herring, and Atlantic mackerel by midwater trawl until Council amendments are adopted; and (4) require all forage fish to be managed to a stock size equal to 75% of unfished biomass (B₀)—a target far above current Magnuson-Stevens benchmarks and incompatible with existing science-based specifications.  

The name itself is misleading: as written, this order would destroy U.S. commercial fishing jobs in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America. Our fisheries have been under attack by environmental extremists and special interests in the recreational fishing and conservation communities who have targeted our fisheries for elimination under the guise of conservation. They offer a false narrative that has little to do with science. Unfortunately, the executive order we have seen would codify their goals and destroy our companies, jobs, and commercial fisheries.  

In practice, this would:

Shut down our herring and mackerel fleets that lawfully use midwater trawl gear under strict monitoring—collapsing bait supply to lobster and other trap fisheries and idling vessels, buyers, carriers, truckers, and processors across New England and the Mid-Atlantic.

Eliminate the Atlantic reduction fishery in Reedville, VA, instantly jeopardizing hundreds of middle-class jobs in a rural community and forcing the United States to import foreign fish oils and meals to supply aquaculture, pet food, and nutritional markets that American workers currently serve.

Destabilize the squid supply chain, even though Illex and longfin fisheries already operate under conservative quotas and are predominantly prosecuted with small-mesh bottom trawls (not midwater gear). Any blanket forage-fish restrictions would ripple through ports in RI, NY, NJ, and MA, harming vessels, dealers, processors, ice houses, welders, and truckers.

Override functioning state–federal governance. Menhaden is already managed with ecosystem-based Ecological Reference Points; herring and mackerel are in active rebuilding with reduced ACLs. Bypassing Councils and ASMFC would disrupt investments and contracts across our fleets and plants.

The ports and people at stake

From Point Judith/Galilee (RI) and the East End of Long Island (NY) to Gloucester and New Bedford (MA), across southern New Jersey and Reedville, Virginia, to Moss Point, Mississippi, and Empire and Abbeville, Louisiana, these fisheries sustain stevedores and spotter-plane crews, machinists and welders, fuel docks and ice plants, truckers and processors—thousands of good, hands-on American jobs in towns that have built boats, fished, and processed seafood for generations.

A respectful request

Mr. President, we are proud to run American boats, employ American workers, and supply American and global markets with responsibly harvested seafood products, bait, and nutritional oils. Our fisheries are proof that clear rules + good science = durable jobs.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge you not to sign this Executive Order. Instead, please continue to support the state–federal, science-based management that is already rebuilding stocks where needed and keeping healthy fisheries healthy, while giving businesses the stability to invest, innovate, and hire.

With great respect and appreciation for your leadership,