US fishing industry

US Department of Agriculture research indicates that factory-farmed salmon has lower nutritional value than in the past, raising questions about the quality of industrially raised fish. The findings point to a decline in key nutrients in farmed salmon, adding to ongoing debate over how intensive aquaculture practices affect the health benefits fish is expected to provide to consumers.

President Trump has sought to court the US commercial fishing industry as a political ally, but some fishermen have begun turning against him. Reporting highlights growing friction between the administration and a constituency it once counted on, with fishermen voicing dissatisfaction over policies affecting their livelihoods.

Commercial fishing groups are petitioning NOAA to downgrade the protected status of the Atlantic sturgeon, a large, long-lived fish that has been listed as endangered or threatened along the US East Coast since 2012. The request sets fishing interests against conservationists, who argue the species has not yet recovered from historic overfishing, habitat loss and bycatch. The outcome could affect how much protection the fish's spawning rivers and coastal waters receive.