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Virginia Olsen has pulled lobsters from Maine’s chilly Atlantic waters for decades while watching threats to the state’s lifeblood industry mount.Trade imbalances with Canada, tight regulations on fisheries and offshore wind farms towering like skyscrapers on open water pose three of those threats, said Olsen, part of the fifth generation in her family to make a living in the lobster trade.That’s why she was encouraged last month when President Donald Trump signed an executive order that promises to restore American fisheries to their former glory. The order promises to shred fishing regulations, and Olsen said that will allow fishermen to do what they do best fish.That will make a huge difference in communities like her home of Stonington, the busiest lobster fishing port in the country, Olsen said. It’s a tiny island town of winding streets, swooping gulls and mansard roof houses with an economy almost entirely dependent on commercial fishing, some three hours up the coast from Portland, Maine’s biggest city.Olsen knows firsthand how much has changed over the years. Hundreds of fish and shellfish populations globally have dwindled to dangerously low levels, alarming scientists and prompting the restrictions and catch limits that Trump’s order could wash away with the stroke of a pen. But she’s heartened that the livelihoods of people who work the traps and cast the nets have become a priority in faraway places where they often felt their voices weren’t heard.“I do think it’s time to have the conversation on what regulations that the industry does need. We’re fishing different than we did 100 years ago,” she said. “If everything is being looked at, we should be looking at the regulations within the fishing industry.” A question of sustainability and competitiveness But if fishing and lobstering interests finally have a seat at the table, the questions become how much seafood can be served there and for how long. Trump’s April 17 order, called “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,” promises an overhaul of the way America fishes, and cites a national seafood trade deficit of more than $20 billion as the reason to do it. The order calls on the federal government to reduce the regulatory burden on fishermen by later this month.It arrives at a time when conservation groups and many marine scientists say the ocean needs more regulation, not less. One oft-cited 2020 study led by a scientist at the University of British Columbia looked at more than 1,300 fish and invertebrate populations and found that 82% were below levels that can produce maximum sustainable yields. The university said the study “discovered global declines, some severe, of many popularly consumed species.”Trump’s order prioritizes commerce over conservation. It also calls for the development of a comprehensive seafood trade strategy and a review of existing marine monuments, which are underwater protected zones, to see if any should be opened for fishing. At least one, the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, has already been reopened.Many commercial fishermen and fishing trade groups lauded the order. Members of the industry, one of the oldest in the country, have long made the case that heavy regulations many intended to protect the health of fish populations leave the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage to the fleets of countries that don’t bear the same kind of burden. That disadvantage is a big piece of why America imports more than two-thirds of its seafood, they argue.“The president’s executive order recognizes the challenges our fishing families and communities face, and we appreciate the commitment to reduce burdensome regulations and strengthen the competitiveness of American seafood,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.Some fishermen, including Maine lobsterman Don McHenan, said they’re looking forward to members of the industry being able to fish in areas of the ocean that have been closed off to them for years. McHenan said he’s also hopeful the pace of new regulations will slow.“As long as they don’t put any more onto us,” McHenan said. “We’ll see time will tell.” Not all fishermen are on board But the support for deregulation is not unanimous among fishermen. Some say strong conservation laws are critical to protecting species that fishermen rely on to make a living.In Alaska, for example, Matt Wiebe said the executive order “terrifies” him. A commercial fisherman with more than 50 years of experience fishing for salmon, he said the order could potentially harm the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery, which has received praise from sustainability organizations for careful management of the fish supply.Absent that management, he said the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery could go the way of the New England cod fishing business, which collapsed due in large part to overfishing and has never recovered.“Since New England fishers lost their cod fishery due to overfishing, many other fisheries came to respect and depend on conservation efforts,” Wiebe said. “We fish because it’s what we do, and conservation efforts mean we and our kids can fish into the future.”The executive order arrived at a time when America’s commercial fishermen are coping with environmental challenges and the decline of some once-marketable species. Maine’s historic shrimp fishery shuttered more than a decade ago, California’s salmon industry is struggling through closures and the number of fish stocks on the federal overfished list has grown in recent years.There is also the looming question of what Trump’s trade war with major seafood producers such as Canada and China will mean for the U.S. industry not to mention American consumers.To many in Maine’s lobster and fishing business, the answer is clear: Cut regulations and let them do their thing.“We definitely feel the industry is over-regulated as a whole,” said Dustin Delano, a fourth-generation Maine lobsterman who is also chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. “We hope that this will help for sure. It does seek to initiate that America-first strategy in the fishery.” Patrick Whittle and Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The Soviet Union launched over a dozen probes to Venusmost successfully. But one never made it past Earths orbit and has, in fact, stayed there since 1972. Now, over 50 years later, the one-meter-large Kosmos 482 is coming home, albeit a bit haphazardly. The 1,091-pound craft, also known as Kosmos 482 and Venera 8, is predicted to reach reentry within nine hours of 1:54 a.m. ET on May 10, according to the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS). In other words, this could be late afternoon today or sometime tomorrow morning. If you think the when is varied, wait until you hear about the where. Aerospace, the American nonprofit research and development center that runs CORDS, currently predicts that the craft could land anywhere between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south latitude. Ironically, that covers almost every country except the USSRs successor, Russia. What will happen to the probe upon reentry? The craft could stay intact the entire way to Earth, as it was designed to survive the more severe atmosphere of Venus. However, the risk of it causing injury or death upon impact is about 0.4 in 10,000, according to Aerospace. While the risk is nonzero, any one individual on Earth is far likelier to be struck by lightning than to be injured by Kosmos 482, the organization states. We definitely do not expect Kosmos 482 to land in your yard specifically. Given the nature of its orbit, most of the Earth is still in play for its reentry, and consequently it is far more likely to land in the ocean or an unpopulated area. In the rare chance that Kosmos 482 does land near you, Aerospace cautions you to contact the authorities and not touch it as it could be hazardous. Plus, an early space-age United Nations treaty means it could technically belong to Russia. How can I track Kosmos 482 and follow updates? You can stay up-to-date on Kosmos 482s predicted reentry time on Aerospace’s tracking page. Secondly, the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking Operation Centers (EU SST) is also tracking the craft’s reentry and posting updates on its website and X account.
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E-Commerce
China’s exports to the United States tumbled in April while its trade with other economies surged, suggesting that President Donald Trump’s tariffs offensive is hastening a shakeup in global supply chains.Total exports from China rose 8.1% last month from a year earlier, much faster than the 2% pace most economists had been expecting. That was much slower than the 12.4% year-on-year increase in March. Imports fell 0.2% in April from the year before.Shipments to the U.S. sank 21% in dollar terms as Trump’s tariffs on most Chinese exports rose to as high as 145%. With Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods at 125%, business between the two biggest economies has grown increasingly uncertain.China’s imports from the U.S. dropped more than 13% from a year earlier, while its politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States was nearly $20.5 billion in April, down from about $27.2 billion a year earlier.In the first four months of the year, China’s exports to the United States fell 2.5% from a year earlier, while imports from the U.S. fell 4.7%.A potential break in the tariffs stalemate could come as soon as this weekend. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior trade officials are due to meet with Chinese officials in Geneva on Saturday. But Beijing and Washington are at odds over a raft of issues, including colliding strategic interests that will may impede progress in the talks.Some of the punitive tariffs, including Beijing’s retaliatory 125% tariffs on U.S. exports, could be rolled back, but a full reversal is unlikely, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.“This means China’s exports to the U.S. are set for further declines over the coming months, not all of which will be offset by increased trade with other countries. We still expect export growth to turn negative later this year,” Huang said.Whatever the outcome of those discussions, the rapid increase in Chinese exports to other countries reflects a restructuring that began years ago but has gained momentum as Trump has raised barriers to exporting to the U.S.Global manufacturers have been looking for alternatives to a near total reliance on manufacturing in China after disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more diverse options.The need for more versatile supply chains grew more apparent as Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese exports during his first term in office. Most of those remained during former President Joe Biden’s term.Exports to the United States accounted for about a tenth of China’s total exports in April and the U.S. is still China’s largest single-country market. But the European Union and Southeast Asia are larger regional export markets.Trade with a broader grouping, the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which does not include the United States, is still bigger. And exports to countries participating in China’s “Belt and Road Initiative,” a vast network of Beijing-supported infrastructure projects, are bigger still.In the first four months of the year, exports to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 11.5% from a year earlier, and those to Latin America also climbed 11.5%. Shipments to India jumped nearly 16% by value, and exports to Africa surged 15%.Some of the fastest growth was in Asia, reflecting moves by Chinese and other manufacturers to diversify their supply chains outside of the Chinese mainland. Most notable were exports to Vietnam, which jumped 18% year-on-year. Exports to Thailand were up 20%.Back in China, preliminary data have shown a sharp decline in shipping and other trade activity. Earlier this week, Beijing announced a barrage of measures meant to counter the impact of the trade war on its economy, which was already struggling to regain momentum after the pandemic and a lengthy downturn in its housing sector. Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed. Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
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