Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant requested information on behalf of a Marshall County, Indiana aquaculture producer on the county’s authority to require zoning variances. This advisory memorandum discusses whether aquaculture activities constitute a form of agricultural land use under Indiana state law, discuss the general authority that Indiana bestows upon local governments to adopt and enforce zoning ordinances, and evaluate potential limitations on this power.
Texas Sea Grant requested information on the laws and regulations in Texas related to the penalties for exceeding federal fishing quota limits in the state.
Download our latest infographic titled "The Complexity of Managing Shark Depredation".
The July 2026 issue of The SandBar is now available. The lead story is: Recent Court Decisions Create Inconsistent Authority for Regional Fishery Management Councils.
On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two proposed rules modifying regulations for treating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The EPA proposals seek to extend compliance deadlines for two common PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and rescind four other forever chemicals. The rules would change the scope of the EPA’s 2024 PFAS drinking water standards.
Horseshoe crabs have existed in the ocean for over 450 million years, surviving mass extinctions and ice ages. However, conservation groups claim that their existence is now at risk due to human activities. The groups assert that horseshoe crab populations have dwindled by more than 70% in recent decades, as they are routinely harvested for bait and their blue blood is drained for biomedical testing.
President Donald Trump recently issued a proclamation, “Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific,” seeking to expand commercial fishing access in three Pacific Marine National Monuments. The three monuments affected are the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. The proclamation removes previous restrictions set on each monument’s protected area to allow commercial fishing access to American-flagged vessels and the Secretary of Commerce to issue transport permits to foreign-flagged vessels for transporting harvested fish out of the monuments’ waters.
Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court continue to shape the field of environmental law, often with significant implications for the management of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. In this webinar, the National Sea Grant Law Center’s staff attorneys will discuss opinions issued in select cases from the Court’s 2025-2026 term and their relevance for Sea Grant work. The Law Center has applied to the Mississippi Commission on Continuing Legal Education for approval of this course for 1 hour of CLE credit.
Join us to explore the new US HAB Control Technologies & Regulatory Logistics (US HAB CTRL) website. This innovative resource helps users navigate the permitting and application of harmful algal bloom control technologies.
This case study recounts the obstacles navigated by a research team as they took on permitting a novel harmful algal bloom (HAB) control technology called DinoSHIELD. DinoSHIELD was developed by staff at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and develops ecosystem science solutions and tools for sustainable stewardship of ocean and coastal resources. This case study was derived from interviews with the DinoSHIELD team members about their complicated experience.
This issue features articles developed through a symposium we supported in partnership with Maryland Sea Grant and the Georgetown Climate Center. Together, these contributions explore pressing environmental challenges facing the Chesapeake Bay region.