President Trump designated Thursday as National Scallops Day, celebrating a new directive from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that reopens the northern edge of Georges Bank to commercial scallop fishermen.
Trump framed the move as reversing what he called “bad” regulatory overreach by the Obama and Biden administrations.
The directive opens access to waters that have been restricted for years — delivering millions of pounds of wild scallops to American families and revitalizing maritime jobs along the entire East Coast, according to the president.
“This is in addition to freeing up a massive area off the East Coast for our Great Lobster Fishermen, and others (An Environmental Monument declared by Barack Hussein Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, that I terminated!), and a half a million square miles of the beautiful Pacific Ocean, where every country was allowed to fish except for our Great American Fishermen!”
Trump continued his Truth Social post with a direct shot at previous administrations.
“I have opened up the Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, and Seas to our Fishermen, and freed them from ridiculous Environmental restrictions that allowed other countries to take advantage of the United States’ Waters under Barack Hussein Obuma, Sleepy Joe Biden, and the Dumocrats. It is my Great Honor to have done so because I am the Fishermen’s Friend.”
The president tied the policy win directly to the upcoming November midterm elections.
“GO OUT AND VOTE REPUBLICAN IN THE MIDTERMS, BECAUSE IF THE COMMUNISTS GET IN, YOU’LL NEVER FISH AGAIN!”
Today I am declaring a National Scallops Day to celebrate an action taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that will open up the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to Scallops Fishing, fulfilling the dream to our Great Fishermen who were so badly treated… pic.twitter.com/pdzCRAaSqT
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 2, 2026
Georges Bank is an elevated area off the sea floor between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape Sable Island, dividing the Gulf of Maine and the Atlantic Ocean.
NOAA’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment program describes the bank as having “an extensive food web including high levels of fish production that have sustained commercial fisheries since the 16th century.”
In 2024, commercial landings of Atlantic sea scallop totaled 21.2 million pounds of meats and were valued at $332 million, according to NOAA’s fishing landings database.
Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey account for the majority of U.S. sea scallop harvests.
An area of the bank remains closed year-round for habitat research under existing NOAA restrictions. It is unclear whether those closures will also be lifted under the new directive.
