US fishermen hoping to use government funding to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems have hit a roadblock courtesy of president Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to the Associated Press.

Industry members across the US, from salmon harvesters in Washington state to scallop distributors in Maine, told AP that their "federal commitments for projects like new boat engine and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review."

Seattle, Washington-based fishermen Robert Buchmayr told the outlet he was counting on a $45,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay for a portion of a refrigeration project that he's working on for a salmon boat. Instead, USDA told him last month that funding is "on hold until further notice."

"I was under the impression that if you got a grant from the United States, it was a commitment," Buchmayr told AP. "Nothing in the letter was saying, 'Yes, we'll guarantee you the funds depending on who is elected.'"

This isn't the first time that DOGE's cuts have hit the seafood industry. Trump highlighted DOGE's cutting of "lavish fish monitoring" in his address to Congress earlier this month, as reported by Undercurrent News. The president was actually referring to DOGE cutting "larval fish monitoring," which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes as "an important component of fisheries management."

The month prior DOGE went after other examples of "wasteful spending," including funding for research involving "shrimp on a treadmill to see how fast they run." As the scientists explained in their initial study, the research may be helpful when looking at the impact of climate change and other stressors on US wild-capture seafood.