Saving Seafood

NOAA finds gray whales have increased in population along US West Coast over the past year

July 21, 2026 — A new study published by NOAA’s Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center found that population numbers of gray whales along the U.S. West Coast have increased since 2025.

How and why populations of Eastern North Pacific gray whales are seeing an uptick is still under research, but in a release, NOAA confirmed that the increase “likely exceeds the reproductive capacity of the population.” Last year, the most recent estimate for gray whale calves was the lowest on record at 85. Now, researchers estimate the population of Eastern North Pacific gray whales is between 15,930 and 20,530, which is much higher than last year’s estimate of between 11,690 and 12,890.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaskan fisheries scientists hoping to use AI for salmon enumeration in Bristol Bay

July 20, 2026 — Counting salmon in Alaska has been done the same way since the 1950s.

A field biologist climbs a tower, counts the number of fish swimming through the area every 10 minutes on the hour, hops down and into a skiff, moves to the opposite bank, and counts for another 10 minutes. They then spend 40 minutes reporting that data – just to do it all again the next hour.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

The NSF Seafood Engine in New England wins $15M U.S. National Science Foundation award to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture

July 15, 2026 — The following was released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a major new award to bolster the American seafood industry through the NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (NSF TIP). The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Portsmouth-based non-profit NERACOOS, is a collaboration of seafood industry, tech sector, government, and research partners across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This innovation ecosystem aims to revitalize the seafood sector through cutting-edge technology. This award will position New England to lead the nation in meeting the goals outlined in the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.   

“NSF Engines investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “The NSF Seafood Engine will leverage cutting-edge resources, including AI, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, robotics, and more to strengthen the New England seafood supply chain, from harvesting to consumer delivery, supporting businesses up and down the coastline.” 

The Seafood Engine will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years, with the potential to grow up to $160 million over ten years as it works to build an internationally competitive technology and innovation cluster. This core funding from NSF creates an unprecedented opportunity to leverage additional resources from public, private, and philanthropic sources to expand the partnership and scale its outcomes. The NSF Engine strives to enhance the competitiveness of fisheries and aquaculture, a pillar of New England’s economy that accounts for 25% of the nation’s seafood value. The technological solutions can be rolled out nationwide, propelling the American seafood industry to a stronger position within the global market. 

“Built on the ingenuity and steadfast determination at the heart of America’s oldest commercial enterprise, the Seafood Engine is ready to confront key challenges facing the industry with bold innovation,” said Jake Kritzer, Principal Investigator of the Seafood Engine and Executive Director of NERACOOS. 

Over time, new R&D, Workforce Development, and Translation activities will work to reshore American seafood processing capacity and strengthen the full supply chain. Together, these efforts will bring new opportunities to small and medium firms across the New England coastline and cut into the $20B seafood deficit facing American businesses.  

WHOI researchers will support these efforts through leadership in ocean observation, technical innovation, and workforce development. Physical oceanographer Glen Gawarkiewicz will partner with New England fishers to deploy a fleet of nine autonomous underwater vehicles from fishing vessels, collecting and analyzing high-resolution data on conditions that affect commercially important species. Marine biologist Michael Brosnahan will develop and deploy robotic systems for data-driven aquaculture management with colleagues from the University of New Hampshire and the University of Rhode Island. WHOI will also develop a two-week course for students in the WHOI-Cape Cod Community College Blue Economy Internship program to help develop future leaders of the regional blue economy. 

“New England’s prosperity has always been tied to the ocean,” said Diane Foster, WHOI’s Vice President and Dean of Academic Programs and a member of the Seafood Engine Workforce Development Sub-team. “NSF’s foresight in establishing the Seafood Engine will not only strengthen the seafood supply chain with unparalleled innovation, it will also turn the region’s maritime economy into a powerhouse that will support blue innovation, national security, and economic prosperity nationwide.” 

Government leaders from across the Seafood Engine region of service welcomed the news from NSF: 

“Massachusetts’ commercial fishing industry is powered by hardworking fishermen, family-owned businesses and coastal communities that have helped define our state for generations,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “This investment will strengthen those communities by supporting innovation, expanding our workforce and helping to ensure our seafood industry remains competitive for years to come. Congratulations to the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance and all of the partners who made this achievement possible.” 

“Our fishing industry has shaped Massachusetts’ coastal communities for generations, and it’s critical that we continue investing in its future,” said Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This partnership brings together fishermen, researchers and businesses to develop new technologies, strengthen our seafood supply chain and create new opportunities for the next generation. We’re proud to be part of this regional effort to keep New England at the forefront of the seafood industry.”  

In early summer 2024, the Seafood Engine submitted one of nearly 300 letters of intent in response to the second NSF Engines funding opportunity. The preliminary proposal was selected as one of 71 to advance to the next round of competition. Following a merit review, the Seafood Engine was one of 29 teams to share a detailed presentation about their proposed NSF Engine. From this process, 15 finalists were selected to participate in two-day site visits with NSF staff and external experts. The Seafood Engine is one of 12 NSF Engines award winners selected from among these finalists. 

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About the Seafood Engine 

The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS), is working to revitalize a legacy industry by leveraging advanced technologies that reduce the national seafood deficit and strengthen every level of the seafood supply chain.  

Learn more at seafoodengine.org  

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Founded in 1930 and based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, WHOI’s mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicate the ocean’s vital role in the global environment. 

Northeastern researchers want to help keep New England seafood from going to China and back

July 14, 2026 — The longfin squid that ends up on your plate as calamari may have been caught in Rhode Island, but it’s likely traveled to China and back again for processing before being served.

That example is illustrative of what’s known as the “seafood deficit,” a roughly $20 billion trade deficit due to the U.S. importing 80% to 90% of the seafood it consumes. For instance, more than 80% of squid caught in Rhode Island is frozen and shipped to China for processing, then refrozen and imported back to the United States, according to the Westerly Sun.

“It’s not because we don’t have seafood, it’s because we don’t have the capacity to process it,” said Taskin Padir, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern.

Read the full article at Northeastern Global News

Tracking fisherman to track fish: The new technological approach to better understand ocean life

February 25, 2026 — The biggest challenge with studying the world’s fish population is simple: fish live underwater.

You can’t easily easily spot them from land or even from space with satellites so getting a sense for where they are when, where they are going, and how many of them are left is really hard.

But one non-profit, Global Fishing Watch, is now trying a cutting-edge technique that they hope will help better track the movements of the world’s fish population: they are tracking the world’s fishermen.

The group leverages positioning data from Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders that are required on large vessels, primarily to prevent collisions.

But taking that data and adding in a powerful dose of Artificial Intelligence, the group’s chief scientist David Kroodsma claims they are able to paint a global picture of fishing fleets.

“What we do is we take all the GPS positions of all the boats in the world. You’re talking about a database of 100 or well over 100 bazillion, 100 billion, GPS positions. And we use machine learning to determine what types of boat they are, what they’re doing, if they’re fishing boats, when they’re fishing,” Kroodsma explains.

And if a ship flips off the transponder for any reason, a maneuver known as going dark, Kroodsma and his fellow trackers double down.

“Millions of gigabytes of satellite imagery to and apply AI to that to detect vessels and then determine which vessels are broadcasting which ones or not, to come up with that larger picture of where activity on the ocean is happening,” he adds.

Read the full article at ABC 7

Artificial intelligence tools could help seafood industry home in on new consumer markets

January 29, 2024 — In just over a year, artificial intelligence (AI) programs like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Bard, and more have gone from a novelty to a viable tool for an array of industries – and the seafood industry could capitalize on them to increase sales and target more customers.

The use of AI is not new to the seafood industry but typically is relegated to uses in the aquaculture industry. An analysis by ThisFish CEO and Co-Founder Eric Enno Tamm – shared during Seafood Expo Asia in September 2023 – found the vast majority of AI use in the seafood industry takes place in aquaculture. Tamm said most of the investment is in aquaculture as well, and that the uses of AI are typically relegated to machine vision technology – programs that use machine learning and AI to analyze video or images.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fishing Smarter: AI and new technologies revolutionize fishing

July 6, 2022-The new documentary “Fishing Smarter”, from the Environmental Defense Fund, reveals how digital technology solutions can revolutionize fisheries to improve sustainability and profitability.

Released last October, the new film, “Fishing Smarter”, from Environmental Defense Fund, is a 20-minute documentary that reveals how, from the United States to Indonesia, fishermen are adopting innovative solutions to help revolutionize fisheries to improve sustainability, profitability and community resilience. “Fishing Smarter: How new technology can help our oceans thrive” was presented at the 2021 Florida Environmental Film Festival and the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.

Watch as small-scale fishers, fishery managers and other stakeholders explore the ways new and emerging technologies strengthen the health, sustainability and profitability of their local catches and ecosystems. From blue swimming crab in Indonesia to curvina in Mexico’s Gulf of California, innovative uses of technology in fisheries are making a real-world difference. The documentary also shows how fishermen in the United States are adopting new technologies, like electronic monitoring, onboard their vessels, and reflects on some of the privacy challenges they may create and and what’s being made to solve them.

During the summer of 2015 an important milestone was reached, as every boat in the U.S. Atlantic longline fleet was equipped with a video monitoring system. Almost one year later, in February, scientists and fishermen working together to design electronic monitoring systems, agreed on one thing: although the system is going to be a key part of fishing ships in the future, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

One thing is true: these new technologies hold promise in making data collection more timely, accurate, and cost-efficient. To learn more about how NOAA Fisheries is investing in technology fishermen use to track their catch follow the link to the page under the title Electronic Monitoring Explained.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Scientists want to use artificial intelligence to save Maine’s coast

October 13, 2021 — Forecasting isn’t just for weather. A new center at Bigelow Laboratory is using cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithms to forecast ocean activity, from toxic algal blooms to right whale migration, with the hopes of benefitting both coastal industries and the environment.

“There’s a big demand for forecasting. People are expecting forecasts of all different kinds now, from COVID forecasts to political forecasts,” said Nick Record, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay. “We’re trying to tap into this societal need and demand for forecasts and apply it to ocean systems that we live in and rely on.”

The ability to accurately forecast complex ocean dynamics alone, such as temperature and salinity, is useful for the industries that use the coastline and the scientists that study it. With artificial intelligence, though, these forecasts will be constantly improving in accuracy even as the climate changes — and, with it, Maine’s ability to adapt to the changing coastline will improve as well.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Tech firm born in Maine uses AI to monitor commercial fishing

August 16, 2021 — A company that got its start in Maine is using artificial intelligence to improve data collection for groundfish fishermen and fisheries management officials.

New England Marine Monitoring’s new technology could eliminate the need for onboard human observers for ground fishermen, resulting in safer, faster, and more accurate and affordable monitoring and data collection, according to CEO Mark Hager.

Currently, the groundfish fishery requires that 40 percent of a fisherman’s trips be monitored, especially with quotas for many groundfish species at historic lows. Traditionally, this monitoring has been done in person, on board the vessel.

But it’s no easy job, which Hager knows firsthand.

Earlier in his career, Hager worked as one of those fisheries observers and would go out on a boat with a crew for weeks at a time.

It’s time-consuming, expensive for the fishermen, and dangerous for everyone on board, particularly on smaller vessels where there’s not as much room to move around.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Artificial intelligence to help New England fishermen be more eco-friendly

August 3, 2021 — New England Marine Monitoring is working on making things easier for fishermen here in Maine and across the region. To do that, the nonprofit is implementing new technology like better video review platforms, better cameras on boats, and increased artificial intelligence, which CEO Mark Hager said is the most exciting.

New England Marine Monitoring, in partnership with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Vesper, is developing artificial intelligence for fishermen.

Shamit Grover, a partner at Vesper, said while Vesper is not a fishing company, it can still help collect data that will help the fishing industry.

“We think we can create solutions that will be really helpful to fishermen,” he said.

The goal is to make commercial fishing both economically and ecologically better. Hager added that artificial intelligence will be able to get through much of the “white noise” on a vessel as it’s moving around looking for fish, and the video will create a colorful box around the fish.

Read the full story at News Center Maine