Saving Seafood

2026 Spring Habitat Camera Survey Completed in Northeast

October 15, 2026 — Our Habitat Camera (HabCam) Survey uses a towed camera sled system to collect images of the seafloor. We analyze the images to estimate the abundance and size composition of Atlantic sea scallops. The sea scallop abundance, size composition, and distribution data are used annually as part of the sea scallop stock assessment and management processes. The survey is one of the primary fishery-independent surveys used in the sea scallop stock assessment model.

We also annotate the images for other seafloor features and animals such as crabs and finfish. We conduct the survey in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Georges Bank. Because the camera sled is towed behind the vessel, the survey can sample more seafloor than traditional sea scallop survey methods.

Dates and Legs

The 2026 HabCam Survey began on May 11, 2026 and completed operations on May 29, 2026. We conducted the Spring survey aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow and it occurred in two legs:

  • Leg 1: May 11–19 in Mid-Atlantic Bight
  • Leg 2: May 20–29 in Georges Bank

Survey Location

This survey monitored the Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank Atlantic Sea Scallop management areas:

In the Mid-Atlantic, the survey monitored:

  • Delmarva
  • Elephant Trunk
  • Hudson Canyon South
  • A mid-line through New York Bight and Long Island
  • Mid-Atlantic Bight Nearshore areas

In Georges Bank, the survey monitored:

  • Nantucket Lightship-West
  • CL1 (Groundfish Closed Area 1)
  • Northern Flank
  • CL2-North (Groundfish Closed Area 2)
  • Great South Channel

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Scallop program puts $25 million toward research

October 14, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has awarded 14 new projects through its 2026 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, supporting research ranging from expanded Georges Bank surveys to artificial intelligence, scallop recruitment, and mortality.

Rather than providing federal funding directly, the Research Set-Aside Program allocates a portion of the scallop harvest to researchers, who work with commercial fishermen to harvest the scallops and generate funding for their projects.

This year, researchers were awarded more than 1.5 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops. At an estimated value of $16 per pound, NOAA Fisheries expects the allocation to generate more than $25 million, with approximately $6 million supporting research and the remaining $19 million going to participating harvesters.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Awards 14 Projects in 2026 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

October 9, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has made 14 new grant awards through the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. These projects support research that informs management decisions for one of the most valuable wild-caught fisheries in the nation.

Instead of awarding federal funds, this unique program sets aside a portion of scallops that would otherwise be available for commercial harvest. Those pounds are awarded to researchers who then work with the fishing industry to both conduct their research and harvest the scallops to fund the work.

This year’s projects were awarded more than 1.5 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops. At an estimated $16 per pound, the awards are expected to generate more than $25 million. Of that amount, $6 million will directly support research. The remaining $19 million will go to harvesters in support of small business owners and local fishing families.

The U.S. sea scallop fishery is a major contributor to the national seafood economy. In 2025, commercial scallop landings totaled 23.1 million pounds, valued at $417 million—making it the largest wild scallop fishery in the world.

The awarded projects are investigating research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council. This year’s projects include enhancements to existing scallop surveys, such as:

  • Expanded coverage on Georges Bank
  • AI-enhanced processing of survey imagery
  • Continued support of industry-driven data collection and co-management

Also new this year are two projects exploring opportunities for enhancement of scallop resources.

The research set-aside program is a model of innovation. It funds essential research without using federal dollars and builds strong partnerships between scientists and the fishing industry. NOAA Fisheries currently supports research set-aside programs for Atlantic sea scallops and monkfish.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

New apprenticeship changes path into Maine scallop fishery

October 5, 2026 — Maine is changing the way new fishermen enter its state scallop drag fishery, pairing its longtime license lottery with an apprenticeship program designed to put experience, safety, and mentorship ahead of a simple random draw.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) adopted the new requirements this year after years of discussion with the Scallop Advisory Council, making the 2026 lottery the first to include an apprenticeship requirement.

Under the new system, prospective scallop drag license holders must identify a sponsoring captain when entering the lottery. If selected, an applicant receives an apprentice license and has two scallop seasons to complete required training before becoming eligible to purchase a commercial drag license.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA could take lead on scallop permit-stacking

September 22, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council will not prioritize scallop permit-stacking in 2027, potentially leaving NOAA to pursue the controversial permitting change through a federal process.

The council voted overwhelmingly last week to tell federal officials that it “lacks the operational capacity” to take up permit-stacking next year, according to reporting from The New Bedford Light.

The decision follows federal officials’ July request that the council consider six fisheries management actions stemming from President Trump’s 2025 executive order, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.” The order called for reducing regulatory burdens and strengthening U.S. seafood competitiveness.

Of those requests, NOAA would develop the regulatory changes rather than the council, while still providing opportunities for council and public input. Scallop permits have been tied to individual vessels for decades. Permit-stacking would allow owners to place more than one permit on a vessel, potentially allowing that vessel to make additional trips while owners retire older boats from their fleets.

The proposal, however, has divided members of the scallop industry.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

New England regulators won’t make scallop ‘permit-stacking’ a priority in 2027

September 21, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council won’t make a controversial scallop permit-stacking proposal a priority in 2027. That’s despite federal officials directing the regulators to do just that.

The council voted overwhelmingly last week to respond to the federal government’s early July request by saying that it “lacks the operational capacity” to take action on the permitting change next year.

Federal officials handed down six requests for the council to discuss, a byproduct of a 2025 Trump Administration executive order aimed at ending “overregulation” and the “erosion of American seafood competitiveness at the hands of unfair foreign trade practices.”

Only one of them, the permit-stacking request, had this caveat: If the council can’t take up the permit stacking issue, federal officials are prepared to consider doing it themselves.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

New England Fishery Management Council implementing measures to respond to Trump executive order

September 21, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has implemented multiple measures intended to directly address an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump that included a deregulatory wish list featuring desired changes to fisheries the council manages.

During its September 2026 meeting, the council committed to considering some of the measures that Trump proposed in his order, including opening scallop fishery access to the Northern Edge area of Georges Bank. Trump’s order directly called on the NEFMC to open the Northern Edge area, which would mark the first time in 30 years that fishing for scallops would be allowed in the region.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Council Addresses Executive Order and NOAA Directives through 2027 Work Priorities

September 21, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its September 2026 Council Meeting the New England Fishery Management Council addressed multiple management priorities that were identified by NOAA in a July 2, 2026 letter regarding Executive Order 14276, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”. Updates and Council next steps on each item are outlined below. The Council will send an official response to NOAA by September 30, 2026.

IMPLEMENT ROTATIONAL ACCESS FOR THE NORTHERN EDGE SCALLOP FISHERY

The Council committed to considering scallop fishery access to the Northern Edge during the 2027 priority setting process at the December 2026 meeting. NOAA had requested the Council establish a controlled, rotational limited-access scallop fishery within the Northern Edge Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. This will allow time to evaluate the request alongside all potential 2027 priorities. The Council considered four potential management options to open the area to scalloping including a holistic habitat management review; a dedicated habitat action; a scallop action that builds on previous analyses and alternatives; or not including this work as 2027 priorities which could lead to a Secretarial Action. The Northern Edge is currently designated a Habitat Management Area, which closes it to dragging gear to minimize impacts on essential fish habitat for Atlantic cod, American lobster, Atlantic herring, among other species.

IMPLEMENT SCALLOP PERMIT STACKING

NOAA tasked the Council with pursuing an action on scallop permit stacking but due to capacity constraints, the Council will not include this issue as a 2027 priority, deferring to NOAA and a potential Secretarial Action. While the Council does not have a position on stacking permits, it last took up the issue of consolidation at the September 2022 meeting when it opted not to develop an action to allow leasing in the Limited Access component of the fishery following a scoping process. At the time, the Council cited concerns about job losses and other negative economic impacts on waterfront communities as reasons for not developing an action. The July 2026 NOAA letter also cited these associated risks of stacking including “foreign ownership, job reductions, and erosion of our critical working waterfronts.” Proponents of stacking cite the economic relief of reduced operational costs, reduced congestion in ports and while fishing, and the ability to fish two allocations on their safest and best vessel.

Meet the Autonomous Underwater Robot Expanding Our Ability to Survey the Seafloor

August 31, 2026 — For the past 3 years, our Habitat Camera (HabCam) Survey has had self-propelled underwater helpers. From June 30 to July 6 of this year, two Tethys-class long-range autonomous underwater vehicles, or LRAUVs, surveyed more than 200 nautical miles of pre-programmed track lines in the Mid-Atlantic. Together, they captured more than 68,000 images of the seafloor, collecting critical data used in fisheries stock assessments.

LRAUVs provide an alternative way to survey areas of the ocean where traditional research vessels cannot go because of offshore development. The data they collect complements our vessel-based HabCam Survey, which collects millions of seafloor images each year to understand Atlantic sea scallop populations.

Technology Strengthens the Sea Scallop Assessment

Our scientists identified sea scallops, fish, crabs, snake eels, squid, skates, and more in the seafloor images taken by LRAUVs this year. They will present these data, along with HabCam Survey data, to the New England Fishery Management Council at the end of August. The Council’s Scallop Plan Development Team will incorporate the data into the Atlantic sea scallop assessment. Ultimately, the data help generate more accurate estimates of sea scallop abundance and distribution to inform management decisions.

Advanced Technology Specialist Cameron Fairclough notes that this technology expands where and when we can collect data. “This autonomous underwater vehicle can image the seafloor and you can control it from your phone while it’s out in the middle of the ocean,” he explained.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries