Saving Seafood

NOAA plans $64 million rebuild of historic Beaufort laboratory

September 3, 2026 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will use $64 million in federal disaster funding to rebuild its historic Beaufort Laboratory after hurricane-related structural damage forced the facility to close permanently for safety reasons.

The project will be funded through the 2025 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, with design and preconstruction work expected to begin in early 2027. The new laboratory on Pivers Island will be built above the floodplain and designed to withstand future storms and flooding.

The Beaufort Laboratory was established in 1899 and moved to Pivers Island in 1902. It is the nation’s second-oldest federal marine science laboratory and predates NOAA by more than 70 years.

The main laboratory building being replaced was 62 years old and housed most of the laboratory space on the campus, along with offices for about half of the lab’s staff. The building was permanently closed in 2024 after a routine inspection identified foundational damage that made continued occupancy unsafe.

Republican US Rep. Greg Murphy, whose 3rd Congressional District includes Beaufort and Carteret County, said he had advocated for the reconstruction of the facility since it was damaged.

Read the full article at The Carolina Journal

NOAA to rebuild historic science lab in Beaufort, North Carolina

August 28, 2026 — Today, NOAA announced plans to fund the reconstruction of a new laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina. This new lab will replace the former building that was permanently closed in 2024 due to significant hurricane-related structural damage. The project will be funded using $64 million from the 2025 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Design and preconstruction work is expected to begin in early 2027.

Established in 1899, the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory is the nation’s second-oldest federal marine science laboratory, predating NOAA by more than 70 years. Following a routine inspection, NOAA determined the laboratory sustained foundational damage that made building occupancy unsafe. The new facility will be built above the floodplain and designed to withstand storm and flooding events.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NORTH CAROLINA: Bronze statue ‘Samuel’ unveiled at Beaufort park honors Black menhaden fishermen legacy

August 27, 2026 — A new bronze statue along the Beaufort waterfront is helping preserve a key part of the town’s commercial fishing history.

The statue, named “Samuel,” was recently unveiled at John Newton Park.

It honors the thousands of Black menhaden fishermen who helped build Beaufort’s fishing industry and shape the community once known as “Fishtown.”

“Samuel is bringing a face to those individuals that have worked hard to contribute to Beaufort. More than just what they did on the water or in the processing plant, it helps you see them as people.”

After the Civil War, menhaden became a major part of the local economy.

Read the full article at ABC News 12

NORTH CAROLINA: “Samuel” sculpture unveiled in Beaufort to honor Menhaden fishing history

August 24, 2026 — A new addition at John Newton Park is honoring Beaufort’s long connection to the menhaden fishing industry.

The Town of Beaufort held a ribbon cutting Friday to unveil “Samuel,” part of the Menhaden Tales project created and donated by Arts In Beaufort NC.

Town officials say the project recognizes the lasting legacy of the menhaden industry in Beaufort. Menhaden fishing has played a major role in the town’s history and coastal economy.

Community members gathered at the park for the unveiling of the new artwork, which is designed to help share that history with visitors and residents.

Read the full article at ABC News 12

NORTH CAROLINA: Beaufort sculpture will honor Black fishermen vital to menhaden fishing industry

July 28, 2026 — The importance of Beaufort’s menhaden fishing industry and the significant role African-Americans played in that history will be honored with a new life-sized work of art.

“Menhaden Tales” is a bronze sculpture that will be gifted to the town by Arts in Beaufort, a local non-profit. The sculpture of a fisherman and the accompanying bench he will sit on are meant to commemorate the contributions of African Americans to Beaufort’s historic menhaden fishing industry, while providing an artistic photo opportunity for the public.

The sculpture will be accompanied by a seven minute audio clip narrated by a former local fisherman, Wardell Johnson, which can be accessed through a QR code leading to the Arts in Beaufort website, https://www.artsinbeaufortnc.org/listen. Though there will be no speaker on site to listen to the audio through, the narrative can be accessed by way of a cell phone and enjoyed at the listener’s leisure.

At their June 17 meeting, the Beaufort’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board unanimously voted to recommend the acceptance of the sculpture and its placement in John Newton Park, in the mulched area where a picnic table currently sits

Beaufort was once nicknamed “Fishtown,” a moniker that originated during the years when the menhaden fishery dominated the local economy and the majority of the work was done by local Black residents.

Read the full article at NEWS-TIMES

Shipwrecks may help tropical fish adapt to climate change

May 10, 2019 — When Chris Taylor presses play, footage of blue wrasse and greater amberjack fills the screen. The fish whirl and spin against a vivid backdrop of corals, sponges, and algae. When Taylor, an ecologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science in Beaufort, North Carolina, asks visitors to the Centers where they think the video was taken, he’s not surprised to hear the Florida Keys or the Caribbean. But the guesses are invariably wrong.

“These highly structured reefs are right off our coast,” Taylor says. “There are all of these brightly colored fishes that defy expectations.”

A new study in Nature Communications Biology by Taylor and Avery Paxton, a marine ecologist who divides her time between NOAA and the Duke University Marine Laboratory, shows artificial deepwater reefs off the coast of North Carolina increased the number of tropical and subtropical fishes at the northern edge of their ranges. These findings have important implications for fishes in warming waters. As ocean temperatures rise, artificial reefs may facilitate the movement of these species towards the poles, where they may be able to find a habitat that is more suitable in the future.

Read the full story at National Geographic

North Carolina shrimpers say net of new rules for trawlers will destroy industry

February 17, 2017 — WILMINGTON, N.C. — The state Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to begin drafting rules that would limit trawling for shrimp in North Carolina’s inland coastal waters, a move that many on the coast say could destroy the shrimping industry.

The decision came after months of wrangling between commercial and recreational fishermen, with the latter group arguing that trawlers are scooping up millions of young fish before they’re old enough to spawn, effectively killing off fish stocks in the region.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation petitioned the state – the only one on the East Coast that allows shrimp trawling in its sounds and estuaries – to reduce the size of trawler nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping.

“North Carolina has some of the most lenient shrimp trawling rules on the East and the Gulf Coast,” said David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation.

Thousands of people signed petitions against the proposal, and commercial fishermen packed Marine Fisheries Commission meetings in recent months to make their stance known. Hundreds left in disgust Thursday after the commission overrode the recommendations of its advisory committees and accepted the Wildlife Federation’s petition.

“What just happened today is appalling,” said Brent Fulcher, who owns Beaufort Inlet Seafood in Beaufort. “The state process is broken.”

Read the full story WRAL

NORTH CAROLINA: Suit in the works over flounder

September 22, 2016 — BEAUFORT, N.C. — Carteret County will join fisheries groups in fighting the state Marine Fisheries Commission’s southern flounder supplement changes to reduce catch, which local fishermen say will kill the flounder industry here and cause a ripple effect in other local economic sectors.

“I fished for a living, I know what the implications would’ve meant for my family if you’d have taken half of my income from the fall,” Commissioner Jonathan Robinson told the county board. “It means somebody’s not going to have Christmas. It means somebody’s going to have to decide whether to be cold this winter or have something to eat.”

On his recommendation, county commissioners unanimously agreed to a resolution supporting a potential lawsuit from state and regional fishermen’s associations, primarily the N.C. Fisheries Association, against the MFC during their Monday meeting in the administration building.

Consideration of the complaint follows the November 2015 adoption of a supplement to southern flounder management regulations, a process which critics say circumvented standard amendment procedures after stopgap reassurances in the form of stock assessments failed to pass peer review.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

North Carolina Fisheries Association Releases Catch Summit info

March 2, 2016 — One final reminder about the NC Catch Summit coming up next week! This appeal is for all fishermen and interested folks. The Secretary of DEQ, the Deputy Secretary and the Acting Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries will be in attendance at the Clambake on Monday night!!

Please try to attend the Clambake and/or the event during the day on Tuesday in Beaufort. There is no charge for attending!

The Dinner & the Summit are completely free but you have to register (for the head count) at: email: 

rjohnson@hydecountync.gov

or call Rosemary Johnson at 252.926.4474.

Monday * March 7 * Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center; Harkers Island

5:30-8:30 Carteret Catch Down East Clambake & Frogmore Stew Dinner

Speaker: Wes Stepp, owner of Red Sky Cafe & author of “Tastefully Fit”

*Free trolley service will be available from the Beaufort Inn to the Museum

Tuesday * March 8 * Auditorium, NC Maritime Museum, 315 Front Street; Beaufort

8:30-9:00 Registration * Coffee & pastries

9:00-9:15 Host Welcome * Pam Morris, President, Carteret Catch

Conference Welcome * Jimmy Johnson, President, NC Catch

9:15-10:00 NC Commercial Fisheries: Economic Values, Trends, & Growth Potential

Presenter: Dr. Jane Harrison, Coastal Economics Specialist, North Carolina Sea Grant

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-11:00 Sett ing Seafood Trends: How Chefs Do It

Moderator: Libby Eaton, Bistro-By-The-Sea

Panelists: Jeff Barney, Saxapahaw General Store; Wes Stepp, Red Sky Cafe; and Sandy Howard, Amos Mosquitos

11:00-11:45 Ocracoke Island: A Case Study of Successful Seafood Tourism

Moderator: Alton Ballance, NCCAT

Panelists: Hardy & Patt y Plyler, Ocracoke Fish Company; Vince O’ Neal, Pony Island Restaurant; TBA

11:45-12:30 Diamonds in the Rough: Local Success Stories

Moderator: Jess Hawkins, Carolina Eco-Tours

Panelists: Eddie & Alison Willis, Mr. Big/Core Sound Seafood; Fabian Botta, Ruddy Duck Tavern; and Mark Hooper, Hooper Family Seafood

12:30-2:00 Lunch – Generously sponsored by Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative

2:00-2:45 Cultivating Customers: Insights from Retail Seafood Markets

Moderator: John Day, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University

Panelists: Haag & Son’s Seafood; Fishtowne Seafood; TBA

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-3:45 NC Seafood: It Tastes Great & It’s Good for You Too!

Presenters: Dr. David Green, NCSU; Candace Morris, ECU graduate student; and Sue Way, East Carteret High School

3:45:4:00 2016 NC Catch Summit Conclusion: Pam Morris and Jimmy Johnson

4:00-4:30 Networking and information tables available

Fishermen, restaurant, retail & wholesale folks who are able are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and attend part or all of it. There are accommodations available at Beaufort Inn (1.800.726.0321) at a very reasonable rate, if needed. 

View a PDF of the Catch Summit poster

This could explain all those strange happenings in Alaska’s waters

February 16, 2016 — New research is shedding light on how far toxic algae blooms have spread in Alaska, and surprised scientists are saying this is just the beginning.

A study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest fisheries center found domoic acid and saxitoxin – algae-produced neurotoxins that are deadly in high doses — in 13 marine mammal species across Alaska, including as far north as the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Researchers say the study is just the latest piece of evidence that warming ocean temperatures are allowing these blooms to stretch into Arctic ecosystems, threatening marine life and the communities who rely on the sea to survive.

“The waters are warming, the sea ice is melting, and we are getting more light in those waters,” said Kathi Lefebvre, NOAA Fisheries research scientist. “Those conditions, without a doubt, are more favorable for algal growth. With that comes harmful algae.”

Read the full story from The Washington Post