Saving Seafood

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. 

University of Maine joins NSF Seafood Engine initiative to advance New England fisheries and aquaculture

July 15, 2026 — The University of Maine is a key partner in a new $15 million U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engine that will strengthen New England’s seafood industry through cutting-edge research, technology innovation and workforce development.

Announced by the U.S. National Science Foundation through its NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, the NSF Seafood Engine in New England is led by the Portsmouth-based nonprofit Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems.

The collaborative initiative brings together leaders from the seafood industry, technology sector, government and research institutions across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island to build a more competitive, resilient and technologically advanced seafood economy.

As a partner in the Seafood Engine, UMaine will contribute expertise in marine science, fisheries, aquaculture, engineering, workforce development and technology commercialization.

Working alongside regional partners, UMaine will help develop innovative solutions that strengthen the seafood supply chain, support coastal communities and prepare the next generation of seafood and blue economy professionals in Maine and beyond.

Read the full article at University of Maine

HAWAII: Hawai‘i establishes Office of Marine Affairs to manage blue economy

July 8, 2026 — Hawai‘i Governor Josh Green has signed into law the establishment of an Office of Marine Affairs, which will be dedicated to managing the state’s blue economy.

“It’s difficult to articulate just how important the ocean is to our people,” Green said following a 6 July bill signing. “That relationship is at the heart of Hawai‘i’s identity, shaping our communities in every way. Protecting marine health and utilizing resources sustainably and with intention is a necessary commitment to our past and our future.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New England Ocean Cluster incubating seafood innovation through collaboration

July 5, 2022 — The New England Ocean Cluster is continuing its mission of using a collaborative model to advance the blue economy, with an initiative to bring together representatives of the agriculture and aquaculture sectors at its headquarters in the U.S. state of Maine.

The cluster was founded seven years ago, but didn’t finish its collaborative working space in Portland, Maine, dubbed “The Hús,” until 2020 – just months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, it has begun to start hosting events again, bringing together people from multiple industries as part of its mission to increase collaboration and foster new ideas.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

FAO’s Manuel Barange calls for countries to make “blue transformation” a strategic priority

June 21, 2022 — Seafood plays a vital part in global food security and nutrition, yet only half of the countries with a nutrition strategy identify fish consumption as a key objective in their public policies, Manuel Barange, the director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of the Food, and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) said in his opening keynote address at the Blue Food Innovation Summit in London, U.K. on 14 June, 2022.

In his address, “Realizing the full potential of the blue food economy,” Barange said there are around 32,000 different species of fish in the world’s lakes, rivers, and oceans, “forming part of a valuable ecosystem. The biomass of fish is twelve times that of humans,” he said, making them a readily available source of food for the entire planet, especially impoverished, remote areas of the world.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

The Blue Revolution: how technology helps reduce overfishing

May 3, 2022 — As older fishing fleets retire, new technologies help to create a more sustainable solution for an industry historically averse to change. The Blue Revolution, the new book from Nicholas P. Sullivan, tells that story.

Published last April, The Blue Revolution – Hunting, Harvesting, and Farming Seafood in the Information Age, dedicates 272 pages to tell the story of a long and worrisome problem for the world’s oceans, with few answers: overfishing.

In his new book the author reveals how while other industries have embraced technology, using anything from artificial intelligence to drones to become more efficient, “commercial fishing, one of the oldest industries in the world, is a stark exception. Industrial fishing, with factory ships and deep-sea trawlers that land thousands of tons of fish at a time, are still the dominant hunting mode in much of the world.”

There is hope, though, according to the author. Nicholas P. Sullivan writes that “many of the global fish stocks are at a dangerous tipping point, some spiraling toward extinction. But as older fishing fleets retire and new technologies develop, a better, more sustainable way to farm this popular protein has emerged to profoundly shift the balance.”

The Blue Revolution tells the story of the recent transformation of commercial fishing: an encouraging change from maximizing volume through unrestrained wild hunting to maximizing value through controlled harvesting and farming. Entrepreneurs applying newer, smarter technologies are modernizing fisheries in unprecedented ways. In many parts of the world, the seafood on our plates is increasingly the product of smart decisions about ecosystems, waste, efficiency, transparency, and quality.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Seafood industry investors buying into the blue economy

April 26, 2022 — Public appreciation that oceans provide essential protection to both the planet and humanity is growing, according to Chris Gorell Barnes, co-founder of private equity firm Ocean 14 Capital.

The entrepreneur, marine conservationist, and co-founder of the Blue Marine Foundation said “tremendous trigger-points,” which include documentaries like Blue Planet II and Seaspiracy, as well as reports from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have brought unprecedented public interest to the oceans. Additionally, luminaries such as U.S. Presidential Special Envoy John Kerry have been highlighting the role that the ocean plays in mitigating the climate crisis, and the new U.N. Decade of the Oceans platform is drawing attention to the need to reverse the decline of ocean health, Gorell Barnes said.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Op-ed: Focus on blue economy needed in 2022 for COVID-19 recovery

January 13, 2022 — We’ve come to the end of another year filled with uncertainty, with no sign of predictability on the horizon. No one is really sure what the new year will bring. Stability has been hard for Canadians to come by, and it’s something that decision-makers and leaders in both government and industry need to prioritize immediately to incite recovery.

In 2022, Canadian decision-makers are going to have to start implementing serious COVID-19 recovery measures as the pandemic continues to stretch on. The Blue Economy Strategy is an initiative that offers significant recovery opportunities to grow the Canadian economy. While the Blue Economy mandate was put forth by the federal government prior to the pandemic, it has been reinforced in the new mandate letter given to new Fisheries and Oceans Canada Minister Joyce Murray.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Island Institute tackles the big picture of working waterfront access in Maine

December 15, 2021 — A grizzled lobsterman hauls traps onto the wharf as the sun sets slow and pink over the harbor. Fishing boats head home to unload catch as captains and sternmen young and old call back and forth in a Downeast Maine accent. Fresh-caught local seafood is featured at restaurants and markets.  

Maine’s “blue economy” is worth over $1 billion annually, according to a 2018 Colby College report. It’s also a big draw for tourists and new seasonal and year-round residents. But their increasing presence may imperil a big part of what brought them to Maine: the working waterfront. 

“There’s a critical connection between the ocean and Maine’s economy,” Island Institute Senior Community Development Officer Sam Belknap said, following the institute’s August 2021 publication, “The Critical Nature of Maine’s Working Waterfronts and Access to the Shore.” 

The report’s main takeaway? “Without institutional support, high-level policy and programmatic coordination and sufficient funding to protect access, the future of Maine’s working waterfront is dire.” 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

NOAA report shows U.S. Ocean Enterprise growth

December 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Ocean Enterprise Report, released by NOAA today, shows significant growth in businesses that provide the technological means to observe and measure ocean dynamics. Called the Ocean Enterprise, this cluster of businesses, which provides essential support to the $2 trillion global Blue Economy and has revenues of $8 billion, saw a 60% growth of businesses–from 500 to 800–between 2015 and 2020. These businesses deliver essential information services to support sustainable use of ocean resources, understand Earth’s climate, and protect ocean health.

“Ocean Enterprise businesses provide observational technology and equipment essential to NOAA’s mission to take the pulse of the planet. Those businesses are also important users of NOAA’s publicly available data that they turn into actionable information and value-added products and services for a broad spectrum of end-uses– the raw material for building out the New Blue Economy, addressing everything from supporting renewable offshore energy development to ensuring efficient maritime commerce.” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator. “Understanding the trends affecting these businesses allows NOAA to identify new opportunities and partnerships to further support the Blue Economy.”

Building on the foundational study conducted by NOAA in 2015, this report analyzes trends in the Ocean Enterprise as it responds to the growing and changing information needs of the Blue Economy.

The report also details:

•The changes in the markets for Ocean Enterprise products and services as it pivots towards rapidly developing areas, such as offshore renewable energy.

•The changes in technologies to meet the needs of present and future Blue Economy markets, most notably a doubling of the number of businesses providing autonomous surface and underwater vehicles as platforms for ocean observations and measurements.

•The opportunities and challenges the Ocean Enterprise faces in supporting a growing Blue Economy, particularly in terms of navigating changing markets and the technological means of serving them.

“The combination of people, technology, and data analysis is a powerful way to address societal challenges related to our changing climate and rising seas,” said Carl C. Gouldman, director of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Office at NOAA. “To thrive in the decades ahead, we are going to need a robust Ocean Enterprise to innovate and problem-solve along the way. Our report and study results will help us understand and work with Ocean Enterprise companies to advance innovation more quickly and comprehensively.”

You can find more information on the study here, or download the full report here.

Climate, weather, and water affect all life on our ocean planet. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict our changing environment, from the deep sea to outer space, and to manage and conserve America’s coastal and marine resources. See how NOAA science, services, and stewardship benefit your community: Visit noaa.gov for our latest news and features, and join us on social media.