Saving Seafood

UW study shows PNW waters acidifying faster than rest of world’s oceans

April 23, 2026 — The waters off the Pacific Northwest are becoming more acidic at a faster rate than the rest of the world’s oceans, a global problem exacerbated by the region’s unique geography, according to a University of Washington study.

Researchers found the California Current System, which runs along the West Coast from British Columbia to Baja California, and the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound, have experienced amplified acidification over the past 130 years, outpacing the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

“We are already naturally acidic and then we see this bump and then we’re saying that extra bit is increasing faster than we expected,” said Alex Gagnon, an associate professor of oceanography at UW and principal investigator on the study.

The Pacific Northwest is naturally prone to acidic ocean conditions because of a process called upwelling, in which cold, nutrient-rich water is pulled up from the deep ocean to the surface.

Read the full article at King 5

An intense marine heat wave has California in its crosshairs, with impacts set for land and sea

April 22, 2026 — Something unusual and with far-reaching consequences is lurking in the sea off the California coast, stretching all the way down the Baja Peninsula and more than 500 miles to the southwest.

In this broad region, a large, long-lasting and record-setting marine heat wave has set in and is forecast to persist and intensify, altering the weather conditions on the West Coast and adversely affecting the marine food chain.

This heat wave, which is the oceanic equivalent of a heat wave on land, could have broad ramifications for sea life, as warm water species like hammerhead sharks and bluefin tuna migrate into areas where they are normally not seen, and cold-water species move deeper and further north.

The marine heat wave may have widespread impacts on the weather in the West, making off-the-chart heatwaves like March’s more likely and intense, supercharging rainfall and even allowing tropical systems to come northward into California.

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are monitoring ocean temperatures along the California coast, where their records stretch back more than a century. They have been recording one hot ocean record after another, especially during the past few weeks.

Since January 1 and through the end of last week, there were 36 days when sea surface temperatures at Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California set records for the hottest water temperature ever recorded on that date. This is significant, since daily data at that location goes all the way back to 1916.

Read the full article at CNN

Cunner, climate, and concern: Study digs into lobster questions

April 22, 2026 — Along Maine’s coast, a familiar fish is raising new questions for lobstermen.

Researchers at the University of Maine (UMaine) are taking a closer look at whether cunner fish– long known to share habitat with lobsters– may be preying on them in a new way, particularly targeting egg-bearing females. The work is being led by fisheries scientist Michelle Staudinger, backed by a National Geographic Society grant aimed at studying keystone species and emerging ecosystems shifts.

Cunner aren’t new to the Gulf of Maine. The small, colorful fish have always fed on young lobsters in their early benthic stages, along with clams and snails. But recently, fishermen and the Maine Department of Marine Resources have reported cunner showing up in traps, and in some cases with lobster eggs in their mouths, raising concerns about potential impacts to the fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Tiny plankton have big impact on harmful algal bloom predictions, data reveal

April 10, 2026 — As climate change intensifies harmful algal blooms worldwide, an international team led by Hiroshima University has developed a hybrid modeling approach that combines algal movement simulations, AI, and long-term monitoring data to sharpen forecasts of these bloom events—linked to environmental damage, mass fish die-offs, economic losses, and risks to human health.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs)—responsible for environmental damage, mass fish die-offs, economic downfalls, and even human deaths—are increasing in frequency and severity as Earth warms.

While some computer models can forecast potential blooms, their accuracy is limited by the number of algae species that can bloom harmfully under different environmental triggers, as well as how different species may overlap with one another. However, an international team has demonstrated that coupling three models and accounting for how different algae species interact can significantly improve predictions.

The researchers, led by Fumito Maruyama, a professor with the Center for Planetary Health and Innovation Science at Hiroshima University’s The IDEC Institute, published their work in Ecological Informatics.

Read the full article at phys.org

Arctic sea hits record low, while Bering Sea ice surges

April 8, 2026 — While Arctic sea ice reached its lowest seasonal peak on March 15, conditions in the Bering Sea told a very different story this winter– with ice expanding farther south than fishermen have seen in more than a decade.

According to reporting from KMXT, sea ice in the eastern Bering Sea continued growing for another week after the Arctic-wide peak, ultimately reaching its greatest extent since 2013. Ice pushed south past Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, extending to Cold Bay, Unimak Island, and even the Pribilof Islands

“The Bering Sea is the only place in the Arctic where sea ice is above normal,” Rick Thoman said to KMXT. “To our west, in the Sea of Okhotsk, so west of Kamchatka, it’s the lowest sea ice extent of record [as of March 19].”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump budget proposal targets NOAA

April 7, 2026 — The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget request is drawing sharp concern from environmental groups and ocean advocates, with proposed cuts to key federal agencies that support fisheries science, management, and coastal communities.

According to Inside Climate News, the spending plan would continue efforts to scale back funding for climate and environmental programs, including significant reductions to NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The proposal outlines a broader push to “constrain non-defense spending,” while increasing defense funding to $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent jump.

At the EPA, funding would be cut roughly in half under the proposal, with grants reduced by $1 billion. Inside Climate News also reported that the agency has already seen significant staffing losses, with more than 4,000 employees leaving during the first year of Trump’s second term. That represents a 24 reduction in workforce, bringing staffing levels to their lowest point since the 1980s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW YORK: New York governor seeks federal aid for state’s oyster industry

April 7, 2026 — New York Governor Kathy Hochul has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to confirm that a disaster has hit the state’s oyster industry, enabling oystermen to access emergency loans and financial support.

Like their counterparts working in Chesapeake Bay, New York oystermen have been beset by extreme cold weather and icy conditions that have kept them from working for much of the season.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Warming Waters in the Gulf of Maine May Affect the Future of Lobsters

April 6, 2026 — Curt Brown spent his childhood harvesting lobsters along the coast of Maine. As an adult, he went on to earn a Master of Science from the University of Maine, observing the very waters where he spent years fishing for the crustaceans.

With a rapidly changing climate, many researchers worry that Maine’s lobsters will eventually move north to colder waters. Brown isn’t so sure, though, seeing all of the forces affecting the ecosystem as highly complex. His studies in marine biology and policy, along with his continued work as a lobsterman, have helped him understand that the lobster industry depends upon various factors, some beyond man’s control.

Last year, the state of Maine’s lobster fisheries harvested 78.8 million pounds of lobsters, and according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), commercial harvesters earned $619 million.

Synonymous with the New England state, lobsters have a documented history in Maine that dates back to 1605. Recent studies, though, show that climate change and a shift in currents are warming up the local waters. In a now well-quoted 2015 study led by Andrew Pershing, researchers found that the surface temperature of the Gulf of Maine is warming 99 percent faster than the rest of the ocean.

Read the full article at Inside Climate News

“Remarkable” sea ice conditions in Bering Sea this winter as Arctic-wide sea ice hits record low

April 6, 2026 — Scientists say sea ice in the Arctic hit its seasonal peak on March 15 – and it was the lowest peak on record. That probably comes as a surprise for fishermen who work the Bering Sea, where sea ice kept expanding for another week and hit its highest peak since 2013, extending south all the way to parts of the Aleutian Islands.

Sea ice last month completely froze over Bristol Bay and the north end of the Alaska Peninsula, past Nelson Lagoon. It reached Cold Bay, Unimak Island – even the Pribilof Islands.

“The Bering Sea is the only place in the Arctic where sea ice is above normal,” Rick Thoman said. “To our west, in the Sea of Okhotsk, so west of Kamchatka, it’s the lowest sea ice extent of record [as of March 19].”

Thoman, a climatologist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness, said there’s been a persistent series of high-pressure storms that have caused significant sea ice growth in the eastern Bering Sea by holding colder air in that area this winter. But that has also prevented sea ice from forming west of the International Date Line in Russian waters.

“That big high pressure over the Bering Sea has steered many storms and their south winds into the Sea of Okhotsk,” Thoman said. “They just have not been able to form much sea ice.”

Read the full article at KMXT

Trump’s Budget May Target Climate Programs. Here’s What Still Survives.

April 2, 2026 — President Trump has tried to cut funding for virtually every federal program that addresses climate change. But Congress has been pushing back, sometimes with surprising bipartisan support.

This year, lawmakers quietly saved funding for the government’s popular Energy Star program, which ranks appliances based on energy conservation and cost savings. Bipartisan majorities also salvaged weather forecasting, fisheries and climate research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and even some international environmental aid.

Mr. Trump’s new proposed budget is expected to be made public on Friday, and climate advocates said they were bracing for steep new cuts to environmental programs. The White House declined to comment on the budget but noted that Mr. Trump had already eliminated his top targets, like federal support for wind, solar and other renewable energy.

Advocates for climate action said their modest success last time had given them some hope of again retaining popular programs in next year’s budget.

Read the full article at The New York Times