Saving Seafood

Six Fish These Small Sound-Emitting Tags Are Helping Save

November 5, 2026 — An app tells beachgoers in Massachusetts and Maine if a shark has entered the area. Fishermen in Delaware check their phones to avoid accidentally catching endangered Atlantic sturgeon. Dwindling American shad, once cut off from their spawning grounds by dams, are returning in droves.

Each of these stories became possible in part because of tiny “acoustic telemetry” tags and a vast network of researchers deploying them along the East Coast of the U.S. With acoustic telemetry technology, each tag emits a unique, ultrasonic “ping.”  Along the Eastern seaboard, thousands of electronic receivers are listening for those pings, ready to detect any tagged animal that swims within about half a kilometer.

Researchers in the Atlantic Cooperative Telemetry Network, or “ACT” for short, have been tagging animals for over two decades. Now managed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the network unites scientists from over 120 organizations from Maine to North Carolina. Together, they’ve tagged more than 17,000 animals and 92 species. By sharing data from all of their receivers, they’re making discoveries about animal movement no single team could have made on their own.

“Many fish migrate long distances,” says Matt Ogburn, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). “The ACT Network supports researchers by making it easy and efficient to exchange data across projects as the fish they tagged move along the coast or even across oceans.”

This fall the network published a new paper, its first to highlight  how acoustic telemetry is shaping real-world conservation. From sturgeon to sharks (a lot of sharks), here are six fish the ACT scientists and their tags are helping preserve.

Read the full article at Smithsonian Magazine

Grant aims to grow East Coast bay scallop aquaculture

October 26, 2026 — A $200,000 grant is helping researchers and commercial growers lay the groundwork for a domestic bay scallop aquaculture industry, with a focus on training East Coast growers and increasing access to hatchery-produced seed.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) received the funding from the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center for a project aimed at expanding commercial-scale bay scallop production. The work will include hands-on training for oyster growers and hatchery personnel, developing new educational materials, and researching ways to improve seed transport and availability.

Bay scallops are native to Maryland waters, but commercial-scale bay scallop aquaculture remains largely undeveloped in the United States. Researchers see an opportunity to build on the East Coast’s existing shellfish aquaculture infrastructure and give growers another species to bring to market.

“It’s a very exciting project with a strong focus on industry,” said Dr. Stephen Tomasetti, principal investigator and director of the UMES Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Menhaden fishery workers caught in the middle of debate

October 5, 2026 — Carolmane Diggs was seasick the first week he was on an Ocean Harvester vessel in 2011. It was his first time on a boat, ever. But his dad, with decades of experience fishing for menhaden, was there to help him. Diggs had explored college and the military but ultimately decided to be a fisherman “to make my dad proud.”

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will vote in November on whether to cut the company’s allowable menhaden catch in the Chesapeake Bay. Bait watermen believe the cut will mean more menhaden in their pound nets, while Diggs and other employees of Ocean Harvesters and its partner, Omega Protein, worry they’ll lose pay or even their jobs. Public comment on the cut is open until Oct. 9.

The ASMFC has deemed the menhaden population to be not overfished along the East Coast. The population’s biomass, or weight, has increased and remained stable since the 1990s. But the commission cut the company’s coast-wide harvest by 20% last October after concluding it had previously overestimated the species’ abundance.

The ASMFC will hold a vote at its meeting on Nov. 10-11 on whether to cut the company’s harvest up to 50% in the Bay and add quota periods that would evenly distribute the catch over time.

Commercial fishermen say that harassment from some Bay harvest opponents has become expected but rare. Mostly, other boats break up schools of menhaden before the industrial vessel can catch them. The fishermen say, though, the incidents have become more personal in recent years.

David Haynie, bosun with Ocean Harvesters, was aboard a harvesting boat when a jet skier yelled obscenities and drove over a net in 2023.

“The harassment is nerve wracking because you don’t know when a certain individual could just be on his worst day and get mad at us and do something very irrational and harm us,” Haynie said.

According to a report by the ASMFC’s Committee on Economics and Social Sciences, there will be a “break-even threshold” where, if the harvest limit is pushed too low for the company, it will have to shut down instead of instituting layoffs. It’s unclear where that point lies.

It’s also unclear if any layoffs would take place following the proposed cut. If the company catches less fish, employees would be paid less. Ocean Harvester fishermen are paid based on the number of fish caught. Diggs expects to lose $10,000 over the season due to the most recent cut.

The fishery employs about 510 people directly and indirectly. Because menhaden fishing is seasonal, many employees have side jobs, from cutting trees to catering to oystering. If layoffs were to happen, many said they would retire early or need to commute two hours away to find something with the same pay and benefits.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Atlantic tuna, swordfish and shark fisheries see mixed outlook

September 9, 2026 — Commercial fishermen from New England to the Southeast are seeing a mixed picture across Atlantic highly migratory species, with several major tuna and swordfish stocks remaining in relatively strong conditions while some shark stocks continue to face rebuilding challenges.

NOAA Fisheries released its 2024- 2025 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species on Sept. 4, providing an updated look at tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks managed along the East Coast, Gulf, and Caribbean.

For fishermen, the report offers more than a snapshot of stock health. It also shows where commercial landings and revenues are moving, including a notable decline in overall highly migratory species revenue in 2024.

Tuna stocks show some of the stronger signs

Among the major commercial species, North Atlantic albacore remained well above its biomass target and was not considered overfished or subject to overfishing. Atlantic yellowfin and western Atlantic skipjack were also classified as not overfished, with overfishing not occurring.

The picture is less straightforward for bluefin.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

UNH deploys new underwater sensor system near Isles of Shoals

September 3, 2026 — A new tool to measure environmental conditions in the Gulf of Maine off New Hampshire’s shoreline is now up and running.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire and partners deployed acoustic and oceanographic sensors near the Isles of Shoals. The system is the first of its kind on the East Coast.

Located 10 miles offshore and 3 miles east of Appledore Island, the system will transmit oceanographic and acoustic data in real time.

“Measurements made with this valuable ocean asset will serve as a baseline for analyses of environmental conditions in this busy, productive area of the Gulf of Maine,” said Jennifer Miksis-Olds, director of UNH’s Center for Acoustics Research and Education and interim vice president for research and innovation. “This will expand our understanding of the ocean in real time.”

The sensors will detect human and marine mammal activity, wind and precipitation, sea ice dynamics and oceanographic features, with implications for national security, energy development and commercial fisheries, officials said.

The data is also expected to shed light on the connections between coastal measurements and the overall Gulf of Maine environment.

Read the full article at Union Leader

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II

September 2, 2026 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through Virginia have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Draft Addendum considers options to reduce the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap (Bay Cap) by up to 50% and distribute the cap more evenly throughout the fishing season. The options aim to alleviate a concentration of effort that may be affecting other fisheries within the Bay and other potential ecological impacts.

The Board initiated the Draft Addendum in response to concerns regarding declining pound net harvest and catch per unit effort in the Bay in recent years, coinciding with an increase in the concentration of reduction harvest in the summer months, and the possible downstream effects on menhaden predators.

The Draft Addendum also includes options that link the Bay Cap to the coastwide total allowable catch to maintain a more fixed proportion between the two, as well as options to distribute the Bay Cap into three quota periods to prevent a concentration of reduction harvest in the spring and summer of the fishing season.

Some hearings will be conducted in-person, some will be hybrid, and others will be conducted via webinar. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual hearings. The public hearing details follow.

Webinar Instructions

For all virtual and hybrid hearings, please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu to register for a public hearing webinar. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, and you can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Please note that in order to comment during virtual webinar hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software by (clicking here) or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance of the hearing since GoToWebinar will provide you with a link to test your device’s compatibility with the webinar. If you find your device is not compatible, please contact the Commission at info@asmfc.org (subject line: GoToWebinar help) and we will try to get you connected. We also strongly encourage participants to use the computer voice over internet protocol (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual or hybrid hearings.

Hearing Presentation Recording

For those who cannot attend any in-person or virtual hearings, the Commission will also post a recording of the hearing presentation on the Commission’s YouTube page so that stakeholders may watch the presentation and submit comment at any time during the comment process. This recording will be available in early September.

Submitting Comments

The public is encouraged to submit comments at any time during the public comment period but no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on October 9, 2026. You can access the Draft Addendum, public hearing schedule, and ways to comment on theAtlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Action Tracker webpage.

We accept public comment in several forms (at public hearings, an online public comment form, an online public comment survey, and via mail or email) and all forms are equally valued. However, we strongly encourage the use of the public comment survey as it allows users to select specific preferred options in the Draft Addendum and provides space for open-ended comments at the end. Options for submitting comments follow:

  1. Online via the public comment survey
  2. Online via comment box
  3. Email: comments@asmfc.org (subject line: Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II)
  4. Mail: James Boyle, ASMFC, 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200-N, Arlington, VA 22201
  5. Verbal comments provided at any of the scheduled public hearings

If your organization is planning to release an action alert in response to the Draft Addendum, please contact James Boyle at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740, so he can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize and summarize incoming comments for Board review. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at jboyle@asmfc.org.

The revised press release can be found at https://asmfc.org/news/press-releases/states-schedule-public-hearings-on-atlantic-menhaden-draft-addendum-ii/

VIRGINIA: Protesters harass menhaden fishermen

September 1, 2026 — Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishing protesters in small craft continue to harass Ocean Harvesters’ boats and fishermen by circling in front of the firms’ steamers attempting to keep boats from making sets.

Ocean Harvesters of Reedville, Va., harvests menhaden and sells it to Omega Protein, also located in Reedville. Omega Protein buys the fish from Ocean Harvesters and processes them into fish meal, fish oil, and other products.

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein are part of the only large menhaden reduction fishery in operation on the East Coast of the United States and have drawn protests from environmental groups throughout the mid-Atlantic who want to prevent menhaden reduction fishing on Chesapeake Bay.

“Over the past three years we have seen a few dozen of these recreational fishing boats racing to get in front of us and just circling so we either can’t get to where we want to go, or to try and block us from setting out nets,” says Monty Deihl chief executive officer of Ocean Harvesters. “These go hand-in-hand with the threats we get on social media and the coordinated effort to disrupt our operations.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Invasive green crabs are bad for the environment so New Englanders are starting to eat more of them

August 26, 2026 — As a morning fog lifted over Maine’s York River, Mike Masi and his two interns stood on a dock sorting through a mound of one of the region’s most despised crabs and hoped to find a few that would end up on a gastronome’s plate somewhere in New England.

The trick is to identify invasive European green crabs that are about to shed their hard shell, or molt, revealing a softer exterior that has the feel of a leather couch, and are popular at restaurants. Not only do these green crabs fetch more money — Masi can get $3 a crab at market compared to as little as 8 cents for a hard shell — but catching them provides a service of sorts to the ocean’s ecosystem.

“Just about everyone hates them and we’re trying to turn them into a premium seafood product,” said Masi, whose company, shell+claw, is the only one that commercially cultivates these crabs.

Masi, a 45-year-old former marine science teacher, is part of a growing movement across New England aiming to lessen the crabs’ destructive impact by developing new markets. Others are putting green crabs in pet treats, fish sauce and even a line of green crab whiskey in New Hampshire.

The green crabs, Carcinus maenas, made their way from Europe to the East Coast in the ballast waters of ships hundreds of years ago. Numbering in the tens of millions, they outcompete Atlantic rock crab and juvenile lobster, destroy eelgrass beds and undermine salt marsh banks. They also are costing the region’s shellfish industry tens of millions of dollars each year, as they eat mussels, oysters and soft-shell clams.

Read the full article at ABC News

Debate over menhaden fishery continues as it gains national media attention

August 20, 2026 — An ongoing debate over the future of the U.S. Atlantic menhaden fishery has gained national media attention, with the industry pushing back against NGOs and activists.

The Washington Post recently published an opinion piece by Mark Robichaux – a former Wall Street Journal reporter – that reviewed recent back-and-forth over the nation’s menhaden fishery and its claimed impacts on the wider environment, which includes accusations it is responsible for a decline in osprey populations and that it is diminishing an important forage species, resulting in declines in predators like striped bass.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Feds to weigh possible new fishing rules and restrictions to protect Mid-Atlantic whales

August 17, 2026 — Federal fisheries officials are beginning a process that could eventually lead to new fishing restrictions along the East Coast designed to protect native whale species.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced Aug 14 that it intends to conduct an environmental review of potential changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. The plan is intended to reduce deaths and serious injuries of North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and fin whales caused by entanglements in commercial trap/pot and gillnet fishing gear along the East Coast.

NMFS stresses that Friday’s publication merely begins a public comment process and is not a proposed federal rule.

Read the full article at WBOC