Saving Seafood

Washington crab fishermen challenge GPS vessel tracking in court

November 6, 2026 — Three Washington Dungeness crab fishermen are asking a state court to overturn a vessel monitoring program they say violates their constitutional rights by tracking their boats even when they are not fishing.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), representing crab boat captains Sarah Franey, Brent Young, and Mark Young, filed a motion seeking to invalidate the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Electronic Monitoring Program. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 15.

According to a Nov. 3 NCLA news release, the program requires GPS tracking of Dungeness crab vessels throughout the nine-month fishing season whenever their crab pots remain in the water, regardless of whether the vessels are being used for commercial fishing or personal activities.

The fishermen argue that the requirement allows the state to monitor their movements during recreational fishing trips, transportation, and sightseeing. They also contend that WDFW can share vessel location data with law enforcement and other agencies without obtaining a warrant.

At the center of the lawsuit, Franey et al. v. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, is whether the monitoring requirements violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Crabbers again ask Washington Superior Court to shut down 24/7 monitoring of vessels

November 4, 2026 — Representing Dungeness crab fishers, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has asked the Superior Court of the State of Washington to immediately rule against the state government and shut down its 24/7 electronic monitoring program.

“There is no ‘fishing’ exception to illegal 24-hour surveillance regimes under the state and federal constitutions, and we hope that regime ends soon,” NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

United States Wins Key Measures Benefiting U.S. Fisheries on Pacific Bluefin Tuna and Ensuring Research on Dorado and Billfish

October 8, 2026 —  During recent international negotiations, the U.S. delegation to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission advanced key American economic and conservation priorities. The successes support Executive Order 14276 on “Restoring America’s Seafood Competitiveness” by improving U.S. fishing opportunities, leveling the playing field for U.S. commercial fishermen, and modernizing ocean governance.

At the September 2026 Commission annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, 21 nations built consensus on high-priority fisheries and issues, including:

  • Pacific bluefin tuna
  • Electronic monitoring
  • South Pacific albacore
  • Dorado, South Pacific swordfish, and other billfish
  • Sharks and seabirds

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

MSC begins 60-day consultation on improvements to its Fisheries Program

October 8, 2026 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is seeking feedback on proposed revisions to its Fisheries Program. The revisions are designed to maintain the rigour of the MSC’s environmental sustainability requirements, whilst making them clearer and more practical to apply during assessments.

The public consultation begins on Thursday, 8 October and will remain open for feedback until Tuesday, 8 December. All stakeholders can review the proposed revisions and provide feedback through an online survey.

The MSC Fisheries Standard sets the leading benchmark for environmentally sustainable fishing globally and it is vital that its requirements drive real and lasting progress towards ending overfishing and protecting biodiversity. The proposals include clarifying requirements, removing undue complexity, and streamlining processes to ensure assessment outcomes are more consistent.

Key revisions include:

  • Endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species: More appropriate classifications based on conservation status, and more rigorous assessment of fisheries’ impacts on ETP species.
  • Independent observation: Requirements for human or electronic observation revised to align with widely used global best practice, based on independent analysis.
  • Traceability requirements: Strengthening the traceability of certified seafood throughout the supply chain.

Other revisions relate to evaluating the accuracy of information provided in assessments, the requirements for the adoption of harvest control strategies in non-tuna fisheries, refining scoring for fisheries that target the same stock, and clarifying how fisheries with limited data should be assessed.

The revisions have been developed through collaboration between the MSC, fishery assessors, and representatives from fisheries and eNGOs. Three dedicated panels have been created to propose changes to requirements, test the proposals, and analyse their impacts. A comprehensive feedback system between the panels will ensure the proposed changes deliver the intended sustainability outcomes on the water and can be consistently applied.

The MSC Fisheries Standard v3.1, Fisheries Certification Process v3.1, and Fisheries Standard Toolbox v1.2 are all included in the review. There will be an additional 30-day public consultation on the final proposals, which is expected to take place in April 2027. Version 4 of the Standard is expected to be published in September 2027 and will come into effect six months after the publication date.

Amanda Stern-Pirlot, MSC’s Chief Standards Officer said: “The MSC highly values input from its stakeholders to help shape the Fisheries Standard.  We encourage anyone with an interest in or knowledge of the Standard to take part in the consultation. We have introduced new tools to make participation in the consultation easier, and local MSC representatives are ready to help to make sure all input is heard. This input is vital to ensure the Standard and certification scheme continue to reflect widely adopted global best practice and can be efficiently and consistently applied.”

OREGON: Electronic vessel monitoring could come to Oregon fisheries by Dec. 1

July 13, 2026 — On Aug. 16, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission will decide if the department will implement electronic vessel monitoring and electronic logbook requirements for crabbing vessels working within the Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishery.

During the meeting, the department will hear public comment on the proposed rules which could make the systems required on board for vessels operating in Oregon fisheries as soon as Dec. 1.

Electronic monitoring is not new to West coast fisheries. In Washington and California, fishers have been required to use the monitoring systems for years. For “dual permit” fishers — fishers with permits for both Oregon and Washington — this is also already a regular practice.

In addition, electronic monitoring equipment is a small part of the department’s upcoming “conservation plan” which outlines how ODFW will take steps to reduce whale entanglements in the fishery.

Read the full article at the Seaside Signal

CFF Receives New Funding to Expand Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

July 1, 2026 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) recently received additional funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s competitive Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program to further expand the use of electronic monitoring (EM) technologies in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

In addition to the $449,000 award from NFWF to support project objectives, fishing partners have pledged a combined cost-share of $756,000 underscoring their commitment to these efforts during the project period.

Stock assessment biologists with NOAA Fisheries have identified a decline in scallop biomass over consecutive years, likely influenced by environmental factors including rising ocean temperatures in addition to a predator population surge in species like sea stars and crabs that prey heavily upon juvenile scallops. Fishing practices such as prolonged tow-times, deck loading, and high grading are also known to negatively impact scallop beds and the survivability of discarded animals.

The use of EM is widely considered a successful tool for reducing monitoring costs while improving data collection, vessel trip coordination and safety. This project seeks to develop a better understanding of implementation costs while also evaluating an incentive-based approach that could provide a broader range of data to support management decisions.

Read the full story on: Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

 

 

WPRFC approves mandatory electronic monitoring of longline vessels

June 13, 2025 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Council (WPRFC) has authorized mandatory electronic monitoring of all commercial longline vessels operating in the Hawai‘i and American Samoa fisheries.

With the number of human observers dwindling due to limited funding, the council determined that it was necessary to adopt electronic monitoring in order to adequately track the fisheries’ operations and ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Vessel tracking to start in 2023

April 7, 2022 — All lobster and Jonah crab fishermen in federal waters will soon need electronic tracking devices on their vessels while fishing there.

On March 31, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved addendums to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster and the Jonah Crab, to take effect in 2023.

First, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries must implement the new requirement through the federal rulemaking process.

The new requirement, in Addendum XXIX to the American Lobster Management Plan and Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab Management Plan, is aimed at collecting high-resolution, spatial and temporal data to help manage the fisheries, by tracking the location of vessels minute by minute for up to 90 percent of the vessel’s time in the water.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American 

Lobster boats will need tracking devices in federal waters

April 4, 2022 — Maine lobstermen and their counterparts along the East Coast who fish in federal waters will have to install an electronic tracking device on their boats starting next year.

Regulators with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to require all lobstermen and Jonah crab fishermen who fish offshore to have the devices onboard to collect and transmit spatial data. The unprecedented data from the trackers is intended to help regulators with assessing the health of the lobster and crab stocks, ocean planning and interactions with right whales and other protected species.

But lobstermen from Maine have objected to the idea, fearing the data could be used against them, particularly to aid with the siting of offshore wind turbines.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Rule change calls for monitoring of all groundfish trips

March 23, 2022 — Webinars on proposed changes to how the commercial groundfish sector monitors its catch, both with monitors at sea and electronically, will be held this week by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office of NOAA Fisheries (GARFO) in Gloucester.

The most significant proposed change is a monitoring coverage target of 100% aboard eligible trips, which is higher than present monitoring levels. The change is meant to remove uncertainty surrounding catch. This and other changes — known as Amendment 23— to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan were developed by the Newburyport-based New England Fishery Management Council.

The informational webinars on the changes are scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, Thursday, March 24, and Monday, April 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. The March events will focus on fishing industry members and the April event will focus on monitoring service providers.

According to a NOAA Fisheries fact sheet, the changes, if approved by NOAA Fisheries, would give groundfish vessels the choice of a human observer or using one of two types of electronic monitoring to meet the increased monitoring requirements, provided the sector has a corresponding approved monitoring plan and a contract with an approved service provider.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times