Saving Seafood

House passes bill extending right whale regulatory pause

September 2, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 9436, legislation that would extend the current pause on new North Atlantic right whale regulations affecting the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2035.

The Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026 passed the House on Sept. 1 by a 219-196 vote. The bill would extend the existing regulatory pause from its current expiration at the end of 2028 to Dec. 31, 2035.

The legislation has drawn support from Northeast commercial fishing organizations, which argue additional time is needed for ongoing research and technology development to inform future whale regulations. Conservation groups, meanwhile, say the extension would delay measures they believe are necessary to reduce the risk of serious injury and mortality to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), which urged lawmakers to pass the measure ahead of the House vote, welcomed its passage.

“The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association strongly supports passage of H.R. 9436,” Jason Joyce, NEFSA’s director of advocacy, said in a statement provided to National Fisherman.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Bipartisan fisheries management law would expand eDNA use

September 1, 2026 — Bipartisan legislation introduced this month by the co-chairs of the U.S. Senate Oceans Caucus relies on environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques pioneered by Cornell researcher David Lodge, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and past director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.

The Fisheries Science Modernization Act would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to incorporate eDNA tools into their assessment surveys of fish stocks – assessments that inform how many fish can be harvested by commercial and recreational fishers. Eight Republican, Democratic and independent senators co-sponsor the legislation, and multiple fishing industry and environmental protection organizations support it.

“When I started testing eDNA 17 years ago, I was interested in detecting rare species, such as emerging invasive species and endangered species,” Lodge said. “The focus of this legislation is quite different. Here, it’s not just about detecting whether a Pacific hake exists, it’s about estimating how many hake there are, based on how many distinct pieces of hake DNA you can find. It’s pretty astonishing to me that we in the scientific world working on eDNA have come this far, this fast.”

Read the full article at the Cornell Chronicle 

Dams give way to better habitat in Chesapeake Bay region

September 1, 2026 — A few years ago, biologist Brian Watson was looking for endangered mussels in Virginia’s Rock Island Creek when his assistant went around a bend and made a startling discovery. It wasn’t a rare mussel.

“There’s, like … a stone wall,” she shouted back to Watson. Then added, “That’s a dam.”

Standing 6 feet tall and stretching 55 feet across the creek, the dam was entirely unknown to them — appearing nowhere on maps or dam inventories.

But the dam wasn’t irrelevant to their project: It was taking a toll on mussels, as so many dams do. The biologists found shells of dead James River spinymussels, an endangered species, behind the structure.

“We assumed the mussels probably got washed down to the dam and then died as they got trapped,” said Watson, a mussel specialist for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, noting that the sandy substrate and water depth behind the structure was unsuitable habitat.

It was one of more than 6,500 dams that dot more than 200,000 miles of waterways draining the Chesapeake Bay watershed. That’s an undercount. Many of them don’t appear on dam inventories. Research was required to learn that the one on Rock Island Creek was called the Baber’s Mill Dam, built in the early 1800s.

Large or small, dams create a host of problems. They alter habitat, block fish movement, change water temperatures, promote algal blooms and contribute to the decline of native species. Some are safety threats to people.

But the Baber’s Mill Dam no longer causes such problems.

By chance, an aquatic ecologist from the timber company Weyerhaeuser, which owned the property, contacted Watson about the dam a few months later. The state and company teamed up to remove the structure in April 2024.

Read the full article at Bay Journal 

Environmental groups take steps to sue to compel new protections for gray whales

August 28, 2026 — Amid a decade of die-offs and a sharp decline in the population of gray whales that swim along the Pacific coast of North America, three environmental groups are preparing to sue the Trump administration over its failure to bring back Endangered Species Act protections for the animals.

The Center for Biological Diversity, the International Marine Mammal Project and Oasis Earth on Tuesday submitted a notice of intent to sue the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over gray whale protections.

Oasis Earth submitted a petition a year ago to NOAA Fisheries for a threatened or endangered listing to be granted to the Eastern North Pacific gray whale population. But the agency neither issued a 90-day finding on the petition’s validity nor a 12-month finding on the population’s status, as required under the law, the groups’ notice said.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

CALIFORNIA: California’s rarest salmon face a narrow window for survival

August 24, 2026 — For California’s most endangered salmon, the difference between surviving and dying may come down to just 15 days.

In a study published Friday in Science Advances, researchers say the chance of juveniles surviving fell by about 73% for every 1.8-degree Fahrenheit increase in average river temperature during those first 15 days.

Sacramento River winter-run Chinook have only one surviving population, with an average of a few thousand fish returning in recent decades.

Shasta Dam keeps the salmon from returning to their original cold-water habitat around Mount Shasta in Northern California. Instead, they spawn in the Sacramento River, where warmer summer water can threaten their developing eggs.

Cold water is released from Shasta Reservoir to keep the river cool enough for salmon eggs to survive, but that water is also needed by farms and cities.

The balance becomes harder in dry years, when there’s less water to go around.

Kohma Arai, who conducted the research as a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis, said a full summer of spawning doesn’t necessarily mean a successful season.

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

A Winter at Sea Reveals Seasonal Habits of Whales, Dolphins, and Seabirds in Hawaiʻi

August 21, 2026 — The Hawaiian archipelago is teeming with marine life, and winter brings some of the most exciting activity of the year. It’s a season when many whale and seabird species travel to the islands. Migratory baleen whales such as humpback and minke whales are only found in Hawai‘i in the winter, when they seek warmer waters to breed. Others—including various types of dolphins—rely on this marine ecosystem year-round, but scientists have yet to uncover the details of their wintertime habits.

To close that gap, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center launched a survey in late January 2026. Scientists spent 2 months monitoring these species around the main Hawaiian islands aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. The mission, called the Winter Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey, is only the second of its kind.

Six years after the first winter survey, researchers returned to better understand where, when, and how many whales and dolphins use this habitat. The data from these surveys feed into stock assessments, helping us track the status of these species and make informed conservation decisions. This work is especially important for high-priority species like false killer whales, including an endangered population that lives around the main Hawaiian islands.

Winter conditions at sea can be rough, with higher swells and lots of white caps. This makes animals harder to see. But NOAA scientists are experienced with scientific methods that rise to the challenge. During the survey, eagle-eyed visual observers spied more than 200 groups of whales and dolphins, even in difficult conditions. They documented humpback mothers with their calves, bottlenose dolphins riding the ship’s bow, and pantropical spotted dolphins leaping high into the air. Cutting-edge passive acoustic technology helped detect other whales and dolphins that could be heard but not seen.

In these photos, take a look behind the scenes of the survey and find out which species spend their winters in Hawaiʻi.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Giving North Atlantic Right Whales a Check-Up Using Advanced Technology August 17, 2026

August 18, 2026 — This story is part three of a three-part series. Read about how we are listening for North Atlantic right whales with passive acoustics, monitoring them with aerial surveys, and using boats, drones, uncrewed surface vehicles and satellites to learn as much as we can about them and their habitat. In the Northeast, we work with many partners to track right whales, including mothers and calves, using advanced technology to help inform actions that reduce risks to the species.

Passive acoustic monitoring and aerial surveys can provide critical information about endangered North Atlantic right whales. But to assess their health, you need to get closer. That’s why we use these techniques in tandem with vessel surveys. From the water, scientists conduct drone photogrammetry, take biopsies and photographs, and even collect breath samples. Our team flies drones and takes samples from the R/V Selkie, a 23-foot boat, in Cape Cod Bay in the spring and in the Southeast over the winter.

Assessing Right Whale Health Using Drones and Biopsies

Taking and analyzing specialized photos using a drone is called photogrammetry. It allows scientists to measure calf growth rates and check on mother right whales’ health. Mothers nurse their calves but do not eat while they are in the Southeast, so they lose blubber until they start feeding again in the Northeast. Our team gets a longer time series by sampling both in the Southeast calving grounds and Northeast feeding grounds. They also use drone imagery to examine scarring and entanglements. Our team processes the photos using an open source software called MorphoMetriX .

Our vessel survey teams also collect right whale biopsy samples. Along with state partners, they biopsied all but one of the 23 newborn calves this season. Samples provide critical information about the genetics of the calves. Genetics allow us to identify individuals and trace family relationships. These samples can also inform scientists about the health of the calf. That information is added to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog.

To biopsy a whale, scientists slowly approach within 30 feet on a small boat and use a specialized hollow biopsy dart discharged by a crossbow. They collect a small sample of skin and blubber—about 1 inch long and the diameter of a pencil. The dart floats, allowing scientists to easily retrieve it for genetic and health analysis. The samples are quickly flash frozen aboard the boat. Ultimately, the samples are stored at the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab in Charleston, South Carolina. They are available for many types of ‘omics research studies. The team hopes that long-term preservation will enable researchers to do the most good for right whales.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

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

Aerial Surveys: Monitoring Right Whales from Above

August 14, 2026 — This story is part two of a three-part series. Read about how we are listening for North Atlantic right whales with passive acoustics, monitoring them with aerial surveys, and using boats, drones, uncrewed surface vehicles and satellites to learn as much as we can about them and their habitat. In the Northeast, we work with many partners to track right whales, including mothers and calves, using advanced technology to help inform actions that reduce risks to the species.

Many North Atlantic right whales migrate thousands of miles to the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic from mid-November to mid-April. Female right whales give birth in the shallow coastal waters of the Southeast during the winter months. The whales spend the rest of the year feeding in the plankton-rich waters off of the Northeast and Canada.

We take to the skies to monitor this journey. The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s aerial survey team conducts right whale surveys aboard a NOAA Twin Otter Aircraft. The team has flown 325 hours monitoring whales since January 2026. In the spring, they monitored whales off of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. In June, they joined Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) as part of a Joint Aerial Survey Team, flying out of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. There, they flew 50 hours monitoring aggregations of right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

US court hears arguments against turtle excluder devices in inshore Louisiana waters

August 14, 2026 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is considering a challenge to a 2019 NOAA Fisheries rule forcing Louisiana inshore shrimpers to install turtle excluder devices (TEDs).

A TED is a grid of metal bars placed in a trawl net that block larger animals – like turtles – while allowing smaller animals – like shrimp – to pass through. Louisiana shrimpers claim the requirement on inshore vessels is excessive, making their work more difficult and expensive despite little risk to turtles.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource