September 18, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation establishing new regional frameworks for killing cormorants, voracious birds that consume vast quantities of fish.
According to bill sponsor U.S. Representative Tim Walberg, out of control cormorant populations have had a devastating impact on Great Lakes fisheries, and a new approach is needed to reduce their numbers.
September 16, 2026 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA scientists returned from American Samoa and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument after conducting coral reef monitoring surveys. The team sailed south from Honolulu to Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef, where they completed their suite of surveys. After a 2,000 kilometer transit down to American Samoa, they visited the islands of Tutuila, Ofu, Olosega, Tau, Swains, and Rose atoll. On the way back to Honolulu, scientists stopped at Howland and Baker Islands to wrap up their surveys in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
To better understand these coral reef ecosystems, scientists:
You can revisit their journey through an interactive StoryMap.
September 10, 2026 — An algae bloom in Casco Bay could be harming fish and shellfish.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring the bloom of a common phytoplankton called Karenia mikimotoi. The phytoplankton are not harmful to humans, but they can produce compounds that can harm fish and shellfish.
The department was alerted to the bloom when the Portland Harbor Master and wharf owners in Portland Harbor noticed a dark brown tint to the water, according to a social media post by the Maine DMR .
September 10, 2026 — Thanks to the surge in Americans eating high protein diets and GLP-1-friendly foods, sales of tinned fish are soaring, according to new data.
The share of Instacart searches containing the word “protein” rose 12.7 percent in the first half of this year versus the first half of 2025, while searches for “fiber” jumped 26.4 percent. “Protein-maxxing” and “fiber-maxxing” – new terms coined by social media – are not happening in a vacuum, either, with GLP-1s contributing to the trend.
September 9, 2026 — Supporting the fishing fleets that fan out to sea from the Oregon coast, there are about three dozen industrial processing businesses that clean, cut and package the products before they’re shipped to consumers around the world.
It’s not a pretty process.
One byproduct of all those fish guts and shellfish innards is wastewater packed with solids and oils, as well as possibly chemicals, bacteria and heavy metals. Whatever isn’t filtered out gets discharged back into the ocean, where it can deplete dissolved oxygen that fish and other aquatic species need to breathe, and can pose risks to public health.
Seafood processing plants have been locked in a battle with environmental regulators over water pollution, with millions of dollars in fines piling up and legal fights that have spanned years. Meanwhile, the business is consolidating and, from an employment standpoint, shrinking.
The fight pits Oregon’s environmental aspirations against one of its legacy industries — one that remains a defining part of life on the Oregon coast even as its footprint contracts.
September 8, 2026 — Shelly Marie Redmond, a Shreveport dietitian, says one of her first priorities with clients is to get seafood into their meal plans.
“Fish can add so much to our well-being,” she said. “It’s rich in protein, which can help us lose weight, but it also is full of healthy omega-3 fats that protect our hearts and decrease inflammation.”
But not all of this underwater bounty is created equal when it comes to health. In particular, the debate over wild-caught seafood vs. farm-raised seafood can become complicated, balancing concerns around nutrition, contamination, overfishing and environmental degradation.
Dana Honn, chef-owner of New Orleans-based restaurants Nikkei Izakaya and Tempero’s Kitchen as well as founder of the Tropical Foodways Institute and the Louisiana Shrimp Festival, says that creating hard and fast rules between wild-caught and farm-raised seafood is not easy.
August 31, 2026 — You’ve probably heard eating fish and other seafood is good for your health. One of the main reasons is that seafood is an excellent source of two important omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA.
EPA and DHA are critical for the development and function of brains, eyes and healthy hearts. They also reduce chronic inflammation, which is linked to many chronic diseases. They can also reduce the risk of premature births and perhaps even some types of cancer.
While humans can produce EPA and DHA from ALA (an omega-3 fat found in plants) and it’s possible to get them from foods such as linseed and walnuts, seafood is the main source for most people.
However, our new study shows many fish and other seafood will become less rich in omega-3s over time, due to rising ocean temperatures as the climate changes. In fact, we found omega-3 could drop by 50% under very high warming scenarios.
This is very bad news for human health but also for the health of other animals in the food web.
August 31, 2026 — For the past 3 years, our Habitat Camera (HabCam) Survey has had self-propelled underwater helpers. From June 30 to July 6 of this year, two Tethys-class long-range autonomous underwater vehicles, or LRAUVs, surveyed more than 200 nautical miles of pre-programmed track lines in the Mid-Atlantic. Together, they captured more than 68,000 images of the seafloor, collecting critical data used in fisheries stock assessments.
LRAUVs provide an alternative way to survey areas of the ocean where traditional research vessels cannot go because of offshore development. The data they collect complements our vessel-based HabCam Survey, which collects millions of seafloor images each year to understand Atlantic sea scallop populations.
Our scientists identified sea scallops, fish, crabs, snake eels, squid, skates, and more in the seafloor images taken by LRAUVs this year. They will present these data, along with HabCam Survey data, to the New England Fishery Management Council at the end of August. The Council’s Scallop Plan Development Team will incorporate the data into the Atlantic sea scallop assessment. Ultimately, the data help generate more accurate estimates of sea scallop abundance and distribution to inform management decisions.
Advanced Technology Specialist Cameron Fairclough notes that this technology expands where and when we can collect data. “This autonomous underwater vehicle can image the seafloor and you can control it from your phone while it’s out in the middle of the ocean,” he explained.
August 28, 2026 — Lobstermen in Maine breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday after Canada amended its retaliatory tariffs against the United States, removing seafood and fish products from the items that will face the new fee.
In an announcement late Wednesday night, Canada’s Department of Finance said the Canadian government was working with Canadian industries to assess the effectiveness of retaliatory tariffs. Based on feedback, the department said it made “select adjustments to protect against broader economic harms.”
August 25, 2026 — The government of Canada has announced a sweeping set of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, including 25 percent duties on fish and seafood.
The U.S. and Canada had been undergoing trade talks after U.S. President Donald Trump continuously threatened Canada with tariffs since taking office in January 2025, including threats of 100 percent tariffs in February 2026 after Canada and China finalized a trade deal. Those trade talks had become rocky in recent months, with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announcing tariffs as high as 50 percent on Canadian goods in July, even as the two countries discuss the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement (USMCA) – a trade deal that Trump established in 2020.