Saving Seafood

ASMFC Coastal Pelagics Board Sets Atlantic Cobia Total Harvest Quota and Recreational Measures for 2027 Fishing Season

August 5, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Commission’s Coastal Pelagics Management Board approved a total harvest quota of 80,112 fish and status quo recreational management measures for the Atlantic migratory group of cobia for the 2027 fishing season. This total quota results in a coastwide recreational quota of 76,908 fish and commercial quota of 73,116 pounds for 2027.  
 
The total quota level of 80,112 fish per year has been the same since 2020 and is based on the results of the 2020 benchmark stock assessment. The Board has maintained this quota given the absence of updated stock projections and considering the recent underutilization of recreational quota .
 
A new Atlantic cobia stock assessment is currently underway and scheduled to be completed in mid-2027. The Board intends to use the new assessment to inform total harvest quotas and management measures for 2028 and beyond. 
 
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, FMP Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org.

NEFMC given Trump priorities on scallop fishery, but rollout process remains murky

August 5, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump recently sent a deregulatory wish list to the country’s regional fishery management councils, and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) now has to grapple with how to address his proposed changes to the scallop fishery.

In early July, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro held a press conference touting the move by Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as a means of “unlocking the fertile fisheries of America.” Included in that list of requests, the Trump administration is asking the NEFMC to open the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to rotational scallop fishing for the first time in 30 years and to implement permit stacking on commercial scallop fishing boats.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fishermen move to intervene in Northeast marine monument case

August 5, 2026 — Two New England fishermen have asked a federal court to allow them to intervene in an ongoing lawsuit over commercial fishing access within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, adding another chapter to the years-long legal dispute over the protected Atlantic waters.

According to a July 31 press release from Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), fishermen Frank Green of New York and Bob Conrad of Vermont filed a motion to intervene in Conservation Law Foundation v. Trump. Represented by PLF, the fishermen are seeking to defend the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the commercial fishing ban within the monument and argue that the ban was unlawfully established under the Antiquities Act.

“Presidents have abused their power under the Antiquities Act for decades, drastically exceeding its narrow scope and disregarding Congress to restrict Americans’ right to productively use natural resources,” PLF attorney Frank Garrison said in the release. “The fishermen who work those waters shouldn’t have their livelihoods threatened by unilateral presidential decree.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Long-awaited Framework takes effect for Northeast groundfish fleet

August 4, 2026 — After months of uncertainty that left New England groundfishermen planning around regulations that had yet to take effect, NOAA Fisheries has cleared the second major regulatory hurdle for the 2026 fishing year.

The agency published an interim final rule Aug. 4 implementing Framework Adjustment 72 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, making updated catch limits, revised sector allocations and other management measures effective immediately while accepting public comments through Sept. 3.

The action follows NOAA’s June implementation of Amendment 25, which restructured Atlantic cod management into four biologically distinct stocks. Together, the two rulemakings complete the regulatory changes that many fishermen and sector managers had been waiting on since before the start of the May 1 fishing year.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Kuskokwim Bay commercial salmon fishery returns after five-year hiatus

August 4, 2026 — Commercial salmon fishing returned to Alaska’s Kuskokwim Bay this summer for the first time in five years, offering dozens of local fishermen a chance to earn income despite persistent logistical and financial challenges.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the fishery reopened in early July, with about 70 permit holders targeting primarily sockeye salmon. Larry Strunk, a founding member of the Independent Fishermen of Quinhagak Cooperative, told KYUK that some fishermen had already earned more than $10,000 during the season with the potential for individual earnings to reach $15,000.

The fishery, however, was short-lived. Strunk told KYUK that the cooperative wrapped up fishing around July 28 after declining sockeye catches and rising operating costs made it difficult to continue.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: State denies Ketchikan tribe’s request to open green crab fishery

August 4, 2026 —  The Ketchikan Indian Community submitted an emergency petition to the state’s Board of Fisheries in March, asking to reclassify European green crabs from a Class A to a Class B banned invasive species.

This change would allow anybody to transport dead European green crabs for harvest or consumption. Currently, the invasive can only be possessed or transported for scientific or educational purposes by those with an Aquatic Resource Permit.

“This isn’t an issue that’s going anywhere, and it seems to be largely ignored throughout much of the state,” said Emily Halsell, a fisheries and wildlife biologist with the Ketchikan Indian Community.

Halsell is leading a green crab monitoring and removal program, which officially kicked off last fall. The tribe has removed about 1,500 green crabs from Ketchikan beaches so far this year.

In its petition to the state, the tribe cites the species’ damaging impacts to the local ecosystem and economy. The adaptive critter can burrow and destroy eelgrass beds, which are nurseries for native species like Dungeness crabs and juvenile salmon. They can also compete with native crab species for the same resources.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

NOAA Fisheries Sets Management Measures for Northeast Multispecies

August 4, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is approving Framework 72 developed by the New England Fishery Management Council that sets or adjusts catch limits for Northeast multispecies (groundfish) stocks for the 2026 fishing year (May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027), including the three stocks managed jointly with Canada. Framework 72 revises catch limits of 12 groundfish stocks based upon the results of stock assessments conducted in 2025 and are intended to help prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks. It revises status determination criteria for Georges Bank yellowtail and modifies the process for the Regional Administrator to set recreational management measures for Atlantic cod and haddock stocks that do not have a recreational allocation.

We are accepting public comment on this interim final rule as published in the Federal Register and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through September 3, 2026.

Questions?
Industry: Contact Liz Sullivan, Regional Office, 978-282-8493

Media: Contact GARFO Public Affairs

New England fishermen ask to weigh in on Seamounts marine monument lawsuit

August 4, 2026 — A pair of fishermen have asked a federal judge for permission to defend U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing in court.

The status of commercial fishing in the 5,000-square-mile area off the coast of New England has flipped multiple times over the last decade, with U.S. President Barack Obama initially banning all commercial fishing except for lobster and crab harvesting when he designated it a marine monument in 2016. A lawsuit brought by commercial fishers failed to succeed in overturning the ban, but Trump reopened the area to commercial fishing in 2020 via a proclamation. U.S. President Joe Biden reinstated the ban in 2021, but Trump again reopened the area to commercial fishing via a proclamation in February 2026.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Conservation group asks New Jersey to take action over biomedical bleeding of horseshoe crabs

August 3, 2026 — More than a dozen conservation groups have petitioned the U.S. state of New Jersey to take action on the bleeding of horseshoe crabs by a biomedical company, claiming the practice injures the shellfish in violation of state law.

“On paper, New Jersey is one of the best state protectors of horseshoe crabs, but look under the hood and you’ll find it’s actually allowing a company to kill and injure horseshoe crabs in huge numbers,” Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) Senior Attorney Danny Waltz said in a release. “New Jersey must act quickly to fulfill the promise of its own laws and protect these highly imperiled animals and the endangered birds that depend on healthy crab populations.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Join Community Meetings to Discuss American Samoa’s Large Vessel Prohibited Area

August 3, 2026 — The following was released by the The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The future of American Samoa’s fisheries depends on informed community voices.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council will hold two public meetings to discuss the Large Vessel Prohibited Area, or LVPA, and hear directly from fishermen, families and island communities.

The LVPA is a federal zone around American Samoa where vessels 50 feet and longer are prohibited from fishing for tuna and other pelagic species. The Council is reviewing the current rules and boundaries under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and will consider community testimony as part of its discussions at its September meeting.

Join us for an open conversation, ask questions, share your experiences and make sure your perspective is part of the discussion.

Meeting Schedule:

● Tutuila LVPA Community Meeting

Date: August 6, 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (SST)

Location: Sadie’s by the Sea Conference Room, Utulei, Tutuila

● Manu’a LVPA Community Meeting

Date: August 7, 2026 (Friday)

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (SST)

Location: Fitiuta Lodge Fale, Fitiuta, Taʻu, Manuʻa

For more information, please contact Felix Penalosa (684-733-2754).

About the Council

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to manage fisheries in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council is responsible for developing and implementing fishery management plans for waters surrounding Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI and U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas. The Council works to promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of fishing communities through science-based decision-making and stakeholder engagement.