Saving Seafood

Pacific bluefin tuna working group meeting ends without recommendations

July 14, 2026 — A working group of nations that commercially harvest Pacific bluefin tuna concluded its July meeting without agreeing on new management measures to be implemented in 2027.

“For much of the last decade, Pacific bluefin management showed that when governments work together, they can bring a severely overfished species back from the brink of collapse. But at a joint management meeting in Nagasaki, Japan, governments disregarded a tentative agreement they made in March to adopt a much-needed management procedure for the species at this convening,” Dave Gershman, who heads up The Pew Charitable Trusts’ conservation work with Pacific RMFOs, said in a release

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Millions of seafloor images fuel scallop stock assessments

July 13, 2026 — The cameras are rolling again on Georges Bank, where NOAA Fisheries scientists are collecting millions of images of the seafloor to help shape future management of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

The agency’s annual Habitat Camera, or HabCam, survey completed its second leg in late May after spending nine days photographing the seafloor across Nantucket Lightship, the Great South Channel and Georges Bank, roughly 60 to 100 miles offshore. Unlike traditional research surveys that collect animals, HabCam relies on a towed camera system that documents scallops and other bottom-dwelling species without disturbing them.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump administration touts National Scallops Day designation, Georges Bank territory opening

July 13, 2026 – – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is touting its designation of National Scallops Day, the opening of the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing, and permit stacking as a means of boosting the fishery.

The administration recently sent a deregulatory wish list to regional fishery management councils, which included a range of different recommendations like modernizing fleet capacity in the area managed by the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and shifting the management of red snapper away from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Bering Sea heat wave cited as trigger for nosedive in Yukon River Chinook salmon

July 13, 2026 — The intense marine heat wave conditions that began roiling the Bering Sea in about 2016 resulted in the lowest winter sea ice extent measured in 150 years, widespread bird and marine mammal die-offs, a drastic shift in fish populations and a crash of snow crab stocks.

Now new research is tying the marine heat wave to the recent collapse of Yukon River Chinook salmon.

A study published in April, written by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center and University of Alaska Fairbanks, showed the correlation between the extreme heat wave conditions and the nosedive in Yukon River Chinook stocks. The heat wave was accompanied by a dramatic increase in deaths of older juvenile and adult Chinook that, had they survived, would have returned from the ocean to freshwater spawning grounds, the study found.

The study was published in the journal Ecological Applications.

The Yukon River’s runs of Chinook, also called king salmon, have been in a long-term decline since their past heyday, when they numbered in the hundreds of thousands and the river was one of the biggest sources of that salmon species.

The sharp downturn in recent years resulted in a 2022 return that was the lowest on record. Widespread fishery closures have been in effect for years along the Yukon River system in both Alaska and Canada.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

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

NOAA again cites Mexico for illegal fishing as Southern Shrimp Alliance calls for seafood import ban

July 13, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has once again issued a negative certification to Mexico over illegal fishing in U.S. Gulf waters, marking the third consecutive report to do so.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries issued its most recent “biennial” report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. The agency explained that despite the recent release, the report “was prepared in 2025.”

Six countries were identified for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing: Costa Rica, Grenada, Mexico, Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.

Two countries were identified for the production of seafood-related goods through forced labor: Burma and the People’s Republic of China.

The agency also updated “certification” determinations, providing this explanation:

“NOAA Fisheries issues a positive certification if the nation or entity has provided evidence of actions that address the activities for which it was identified. If sufficient action has not been taken, NOAA Fisheries issues a negative certification which results in U.S. port restrictions for fishing vessels of that nation or entity, and could result in import restrictions on certain fish or fish products.”

Read the full article at

MAINE: Maine is exploring a path that could bring back Atlantic salmon fishing

July 13, 2026 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources is asking a federal agency to review whether existing endangered species laws could provide new tools to accelerate Atlantic salmon recovery, an effort the state says could eventually create opportunities for tightly controlled catch-and-release fishing if the species recovers.

In a June 4 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to evaluate whether authorities under the Endangered Species Act could provide additional flexibility to expand Atlantic salmon recovery efforts while maintaining existing federal protections.

The request comes after decades of habitat restoration, improved fish passage and river connectivity projects that have benefited Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish, but adult Atlantic salmon returns remain very low despite those investments, according to Sean Ledwin, director of DMR’s Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat.

Read the full article at the Piscataquis Observer

US bill would allow tribes to kill more sea lions along Columbia River

July 13, 2026 — A new bill introduced in U.S. Congress would authorize Native American tribes in Southwest Washington to kill some of the sea lions eating salmon in the Columbia River.

California and stellar sea lion populations have ballooned in the Pacific Northwest under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA); since 1950, the population has increased from roughly 10,000 to 250,000. Salmon are a major source of prey for sea lions, and the increased pinniped population has placed more pressure on the fish.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ASGA: Striped Bass Accountability Requires More Than Blaming Menhaden

July 13, 2026 — The American Saltwater Guides Association has published a blog post urging its membership and the broader recreational fishing community not to avoid accountability by blaming the diminished striped bass population on a lack of one forage species—Atlantic menhaden—while ignoring the central problem that anglers are “killing more fish than are being born.”

ASGA makes clear that menhaden are critically important to the Atlantic ecosystem and that the organization remains committed to responsible menhaden advocacy. But the post also warns against reducing striped bass conservation to an oversimplified message that “more menhaden = more stripers.” As ASGA explains, “while stripers and bunkers are ecologically connected, their advocacy demands nuance,” and any group claiming that menhaden campaigns alone are the reason anglers are catching large striped bass this year is “a major disservice to striped bass advocates.”

The blog post also highlights what fishermen know from experience: striped bass are opportunistic predators. Anglers on ASGA’s Guide Post Podcast described striped bass feeding on squid, sand eels, river herring, hickory shad, mackerel, crabs, glass minnows, eels, and other forage species depending on season, geography, and conditions. Capt. Ray Jarvis put it plainly: “Striped bass eat everything.” He also cautioned that blaming striped bass declines on a single factor makes people believe “there’s a simple solution to this problem… but it’s not that simple.”

ASGA’s central point is an important one: blaming menhaden, climate change, seals, sharks, or any other single factor may be politically convenient, but it does not replace the need for accountability in striped bass management. As the post says, the harder truth is that “as a collective angling body we are killing more fish than are being born.” That is the conservation challenge that cannot be avoided.

Read the post here

Thirty years after closure, Northern Edge scallop grounds could reopen

July 10, 2026 — President Donald Trump’s proposal to reopen the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing is generating optimism throughout New England’s scallop industry, though fishermen and scientists say reopening one of the East Coast’s most productive fishing grounds will likely take time and require approval through the federal management process. The Northern Edge has been closed to scalloping since 1994 to protect Atlantic cod habitat.

The Trump administration announced it plans to reopen the area on a rotational basis and allow “stacking” of scallop permits, which would enable vessels to harvest multiple permits on a single trip. However, Maine Public reported that the New England Fishery Management Council would first need to approve the change before the fishery could reopen.

“From an industry perspective, access to the Northern Edge would be a blessing,” Eric Hansen, owner of two New Bedford scallop vessels and a council member, told Maine Public. “The loss of resource and revenue for the scallop industry for the last 30 years has been huge.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman