Saving Seafood

$15M grant aims to protect New England’s ‘legacy’ seafood industry

August 17, 2026 — This grant will fund new fishery technology and innovations, which will help researchers at URI and other partners better understand the changing sea environment.

The seafood industry has long been an economic driver in Rhode Island, but it’s facing a number of challenges — including rising costs, warming waters and an aging workforce. In an effort to combat these obstacles, the National Science Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant to the University of Rhode Island and several regional partners.

Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with Marta Gomez-Chiarri, an aquaculture and fisheries professor at URI, about how her lab is hoping to use the money to spur technological innovations that can help strengthen the health and viability of the local seafood industry.

Read the full article at Ocean State Media

Guam fishers say shark deterrents fail as disaster aid remains out of reach

August 17, 2026 — Federal fisheries officials heard a familiar complaint from Guam fishers this month: Sharks are stealing their catch, the fixes on the market don’t work, and the island still has no clear path to federal disaster money when storms wipe out their gear.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group hosted a community meeting last week at the Guam Museum Art Cafe, part of a series of gatherings the groups have held across the region to collect input on federal fisheries policy. The Council’s Guam Advisory Panel followed with its own meeting Aug. 8 at the Council office in Hagåtña, taking up commercial fishing rules inside the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and 2026 strategic planning.

Last week’s gathering was one of close to 40 meetings the fisheries group has held across the Pacific over the past year and a half, part of an ongoing effort to document fisher concerns for the Council and its federal partners. Those observations feed into the Council’s annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation reports, which Jesse Rosario, the Council’s representative in Guam told The Guam Daily Post help shape recommendations on adapting fishery management to a changing climate. The Council is also building an online and mobile app that will let fishers report shifts in fish abundance, currents and weather directly, with a launch targeted for later this year.

Shark depredation, when sharks strip fish off the line before a catch reaches the boat, ranks among the most pressing issues raised by Guam’s small-boat fishers. According to Rosario, the Council held an international workshop on the problem in February that paired fishers with technology developers and scientists working on deterrent devices.

One Guam fisher put a magnetic deterrent that cost him nearly $70 to the test over two days on the water and came away unconvinced. He described attaching the device near the hook, expecting it to disrupt a shark’s electrical receptors before it reached the bait.

Read the full article at The Guam Daily Post

NOAA Scientists Discover Repeat Spawning in Pacific Capelin

August 12, 2026 — For certain fish species, like Pacific salmon, reproduction is a once-in-a-lifetime event, known as semelparity. Many other fish are iteroparous—meaning they can spawn repeatedly throughout their lives. New research by NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center reveals the first evidence that Pacific capelin can be repeat spawners.

Over the past decade, the North Pacific Ocean has faced extreme climate variability, including marine heatwaves that severely impacted capelin populations. Understanding capelin’s reproductive flexibility under these fluctuating conditions is crucial for predicting their annual reproductive potential and long-term resilience. Capelin abundance is also an important indicator of the marine ecosystem health.

Examining Reproductive Flexibility in Fluctuating Environments

Historically, the life history, ecology, behavior, and population dynamics of Pacific capelin have not been studied as well as their commercially important counterparts in the Atlantic. In North Pacific and Arctic ecosystems, Pacific capelin serve as a major forage fish and primary food source for Steller sea lions, humpback whales, and other marine mammals. They also are a key subsistence resource and an important food source for commercially important groundfish.

Capelin are short-lived—typically surviving only 1 to 4 years. Their abundance fluctuates wildly in changing environments, leading to multiyear population crashes during marine heatwaves. Recent research highlights that these heatwaves shrink capelin distribution and deplete their energy reserves. Ultimately, these combined stressors leave capelin highly vulnerable to mortality and put the predator populations that rely on them at risk of decline.

In this new experimental study of captive fish, NOAA scientists looked more closely at the spawning potential of Pacific capelin. They researched their life history and how they respond to shifting environments.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Survey Crashers: Encountering Unexpected New Faces in the Gulf of Maine

August 11, 2026 — The sun was out and the sea conditions were ideal. Fish were being hauled onboard at a consistent rate. I was sampling spiny dogfish on the back deck of the F/V Tenacious II when the captain stopped the hauler and said, “Hey, we caught something different.” I looked up at the hauling station and saw the captain unhooking a chain dogfish, a new species to the Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey . The survey focuses on the rocky bottom habitat in the Gulf of Maine. Every year in the spring and the fall, we partner with two commercial fishing vessels to haul up 45,000 individual hooks from the rocky bottom of the Gulf of Maine from 45 randomly selected locations. We conduct the survey in parallel with the Northeast Bottom Trawl Survey , which samples in the Gulf of Maine during the same time each spring and fall.

Typically we see spiny dogfish, white hake, and haddock along with a variety of other commercially important species. Over the more than 10-year history of this survey, the species caught are typically similar each season. But, occasionally we encounter new species. This spring, during the first trip of the 2026 season, we were excited to encounter a new species.

New species added to our list: the Chain Dogfish

We were fishing in the southeastern corner of the Gulf of Maine on our first leg of the 2026 spring season, when we added the chain dogfish to our list of encountered species. This was the first chain dogfish ever seen in 12 years of the survey. Chain dogfish have a very charismatic pattern on their body, with intricate black lines that stand out sharply against the gray body resembling a tiger.

  • Species: Chain Dogfish (S cyliorhinus retifer )
  • Habitat: Demersal (near the sea floor)
  • Range: Western Atlantic (Massachusetts to Nicaragua)
    • Most abundant off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina in depths between 120 and 2,500 feet.
  • Size: 4 to 24 inches

Another Uncommon Species to the Gulf of Maine: Golden Tilefish

This survey encountered golden tilefish as well, which are also not typically found in the Gulf of Maine. This season, we were fortunate enough to encounter three individuals during the first leg of the spring survey. Like the chain dogfish, our survey typically encounters this species in the southeastern Gulf of Maine. Golden tilefish have a very distinctive coloration and pattern. Golden tilefish are vibrant deep-sea fish sometimes called “clowns of the sea”. They have bright iridescent blue-green backs, scattered spots of yellow and gold, and crisp white bellies. Their heads are rosy-pink and they feature a large, fleshy crest or flap on top. In addition to the vivid coloration, Golden tilefish are considered a delicacy by seafood lovers.

  • Species: Golden tilefish ( Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps )
  • Habitat: Demersel along the ocean floor along the outer continental shelf and upper slopes
  • Range: Throughout the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia, Canada, south to northern South America, including the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. In U.S. waters, they are most abundant from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, down to Cape May, New Jersey, at depths between 250 and 1,500 feet.
  • Size: 10 to 45 inches

Days at sea can be long and the unfavorable weather conditions can make the work difficult, but getting the opportunity to work on a boat in the Gulf of Maine is one of my favorite aspects of this job. At the end of the last haul of this particular trip, after being on deck all day, the sun was beginning to set. The seas were calm and the sky was clear. The sunset over the horizon, turning the sea surface orange while I was finishing data collection and cleaning up the gear was a scene I will never forget.

Being an avid recreational fisherman myself, the ability to collect data that helps contribute information to improve stock assessments and understand fish stocks is very meaningful to me. I also enjoy seeing new and unusual species come aboard during the survey. As ocean conditions change, seeing new species reinforces how essential long-term data collection is to tracking and adapting to the changing Gulf of Maine.

ALASKA: Bill introduced by Alaska’s Murkowski aims to promote use of eDNA analysis in fishery management

August 10, 2026 — Federal fishery managers would start analyzing the DNA collected in ocean waters to help inform their decisions, under a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, Alaska’s Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday.

Called the Fisheries Science Modernization Act, the bill would set up a system for the use of environmental DNA, known as eDNA, in fishery management. The bill would establish a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pilot program using eDNA to assess fishery stocks, require NOAA to develop an agency-wide eDNA implementation plan and direct the agency to routinely collect eDNA samples and integrate that form of surveillance into its fisheries research and ecosystem monitoring.

Along with Murkowski, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, is a prime sponsor of the measure. Cosponsors are Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; Jeff Merkley. D-Oregon; Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland; Patty Murray, D-Washington; Angus King, I-Maine; and Adam Schiff, D-California.

Read the full article at KTOO

 

New tool could predict ocean acidity in Bering Sea

August 10, 2026 — Crab populations in the Bering Sea are struggling. And researchers say climate change is a big cause. A new tool described in a study published Aug. 3 in the Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans will help researchers predict one of climate change’s biggest threats to crabs: ocean acidity. The study’s authors hope their work can help crabbers and fishery managers.

“I’m excited with this new model and study,” said Jamie Goen, the executive director of the nonprofit trade association Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “It will help us better understand what could be happening and how that might impact fisheries.”

Darren Pilcher, the study’s lead author and an oceanographer at the University of Washington, said he started the study because of requests from fisheries stakeholders.

The ocean absorbs a quarter of our carbon emissions, which make the water more acidic when the two mix. Acidic conditions are harmful for many different animals. This is especially true for shellfish, like crabs.

“They can eat more, and that helps a little bit, only to a certain point,” Pilcher said. “In fact, in some of the previous experiments with red king crab, if you lower the pH to a value of 7.5, the crab just die.”

Scientists have pointed to factors from climate change, like ocean acidification, as the reason the number of Bristol Bay red king crabs has plummeted in recent years. Goen said that other species, like snow crab, have also tanked.

Read the full article at KMXT

US bill would increase use of eDNA in fisheries management

August 10, 2026 — U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill to increase the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) in fisheries surveys and management, claiming the technology is a low-cost tool that can better help the government assess fish populations.

“Without accurate stock assessments, we cannot make the informed, science-based management decisions needed to ensure our fisheries remain sustainable for generations to come,” U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said in a release. “Environmental DNA is an innovative, cost-effective tool that will give our scientists a clearer picture of our fisheries while expanding survey coverage and reducing costs. This legislation is the product of extensive collaboration with NOAA, Alaska fishermen, Tribal partners, academia, and industry to modernize how we assess fish stocks using the best available science.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Can Habitat Restoration Help Salmon Recover? Prairie Creek Offers Clues

August 7, 2026 — When any habitat restoration project finishes, a critical question remains: Will the project help threatened fish and other species recover? Answering that question requires rigorous long-term monitoring.

At the Prairie Creek salmon habitat restoration project in Northern California, researchers from NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation, Cal Poly Humboldt, and other partners have conducted monitoring before, during, and after construction to determine whether the project would improve the survival prospects of threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon.

The project transformed a former lumber mill site into wetlands, side channels, and off-channel ponds where juvenile salmon can rest, feed, and grow before migrating to the Pacific Ocean. Juvenile salmon that grow big and strong in freshwater have a better chance of surviving their time in the ocean and returning as adults to spawn.

Early findings suggest that juvenile coho salmon using the restored habitat are growing faster and experiencing higher ocean survival than prior generations from the same watershed. Preexisting monitoring data going back to 2011 gave the team an unusually long baseline against which to measure change. Their findings are also changing what scientists understand about how juvenile salmon use coastal watersheds.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Murkowski and Colleagues Work to Modernize Fisheries Science

August 7, 2026 — The following was released by the Office of U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski:

Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced legislation that would help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) better assess and protect our fisheries. The Fisheries Science Modernization Act would incorporate environmental DNA (eDNA) and other biomolecular tools into NOAA’s fisheries science programs, allowing for more cost-effective and expanded survey coverage. This would bolster, not replace, traditional stock assessment surveys by providing NOAA with additional scientifically validated tools to improve data collection, expand survey coverage, and strengthen fisheries management.

This bill would establish national standards for this innovative technology while expanding workforce capacity, strengthening interagency coordination, and supporting private-sector innovation without imposing new regulatory burdens. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Angus King (I-ME), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) are co-sponsors.

“Without accurate stock assessments, we cannot make the informed, science-based management decisions needed to ensure our fisheries remain sustainable for generations to come,” said Senator Murkowski. “Environmental DNA is an innovative, cost-effective tool that will give our scientists a clearer picture of our fisheries while expanding survey coverage and reducing costs. This legislation is the product of extensive collaboration with NOAA, Alaska fishermen, Tribal partners, academia, and industry to modernize how we assess fish stocks using the best available science.”

“With climate change wreaking havoc on fisheries, researchers need to stay ahead of the curve,” said Senator Whitehouse. “This bill will allow NOAA to harness new technologies to keep fish stocks healthy and robust.”

“Reliable fisheries surveys and stock assessments are the foundation of sustainable fisheries management,” said Sen. Sullivan. “I’ve consistently fought to ensure NOAA maintains robust fisheries survey coverage in Alaska, where changing ocean conditions are impacting our subsistence, recreational, and commercially important species and the communities that depend on them. As fish stocks shift and ocean conditions become more variable, we need to invest in both the traditional surveys that have served us for decades and innovative technologies that can make those surveys even stronger. By thoughtfully investing in and integrating new tools, we can improve the quality of stock assessments, better support our fishermen and communities, and ensure America’s fisheries remain among the best managed in the world.”

“To implement the best possible fisheries management strategies, we need the best available data,” said Senator Merkley. “Our bipartisan bill modernizes federal fisheries science and invests in innovative data collection and analysis. Bolstering our tools to monitor fisheries is critical to supporting both Oregon fishermen and responsible, sustainable fishing for generations to come.”

“Environmental DNA is a promising new tool for fisheries and ecosystem assessment that could improve fisheries management while also lowering costs,” said Linda Behnken, Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. “Senator Murkowski’s Fisheries Science Modernization Act will advance this technology while also improving oversight and collaboration.?ALFA supports this bill and applauds Senator Murkowski for her commitment to science-based management of Alaska’s fisheries.”

“The Fisheries Science Modernization Act comes at a pivotal moment for U.S. fisheries management,” said Austen Thomas, Senior Application Scientist. “As an eDNA service provider, Wilderlab USA sees firsthand how environmental DNA can expand monitoring coverage, reduce survey costs, and deliver data on species that traditional methods often miss. This bill’s focus on national standards and predictable procurement pathways is exactly what the private sector needs to invest with confidence in U.S. eDNA capacity. By bringing the private sector into closer partnership with NOAA and other resource agencies, this legislation will help ensure fisheries decisions are grounded in the best available science. We commend Senator Murkowski for this forward-looking legislation and look forward to supporting NOAA’s efforts to modernize how we understand and manage our nation’s fisheries.”

“United Catcher Boats supports the Fisheries Science Modernization Act of 2026 and appreciates Senator Murkowski’s continued leadership in advancing science-based fisheries management,” said Andrea Keikkala, Executive Director of United Catcher Boats. “Senator Murkowski has long demonstrated a deep understanding of the importance of sound fisheries science and the need to ensure NOAA Fisheries has the tools necessary to sustainably manage our nation’s fisheries. We appreciate her leadership in championing innovative technologies that have the potential to strengthen stock assessments, expand scientific capacity, and improve fisheries management. We recommend that Congress ensure NOAA Fisheries has adequate resources to successfully implement these important new responsibilities without reducing investment in existing stock assessments, fishery-independent surveys, cooperative research, observer programs, or other core science activities that are fundamental to science-based fisheries management. Investments in eDNA should complement, rather than displace, the core science programs that have made the United States the global leader in sustainable fisheries management.”

“The United States is a global leader in sustainable fisheries because of our commitment to science-based management,” said Joanna Slaney, Environmental Defense Fund’s Vice President for Political and Government Affairs. “As technology and science continue to advance, it is crucial for NOAA to examine innovative methods to collect fisheries data and further the best available science. EDF appreciates Senator Murkowski and Senator Whitehouse’s leadership to further science that supports thriving ecosystems, fishery resources, and the communities that depend on them.”

“Environmental DNA collection is an exciting new scientific frontier for augmenting our understanding of fisheries and their ecosystems,” said Meredith Moore, Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Director of Fish Conservation. “The Fisheries Science Modernization Act lays a solid foundation for unlocking this new source of data to improve fisheries management.”

“America’s 11.8 million saltwater anglers depend on healthy fisheries, and sound fisheries management starts with sound science,” said Mike Leonard, the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) Vice President of Government Affairs. “Environmental DNA has shown tremendous potential as a tool to supplement traditional fisheries surveys, improve our understanding of marine fish populations, and help managers make more informed decisions. By testing and validating these technologies before incorporating them into stock assessments, the Fisheries Science Modernization Act takes a thoughtful, science-based approach to strengthening marine fisheries research. Better science leads to better management, which ultimately benefits both fish populations and the millions of anglers who contribute more than $145 billion in economic activity to our nation’s coastal communities. ASA appreciates Senator Murkowski’s leadership on this important legislation.”

The legislation is further endorsed by the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance, the Alaska Ocean Observing System, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program, eDNAtec, the National Estuarine Research Reserve Associationand, the Pacific Seafood Processors Association.

Background

Currently, NOAA’s stock assessment methods are constrained by high operational costs and limited vessel availability, resulting in gaps in survey coverage. The integration of eDNA, already widely used in the private sector, would help close these gaps by enabling sampling in remote or hazardous environments while reducing costs.

The Fisheries Science Modernization Act would provide the federal government with key tools to better protect and grow our fisheries by modernizing how fish stocks are assessed while expanding agencies’ capacity to use eDNA. Specifically, the legislation:

Modernizing Stock Assessments

  • Establishes a NOAA eDNA Fishery Stock Assessment Pilot Program to validate methods across diverse regions and species.
  • Requires NOAA to develop an agency-wide eDNA Implementation Plan detailing how eDNA will be integrated into federally managed fisheries.
  • Directs NOAA to routinely collect eDNA samples during existing surveys to improve accuracy, expand coverage, and build long-term datasets.
  • Integrates eDNA into fisheries research and ecosystem monitoring by amending the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
  • Promotes collaboration among NOAA, fishermen, Tribal Nations, academia, and industry.
  • Requires annual coordination meetings and reports to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Congress to ensure accountability.

Building National eDNA Capacity

  • Creates the National Aquatic Biomolecular Coordination Network (NABCN) to develop national standards for sampling, laboratory workflows, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), metadata, and bioinformatics.
  • Establishes a coordinated multi-agency framework enabling consistent biomolecular monitoring across freshwater, estuarine, coastal, and marine environments.
  • Expands NOAA’s workforce and laboratory capacity while supporting complementary private-sector services.
  • Trains National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) technicians in eDNA collection, handling, and modeling.
  • Supports research, innovation, and technology transfer across agencies, academia, Tribal partners, and industry.
  • Provides transparent performance standards and predictable procurement pathways to encourage U.S. innovation and commercialization of emerging eDNA tools, including autonomous and AI-enabled sampling systems.

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eDNAtec and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association.

Thank you!

Where have all the old, female black rockfish gone?

August 6, 2026 — The Marine Fisheries Research Project team from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife headed out to sea on Aug. 1.

Their destination: Cobb Seamount, about 300 miles west of the Washington coast.

Their goal: to find older female black, canary, or yellowtail rockfish.

Since the early 1990s, fisheries scientists on the West Coast have noticed a peculiar trend in black, yellowtail, and canary rockfish populations: the older females get, the fewer of them there are.

Marine Fisheries Research Project leader Leif Rasmuson and other members of his team boarded Oregon State University’s research vessel Pacific Storm for a 47-hour steam to the research site. The trip is part of OSU’s Oceangoing Research Vessel Program.

It took the crew two days to reach Cobb Seamount, where they’ll spend about 11 days searching for older female rockfish. Additionally, they’ll also collect genetic samples, attach satellite tags to fish, and document other marine life, including sunflower sea stars.

Read the full article at KLCC