Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries confirms 76 large whale entanglements in 2025

October 6, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries confirmed 76 large whale entanglements in 2025, which is fewer than the 95 confirmed cases in 2024 but higher than the 18-year average of 72.7 cases.

“Entanglements in fishing gear or marine debris represent a continued threat to the welfare and recovery of many whale species,” NOAA Fisheries said in a release. “This includes species that are endangered, such as North Atlantic right whales. Entanglements involving threatened or endangered species can have significant negative impacts on the population as a whole.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Partners with BoatUS Foundation to Track Abandoned Boats

September 30, 2026 — The following was released by BoatUS Foundation:

The New Jersey State Police is BoatUS Foundation’s newest partner in tracking and removing abandoned and derelict vessels (ADV) through the Foundation’s innovative ADV database. The national database provides a centralized resource for documenting ADVs, helping officials and agencies track vessels that may pose environmental, navigational, and public safety concerns.

In New Jersey, the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Marine Services Bureau uses the database as an investigative tool to document and track ADVs. Information entered into the database can help investigators identify vessels, establish a record of reported incidents, and support enforcement and removal efforts when appropriate.

ADVs pose significant environmental and safety risks. They can damage sensitive aquatic habitats, leak fuel and other pollutants, obstruct navigation channels, and create hazards for other boaters. Removal costs can average $24,000 or more, depending on a vessel’s size, location, and condition. A centralized tracking system provides a way to document these vessels and help identify those requiring further investigation or removal.

The database is the first national tool of its kind for tracking abandoned and derelict vessels. Boaters and residents can upload an optional photo, log the date and time of a sighting, answer a short set of safety and vessel-related questions, and drop a pin on an interactive map to mark a vessel’s exact location. Every report, whether submitted by the public or by an agency like NJSP, feeds into a single national dataset, giving communities, agencies, and advocates a shared picture of the ADV problem nationwide.

New Jersey’s adoption of the database builds on the Foundation’s broader push to remove hundreds of ADVs from coastal waterways nationwide, supported by a 2023 award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program. That effort is already funding targeted removals in eight states and territories. The project will also bring the broader movement together at the Turning the Tide Summit, December 6-9, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where industry leaders, environmental stakeholders and waste management experts will tackle sustainable ADV disposal solutions.

To report an abandoned or derelict vessel, visit boatus.org/database. If you’re interested in attending the Turning the Tide Summit, register here.

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ABOUT THE BOATUS FOUNDATION:
BoatUS Foundation is supporting projects that were selected through its nationally competitive grant program for the removal of abandoned and derelict vessels throughout coastal and marine areas of the United States, including the Great Lakes. In an effort to help educate and prevent future ADVs, the Foundation also created a national ADV database to track the scope of the challenge and measure success, document ADV prevention and removal activities to share with the public, and support a national dialogue and education efforts on boating-related debris disposal. This project is supported by a 2023 award from the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE MARINE SERVICES BUREAU:
The New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau patrols state waterways, enforces boating laws, manages safety certification, and responds to on-the-water emergencies. Headquartered in West Trenton, New Jersey, the bureau oversees recreational boating safety and coordinates training across New Jersey’s coastal and inland waters.

Marine debris team completes latest Papahanaumokuakea cleanup mission

September 1, 2026 — A marine debris cleanup crew has returned to Honolulu after another mission to protect the fragile ecosystems of Papahanaumokuakea.

The Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project completed its second mission of 2026 on Friday after a 21-day expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The team removed 48,680 pounds of ghost nets and other plastic marine debris from Lalo, Kamokuokamohoaliʻi, Kamole and Kapou.

The mission was temporarily paused Aug. 19 as Hurricane Lala moved through the region.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

MAINE: Scientists have begun to re-deploy ocean monitoring equipment yanked from Pacific Northwest waters by the Trump administration in September.

August 3, 2026 — Every lobsterman expects to lose gear.

Strong tides, boat traffic, and tangled lines make losing lobster traps an unavoidable part of fishing Maine’s rugged coastline. But when those traps settle on the seafloor, they can impact marine life for years, creating problems for both the environment and the state’s most valuable fishery.

That’s why Buzz Scott has made it his mission to bring them back.

Scott has spent nearly two decades as a commercial fisherman off the Maine coast. While he still operates a lobster boat, much of his time is now dedicated to recovering abandoned traps as executive director of the nonprofit OceansWide.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

W&M’s VIMS & Batten School partner with NOAA to expand access to shallow water mapping data in the Chesapeake Bay

July 15, 2026 — A new partnership between William & Mary’s VIMS & Batten School and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) turns routine vessel operations and lost crab trap removal into a new source of valuable bathymetric data.

Bathymetry describes the depth and shape of the seafloor relative to a known elevation reference and is essential to understanding and managing coastal environments. Accurate bathymetric data are foundational to a wide range of scientific, planning and management applications, including coastal resilience, hurricane and storm surge forecasting, sediment transport, habitat mapping, fisheries management and navigation safety. Bathymetry data is a valuable tool, particularly in shallow, nearshore areas that are difficult and expensive to map using traditional methods.

The collaboration was formalized through the recognition of VIMS & the Batten School as a “Trusted Node,” a designation by NOAA and the International Hydrographic Organization acknowledging reliable partners for collecting, processing and submitting bathymetric data for public use. Only 16 other organizations worldwide have been awarded this status.

Read the full article at EurekAlert!

HAWAII: HPU’s Bounty Project aimed to remove fishing gear from North Pacific Ocean

March 11, 2026 — An Oahu university project has helped remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of fishing gear from the North Pacific Ocean.

Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research (HPU CMDR) Bounty Project has removed more than 185,000 pounds of derelict “ghost” fishing gear from the North Pacific. The effort turns commercial fishing trips into vessels of opportunity for ocean cleanup, pulling nets, lines and floats out of the water before they can drift into reefs, shorelines or threaten endangered marine wildlife.

Launched in November 2022, the Bounty Project is one of only three known efforts to remove debris in the distant North Pacific garbage patch.

Read the full article at Hawaii News Now

From Fishing Nets to Furniture: Turning Ocean Plastic Into Usable Products

February 9, 2026 — When most people think of ocean waste, they often picture mounds of plastic that wash up on the sandy beaches of remote islands in the Pacific. But environmentalists face a hidden scourge in abandoned fishing nets that drift beneath the waves and blanket the ocean floor.

These discarded “ghost nets” are typically made of durable nylon and can last for centuries, trapping marine life and damaging coral reefs. Getting them off the ocean floor can require dayslong dives from expert teams. A mission from 2024 spanned five days and pulled up 4,900 kilograms of netting — roughly the weight of an African elephant.

Now, some start-ups are trying to tackle the problem by recycling the nets into commercial products that will appeal to consumers interested in saving the oceans and companies eager to prove they are environmentally friendly. Some are making soccer and volleyball nets; others are making surfboards or bracelets.

A brother and sister in Spain started a company to collect and turn the ghost nets into furniture, decorative materials and plastic pellets.

“Our goal is to create value through impact, not just clean up the oceans,” said Amaia Rodríguez Solá, who with her brother, Julen Rodríguez, started Gravity Wave in 2019.

Gravity Wave works with companies that want to finance cleanup operations to burnish their green credentials, as well as partners that buy the recycled materials to use in items ranging from furniture to stadium seating. The initiative supports waste collectors, recycling facilities and manufacturers.

The port in Motril, a small town in southern Spain, was one of the first to join Gravity Wave’s efforts. Today, Gravity Wave works with more than 7,000 fishermen in 150 ports in Spain, Italy and Greece to recover discarded nets and other ocean plastics.

But fishermen cannot collect all of the nets in the ocean. To retrieve the ones tangled on the seafloor, a team of experienced divers must head to the bottom of the sea to tie the nets together with large ropes, which a crane then hoists to a boat, an endeavor that can take days. Gravity Wave teams up with specialized dive teams for those operations.

Read the full article at the The New York Times

NASA utilizing molecular “fingerprints” to collect data on oceanic debris

February 2, 2026 — The Jet Propulsion Laboratory within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is mirroring the same successful sensor data system used at the International Space Station (ISS) for use in marine environments that hold an estimated 8 million tons or more of plastic a year.

In late 2025, NASA scientists were able to successfully detect concentrations of plastic pollution on land for the first time, using a technology called “Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT)” sensors aboard the ISS. According to NASA, strong winds can blow mineral rock dust across continents, as dust trapped in the air can simultaneously heat or cool the Earth’s atmosphere. Mineral dust can also affect atmospheric chemistry, disrupting sunlight absorption and accelerating melting. It also affects human health and visibility.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts announces new marine debris cleanup regulations

January 29, 2026 — The U.S. state of Massachusetts has introduced new regulations designed to help clean up discarded fishing gear and other marine debris.

“Massachusetts is taking action to protect our environment, marine life, and public safety,” Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said in a release. “This is a win-win for our coastal communities; we look forward to continued partnership with the fishing industry and conservationists to tackle this challenge coastwide through creativity and collaboration.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whale entanglement reports declined slightly in 2023, NMFS reports

July 29, 2025 — Entanglement in fishing gear or marine debris ensnared 64 large whales in U.S. waters during 2023, below the average annual number of cases in recent years but not yet a clear trend, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported.

The National Report on Large Whale Entanglements Confirmed in the United States in 2023 notes the 64 confirmed large whale entanglement cases nationally was less than 67 confirmed large whale entanglement cases in 2022.

“It is also below the average annual number of confirmed entanglements over the previous 16 years (which was 71.8),” according to a July 28 summary from the agency. “We will continue to analyze data from 2023 to understand whether this dip is temporary or part of a longer-term downward trend.”

Along with ship strikes, entanglements are a threat to individual whales and threatened or endangered species, such as the North Atlantic right whale with a population now estimated at only around 370 animals.

Reducing that danger to meet NMFS’ mandates  under the Marine Mammal Protection Act drives management actions on the East, Gulf and West coasts, including changes to fishing seasons, gear restrictions and efforts to develop and test so-called ropeless gear in fisheries.

According to a NMFS  breakdown of 2023 confirmed entanglement cases, 61 cases or 95 percent involved live animals, and three were whales found dead and floating when initially reported. The 2023 cases were lower than the average annual number of 71.8 confirmed entanglements from 2007–2022.

Four species of large whales were documented with 2023 entanglements in U.S. waters: humpback whales,  gray whales, minke whale and North Atlantic right whales.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman