Saving Seafood

House passes bill extending right whale regulatory pause

September 2, 2026 — The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 9436, legislation that would extend the current pause on new North Atlantic right whale regulations affecting the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2035.

The Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026 passed the House on Sept. 1 by a 219-196 vote. The bill would extend the existing regulatory pause from its current expiration at the end of 2028 to Dec. 31, 2035.

The legislation has drawn support from Northeast commercial fishing organizations, which argue additional time is needed for ongoing research and technology development to inform future whale regulations. Conservation groups, meanwhile, say the extension would delay measures they believe are necessary to reduce the risk of serious injury and mortality to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), which urged lawmakers to pass the measure ahead of the House vote, welcomed its passage.

“The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association strongly supports passage of H.R. 9436,” Jason Joyce, NEFSA’s director of advocacy, said in a statement provided to National Fisherman.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Meet the Autonomous Underwater Robot Expanding Our Ability to Survey the Seafloor

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.

Technology Strengthens the Sea Scallop Assessment

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.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Mel Allen: Telling the stories of New England

August 25, 2026 — For more than 50 years, Mel Allen has made a career out of telling stories about those in New England.

He has written about fishermen and island communities, sardine packers and chefs, scientists counting fish aboard NOAA research vessels, and people whose livelihoods disappeared as fisheries and working waterfronts changed around them.

So when the former longtime editor of Yankee Magazine stood before a room filled with ocean scientists, researchers, and industry partners at the 2026 Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) Annual Meeting, he came with a message that was surprisingly simple.

Tell people a story.

“If you want people to care about something big, whether conflicts between nations, the dilemma of immigration, or our changing oceans, do not show the topic,” Allen said. “Show how people have been touched by the topic. That’s how we relate to each other.”

For NERACOOS, that message comes at an important moment.

NERACOOS helps coordinate sensors, models, data systems, and other technology used to track conditions across New England’s waters. Now, its work is expanding through the new National Science Foundation (NSF) Seafood Engine in New England, an initiative focused on supporting New England’s seafood industry.

The potentially 10-year initiative is designed to build an innovation network across the seafood supply chain, connecting work on the water with processing, distribution, and the consumer. Its focus includes environmental sensing and modeling, technology development, workforce training, and investment.

For commercial fishermen, that puts an industry accustomed to being on the receiving end of scientific data and management decisions closer to the center of a much broader effort to determine how New England seafood adapts to a changing ocean and economy.

But Allen’s keynote reminded everyone what all that technology and investment is ultimately intended to serve.

People.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

How AI is reshaping ocean science

August 21, 2026 — Stark against the white Antarctic terrain, a small, yellow robot moves roughly one centimeter per second. Too fast, and it might spoil its mission: to gather data on a colony of emperor penguins that call the Southern Ocean home.

Artificial intelligence recognition tools help the robot, called ECHO, spot when the penguins start to get spooked. A green box over the penguin signals that it’s calm, but a red box signals stress.

To keep the boxes green, ECHO must approach very slowly, said Daniel Zitterbart, associate scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the project lead on ECHO.

“The good thing is a robot doesn’t get bored,” he said.

AI tools are quietly transforming how ocean scientists gather and analyze information from the watery deep. Researchers from WHOI, the University of Rhode Island, and the UMass Dartmouth School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) have either employed AI tools for decades or are looking to incorporate the technology into future projects, exponentially increasing the volume of data they’re able to collect.

These new applications, often going hand in hand with work seeking to better understand climate change, come as the technology faces backlash from environmental advocates concerned about the amount of water and electricity necessary to sustain it.

In some ways, researchers say the technology is a boon in an era when scientists need to do more with less federal funding. But these researchers are also quick to point out that AI tools will never replace human scientists — and the public money that funds them.

“There is no AI that can help me go out in the field and catch a penguin,” Zitterbart said. “To learn about the natural world, you still need to go into the natural world.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

Beyond Ocean Mapping: Using Uncrewed Vehicles to Advance Ocean Research

August 21, 2026 —  It’s January off of Nantucket Shoals. An uncrewed surface vehicle begins a series of carefully planned transects through Southern New England, collecting data day and night. There are no scientists onboard, but the 30-foot vessel is constantly measuring ocean currents, water temperature, salinity, weather and other ocean conditions. It’s also helping identify areas with high fish and plankton abundance. Every nautical mile traveled adds to a more complete picture of how marine ecosystems function.

These missions reflect NOAA’s growing use of uncrewed systems technology. Traditionally, these autonomous platforms have supported hydrographic surveys, nautical charting, and ocean mapping. But the benefits extend beyond creating better maps. Today, the same technologies are helping scientists answer complex ecological and oceanographic questions. They’re collecting critical, high-accuracy, and time-sensitive data across nearly every mission area.

“Over the last several years, we have been able to expand the applications for how uncrewed surface vehicles can help with various research related to stock, ecosystem, and protected species evaluations and assessments,” explains Dr. Conor McManus, marine development and advanced technology program lead for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “With each mission we conduct, we are learning more about the Northeast U.S. Shelf ecosystem, but also how we can better operationalize these technologies to meet our scientific or data needs.”

These technological advances are expanding where, when, and how our scientists collect ocean data. The results allow researchers to observe the ocean more continuously and in places that are difficult to sample with ships alone. These vehicles complement ship-based surveys—filling gaps in data that can arise from challenges like winter weather and limited ship availability.

This year, there were three uncrewed surface vehicle missions in the Northeast—two operated by Chance Maritime Technologies and one using DriX. They demonstrated how the benefits of uncrewed survey technology can answer many different scientific questions.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Fisherman, Island Institute project aims to reduce financial hurdles to commercial fishing electrification

July 13, 2026 — A pilot program is underway that tests the real-world operational limits of low-voltage electric propulsion in the demanding environments of New England’s working waterfront.

The project, funded and implemented by the Island Institute, centers on the installation and multi-season field testing of a TEMO·1000 electric outboard motor on an 18-foot Rosborough skiff owned by Maine kelp farmer and fisherman Nathan Johnson.

Running through November 2026, the pilot marks a critical milestone, according to TEMO, in a news release: the first systematic commercial testing of the TEMO·1000 system in water temperatures below 45°F, as well as its performance with heavy harvest loads and active fishing operations.

“This project connects directly with local innovators who are addressing both environmental and economic challenges through sustainable aquaculture,” says Nicholas Steenberg, who heads TEMO-US operations in Portland, Maine. “Nathan’s story as a seaweed farmer highlights how these efforts support Maine’s coastal communities and ocean health. It builds authentic relationships and creates visible, relatable examples that can inspire wider adoption across the marine economy.”

As part of its inaugural U.S. community outreach program, French marine tech pioneer TEMO is supporting the year-long commercial pilot program under its new TEMO In Community banner.

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Pilot