Saving Seafood

Offshore wind turbines create home for Jonah crabs in New England as lobster population declines

July 16, 2026 — From the docks at the Port of Galilee in Narragansett, fishermen are selling lobster, but they’re also selling Jonah crab, a crustacean that’s been making itself at home near offshore wind turbines.

Historically, Jonah crabs that were caught in lobster traps were thrown back out to sea, but things started to change in the early 2010s when fishermen started targeting the species. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attributes the shift to a decline in lobsters in Southern New England waters.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission estimated there were roughly 50 million lobsters in this area in 1998. Fast forward to 2022, and the population dropped to less than 10 million.

“Environmental conditions in the American lobster’s range are changing at some of the fastest rates in the world,” the Commission wrote on its website. “The 2025 Assessment indicates the [Southern New England] stock is significantly depleted and overfishing is not occurring.”

Read the full article at WPRI

Seafood Harvesters of America Releases National Policy Roadmap to Strengthen U.S. Seafood Competitiveness

July 16, 2026 — The following was released by Seafood Harvesters of America:

Seafood Harvesters of America today released the Fisheries Leadership and National Policy Forum Report, a national roadmap outlining priorities to strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. seafood industry while building on America’s global leadership in science-based fisheries management.

The report is the result of Seafood Harvesters of America’s inaugural Fisheries Leadership and National Policy Forum, which brought together seafood industry leaders, senior officials from the White House, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State, and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other federal agencies, and representatives from Congress, to assess the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. seafood sector.

“This was truly a first-of-its-kind convening of government and seafood industry leaders,” said Hannah Heimbuch, a commercial fisherman and Board President of Seafood Harvesters of America. “It was a landmark gathering, built around a shared commitment to strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. seafood and growing America’s global leadership in sustainable, science-based fisheries management. It was clear throughout these discussions that maintaining a strong U.S. seafood industry will require coordinated leadership, strategic investment, and continued collaboration across government and the seafood sector. This report provides a roadmap for turning that commitment into action.”

The report is intended to serve as a resource for Congress, the Administration, federal agencies, and industry leaders as they work together to strengthen the future of U.S. seafood and America’s working waterfronts.

About Seafood Harvesters of America

Seafood Harvesters of America is the leading national organization representing seafood producers from across the United States. The organization advances science-based fisheries management and advocates for policies that strengthen the sustainability, competitiveness, and long-term resilience of the U.S. seafood industry.

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

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

GEORGIA: NOAA says snapper permits top priority locally in ‘America-first’ seafood strategy

July 8, 2026 — A new federal push could have a big impact on fishermen in Coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association announced a new “America First” seafood strategy aimed at boosting the U.S. seafood industry July 2. The plan focuses on supporting commercial fishermen, cutting regulations and expanding access to domestic seafood.

For the South Atlantic region, which includes Georgia and South Carolina, NOAA officials said its priorities are to revise the Snapper Grouper permit policies and support state agency led exempted permits for red snapper.

Read the full article at WSAV

NOAA eyes potential changes to Alaska sea lion protections as Trump urges boosted seafood harvests

July 6, 2026 — Federal regulators plan to reevaluate fishing closure boundaries established to protect endangered Steller sea lions in Alaska, part of a national Trump administration push to cut regulation of U.S. commercial seafood harvests.

The Steller sea lion protections are among a series of rules that the administration is seeking to relax or change to carry out a mandate from President Donald Trump to increase catches, reduce regulation and ensure that the nation is “the world’s dominant seafood leader.”

The recommended changes were released on Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries service and are in response to Trump’s 2025 executive order titled “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.” They could affect oceans from New England and the Caribbean to the tropical Pacific and the Bering Sea.

Several months of public consultations resulted in a list of recommendations that “we believe will reduce burdens on domestic fishing, increase production, stabilize markets, improve access, and enhance economic profitability,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler said in a statement.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

NOAA to send $123 million in disaster relief to West Coast salmon fisheries

June 24, 2026 — Federal disaster relief funding is on the way for California’s struggling salmon fishing industry after years of closures and restrictions tied to low salmon return numbers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced $123 million in fishery disaster funding for California, Oregon and Alaska to help mitigate losses from poor salmon returns that forced widespread closures.

James Stone, president of the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association, said California’s salmon fishery has been devastated and described the state’s role in seeking disaster assistance.

“And it is the design for the state of California to file an emergency disaster for that publicly trusted resource,” Stone said.

Read the full article at KRCR

MASSACHUSSETTS: Authorities are using deep-sea tech to try to find the sunken fishing boat off Massachusetts

February 19, 2026 — A coalition of authorities is deploying technology to try to locate the wreck of a fishing boat that sank last month off Massachusetts, killing all seven aboard. But winter weather and sea conditions have thus far slowed their efforts.

The 72-foot (22-meter) vessel Lily Jean was returning to port early Jan. 30 to repair fishing gear when it sank in frigid Atlantic waters off the historic fishing port of Gloucester. Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Massachusetts Environmental Police, are cooperating to try to find the wreck of the ship and potentially recover the bodies of the deceased, officials said Wednesday.

The Lily Jean sank in waters that were more than 300 feet deep and very inhospitable in winter. Environmental police have deployed side-scan sonar to try to gather data and detect anomalies on the ocean floor, officials said. They said they also hope to be able to send a remotely operated vehicle to the site to gather photos and video, but seas have thus far made that challenging.

Read the full article at The Associated Press

MARYLAND: Md. officials seek disaster declaration for oyster fishery

February 17, 2026 — Maryland officials are asking for federal help after what they describe as one of the worst oyster seasons in state history, a collapse they say threatens both watermen and a cornerstone of the Chesapeake Bay economy.

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., last week asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an economic fishery disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Such a designation can unlock emergency federal assistance for fisheries.

“Severe weather this year, combined with shrinking market access and increased competition, left many crews effectively tied to the dock, with watermen able to fish for just one or two days all season,” Harris said in a statement. He said immediate relief is needed to offset financial losses.

Read the full article at The Columbian

Congress Moves to Preserve NOAA Funding for Fisheries and Climate Research

January 14, 2026 — On Monday, Senators moved a funding package forward that would preserve 2026 funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), despite the Trump administration’s proposed deep cuts to the agency last year.

The appropriations bill, which funds multiple agencies, already passed in the House; the Senate is expected to send it to President Donald Trump’s desk this week.

Last year, Trump requested a $1.5 billion cut to the agency’s roughly $6 billion budget. A memo from his Office of Management and Budget also proposed eliminating NOAA’s office dedicated to research on climate and weather patterns, zeroing out funding for weather and ocean labs, and moving regulation of fisheries to the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Experts warned the budget cuts could have dire consequences for farmers, who rely on weather data, and the country’s fisheries, which rely on NOAA to enforce catch limits, invest in habitat conservation, and preserve coastlines.

Read the full article at Civil Eats