Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Maryland governor, congressional delegation request disaster designation for oystermen following icy conditions, sewage spill

March 2, 2026 — Maryland officials have formally requested the U.S. federal government issue a fishery resource disaster designation for the state’s commercial oyster fishery, which has struggled in the face of icy weather and a massive sewage spill this season.

The state’s commercial oystermen had already been struggling with an unusually cold winter that produced icy conditions in the Chesapeake Bay, preventing them from getting out on the water and accessing the valuable shellfish underneath for much of the season. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources even used state vessels to break up ice and keep navigation channels open for commercial fishers but found that water was quickly refreezing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Search For F/V Lily Jean Led by USCG Now Includes NOAA, NTSB, MA Environmental Police

February 26, 2026 — Thelocation of the 72-foot fishing vessel Lily Jean, which sank 22 miles off Cape Ann, MA, on the morning of January 30, 2026, is being sought by specialized vessels from NOAA Woods Hole Laboratory, US Coast Guard cutters, Massachusetts Environmental Police, and others.  

The tragic sinking, with the loss of six crew and the captain, has rocked the town of Gloucester, MA and the New England fishing community. Last week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey held a press conference to update the public on the intense search for the vessel. 

“The reality right now is we have a situation where we essentially have a grave out at sea, and that is a very, very difficult, difficult situation for all of these family members,” she said. “I know there are frustrations. There are questions with all of that, and we understand that.” 

In addition to multiple state and federal agencies working to find answers to what happened, the Massachusetts Environmental Police is using sonar technology to scan the ocean floor. Col. John Monaghan said the Environmental Police have passed some data along to other agencies for analysis and could send down an underwater vehicle if they isolate a site that seems promising.  

Lt. Cmdr. Brett Igo is the Coast Guard’s lead investigative officer in the probe. He said determining the cause of the sinking could prevent future tragedy.  

Read the full article at seafoodnews.com

Roger Williams University Heads Reseeding Initiative to Strengthen Rhode Island’s Quahog Fisheries

February 23, 2026 — Roger Williams University’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED) is guiding a research-driven initiative to strengthen Rhode Island’s quahog fisheries in Narragansett Bay. The project integrates aquaculture, disease testing, and hands-on student training to support wild shellfish populations and the state’s seafood economy.

Funded through a Partnership for Research Excellence in Sustainable Seafood (PRESS) grant at the University of Rhode Island’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences and supported by NOAA, the initiative supports research that advances sustainable seafood. Through the program, CEED is studying wild quahog populations in partnership with the Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association (RISA).

“The aim of this work is to address commercial and recreational harvester concerns about the declining clam population in Narragansett Bay,” said Robert J. Holmberg, a Shellfish Aquaculture and Hatchery Specialist, and RWU Assistant Professor of Marine Biology and CEED’s Shellfish Aquaculture and Hatchery Specialist. “They’ve declined over decades due to several factors, but this project specifically focuses on understanding how disease and reproductive health impact quahog populations.”

Read the full article at Roger Williams University 

Scientists Prove Shellfish Can Be Farmed Far From Shore

February 19, 2026 — Rutgers researchers have made a discovery that could change the future of seafood farming in New Jersey.

A study led by marine scientist Daphne Munroe has shown that Atlantic surfclams can be successfully farmed in the open ocean.

Her research, published in the North American Journal of Aquaculture, proves that offshore aquaculture is not only possible but promising. This method could help meet the increasing demand for seafood while protecting wild clam populations.

“We’re among the first to show that offshore clam farming can really work,” said Munroe, an associate professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “It’s exciting because it opens the door to a new kind of business for New Jersey’s farming and fishing industries.”

The study was funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was done in partnership with commercial fishing companies.

Read the full article at Rutgers University 

Messaging Mariners in Real Time to Reduce North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strikes

February 12, 2026 — Endangered North Atlantic right whales live in heavily trafficked waters along the U.S. East Coast. Their habitat often overlaps with shipping lanes and port and harbor entrances, which puts them at high risk for vessel strikes—a primary threat to the species. Collisions with large whales can also result in significant and costly damage to boats and injury to passengers. Now, NOAA and partners are using an existing maritime safety technology in a new way to reduce the risk of vessel strikes.

The Automatic Identification System transmits the location, speed, and other characteristics of vessels in real time for navigation safety purposes. All commercial vessels 65 feet or longer are required to carry AIS devices onboard. Together with our partners, we are building a speed limit alert network powered by AIS technology that delivers timely text messages to vessels traveling within important right whale habitats.

Most vessels 65 feet or longer are required by federal law to travel at 10 knots or less in designated locations—called Seasonal Management Areas—at certain times of the year. With this real-time messaging network, shore-based AIS transceiver stations can detect vessel speeds within Seasonal Management Areas. If a regulated vessel is traveling faster than 10 knots, it will receive an alert.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

MARYLAND: Maryland oyster season collapse prompts calls for federal disaster aid

February 9, 2026 — Maryland officials are asking for federal help amid 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., this week asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 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 harmed by natural or market conditions.

“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.

Eastern Shore lawmakers echoed the comments from Harris, saying a combination of factors — prolonged freezing weather, weak demand and growing competition from out-of-state oysters — devastated the winter harvest. State Sen. Johnny Mautz, R-Middle Shore, said the normal Thanksgiving-to-Christmas peak selling period largely vanished.

“That is prime time oyster sales. This year, it just did not exist,” Mautz said. “There has not been a demand to buy Maryland oysters.”

Read the full article at the Baltimore Sun

Commission again sets Pacific halibut harvest at rock-bottom levels amid U.S.-Canada tensions

February 6, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission set the 2026 harvest at a historic low during an annual meeting that drew a Trump Administration political appointee to lead tense U.S. negotiations with Canada over shares of a shrunken fishery.

The four-day late-January gathering in Bellevue, Washington came during a time of tumultuous relations between the two nations.

President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and blustering talk of making Canada part of the United States have spurred widespread anger among Canadians. January has been particularly volatile, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, at an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, attacked “coercion” by great powers, while Trump, in a subsequent speech, asserted that “Canada lives because of the United States.”

At the Bellevue halibut meeting, Drew Lawler, a political appointee to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, served as the non-voting head of the U.S.delegation.

In private talks sandwiched between public parts of the meeting, the U.S. delegation threatened economic sanctions, and successfully pressured Canadians to trim the British Columbia share of the halibut harvest, according to sources with knowledge of these discussions.

The commission is charged by a more than century-old treaty with conserving Pacific halibut. There are three voting representatives from the United States, and three from Canada.

Read the full article at the Petersburg Pilot

Rep. Andy Harris seeks ‘fishery disaster’ to aid Maryland watermen

February 6, 2026 — Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st-Maryland, has sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requesting that the agency declare an economic fishery disaster to provide immediate assistance to Maryland oystermen following this year’s devastating season. The request was made under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which authorizes federal emergency relief for fisheries affected by natural or economic disasters.

Harris sent the letter in response to outreach from members of Maryland’s Eastern Shore delegation requesting federal assistance as local watermen face mounting economic strain driven by severe weather, reduced market access, and increased competition.

“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,” said Harris. “These pressures threaten both livelihoods and a major sector of the Eastern Shore economy. For that reason, I am urging NOAA to approve a federal disaster declaration because immediate disaster relief is necessary to help watermen recover from the financial losses caused by this season.”

Read the full article at Salisbury Daily Times

US lawmakers introduce legislation to better map whale habitats, reduce vessel strikes

February 5, 2026 — A group of U.S. lawmakers has reintroduced legislation designed to improve the federal government’s ability to map whale habitats and help reduce vessel strikes.

The Whale Conservation Habitat Analysis, Research, and Technical Strategies (CHARTS) Act directs NOAA to improve its mapping of whale habitats while also developing predictive maps that estimate how whale populations might change their habits in response to environmental conditions. The legislation would require the agency to create high-resolution maps showing where whales are now and where they may be in the future. Critically, the maps must be usable for commercial and recreational mariners to help them avoid collisions.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource