Saving Seafood

CFF Receives New Funding to Expand Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

July 1, 2026 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) recently received additional funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s competitive Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program to further expand the use of electronic monitoring (EM) technologies in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

In addition to the $449,000 award from NFWF to support project objectives, fishing partners have pledged a combined cost-share of $756,000 underscoring their commitment to these efforts during the project period.

Stock assessment biologists with NOAA Fisheries have identified a decline in scallop biomass over consecutive years, likely influenced by environmental factors including rising ocean temperatures in addition to a predator population surge in species like sea stars and crabs that prey heavily upon juvenile scallops. Fishing practices such as prolonged tow-times, deck loading, and high grading are also known to negatively impact scallop beds and the survivability of discarded animals.

The use of EM is widely considered a successful tool for reducing monitoring costs while improving data collection, vessel trip coordination and safety. This project seeks to develop a better understanding of implementation costs while also evaluating an incentive-based approach that could provide a broader range of data to support management decisions.

Read the full story on: Electronic Monitoring in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

 

 

The Tide has Turned: Atlantic Mackerel Shows Signs of Improvement

July 1, 2026 — Since 2017, NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have been trying to help the Atlantic mackerel population rebuild. The population has been struggling, but a recent stock assessment shows that the population is showing signs of improvement.

We manage Atlantic mackerel under the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. In 2017, a benchmark stock assessment found that the mackerel population was dangerously low and overfishing was occurring. As a result, in 2019 we developed and implemented a 5-year rebuilding plan to help the mackerel population recover. That rebuilding plan was extended to 10 years after a 2021 management track assessment indicated the stock could not rebuild within the initial 5-year window. A 2023 management track assessment revealed the stock was no longer experiencing overfishing, but the mackerel population was still struggling to rebound. As a result, commercial possession limits and fishery specifications were reduced further.

In September 2025, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center completed another management track assessment for mackerel using updated data through 2024. That assessment indicated the mackerel population is no longer low, and overfishing is still not occurring. Mackerel abundance from the 2024 spring bottom trawl survey was also near a record high. In 2024 egg production in U.S. waters was the highest since the 1980s, and estimated recruitment was the highest it’s been since 1983. While the mackerel population is showing signs of improvement, there is a substantial amount of uncertainty. Mackerel assessments have tended to overestimate terminal year recruitment in the past, and the abundance of older, larger fish in the mackerel population is low. However, the 2025 assessment results represent an improvement from the last few assessments.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

The Department of Commerce Announces 2026 Council Appointments

June 30, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Managment Council:

The Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced the appointment of 22 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils. For the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), the appointments include three reappointments and one new member who will fill the vacant Massachusetts seat. The new and reappointed council members will serve three-year terms from August 11, 2026, through August 10, 2029.

NEFMC reappointments include:

  • Terry Alexander, Maine
  • Jackie Odell, Massachusetts
  • Daniel Salerno, New Hampshire
NEFMC new member:
  • Kirby Aarsheim Apjohn, Massachusetts.

“The eight regional fishery management councils are key partners with NOAA Fisheries in the regional, science-based, and transparent U.S. fishery management process. The Secretary of Commerce made appointments for open fishery management council seats from state and territorial governors’ lists of nominees. New council members play a critical role in meeting the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s mandate to end overfishing and rebuild fish stocks to ensure sustainable fisheries and maintain vibrant coastal communities.” Eugenio Pineiro Soler, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Trains for Whale Entanglement Response with New York and New Jersey Partners

June 29, 2026 — Entanglement of large whales in fishing gear and marine debris is a significant threat to recovering whale populations. In the Greater Atlantic region, an average of 26 large whale entanglements were reported each year between 2007 and 2025. This accounts for more than a third of the average of 73 reported nationwide. While some whales are successfully disentangled by trained responders, preventing entanglement is our first priority.

To improve rapid reporting and potential responses to large whale entanglement cases, NOAA Fisheries staff recently led a large whale disentanglement workshop at the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The area has become a hotspot for juvenile humpback whale sightings.

“This workshop demonstrates NOAA Fisheries’ commitment to protected species. The Howard Lab at Sandy Hook was an ideal place to bring partners from the New York/New Jersey area together because of our location in the mid-Atlantic Bight and the recent increase in humpback whale activity in the area,” explained Jim Vasslides, director of the Howard Lab.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Court dismisses lawsuit over Gulf oil and gas analysis after ‘God Squad’ ruling

June 26, 2026 — A federal judge has ruled a lawsuit seeking more analysis of the effect of oil and gas activities on endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico is moot after the “God Squad” handed down an exemption from federal protections in the region earlier this year.

In a decision issued from the bench Wednesday, Judge Deborah Boardman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a challenge to NOAA Fisheries’ 2025 biological opinion. Environmental groups claimed the analysis was arbitrary and capricious and repeated errors of an earlier biological opinion.

Boardman, a Biden appointee, has yet to issue an order publicly explaining her rationale for the decision.

Read the full article at E&E News

NOAA Fisheries Awards $3.8 Million for Marine Mammal Rescue Efforts through Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grants

June 25, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has awarded 44 grants, totaling more than $3.8 million for marine mammal rescue efforts. We awarded the grants, provided through the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Assistance Grant Program to our partners in 19 states and two tribes.

Grants Awarded

Recipients are from the Marine Mammal Stranding Response Network and the National Marine Mammal Entanglement Response Network. They include collaborators specializing in marine mammal health. Regional breakdown of the fiscal year 2025 Prescott Grant awards include:

  • Alaska Region: 2 awards, totaling $170,568
  • Greater Atlantic Region: 12 awards, totaling $980,482
  • Pacific Islands Region: 2 awards, totaling $198,839
  • Southeast Region: 9 awards, totaling $714,149
  • West Coast Region: 11 awards, totaling $1,079,105
  • National: 8 awards, totaling $669,538, for projects that meet national research or service needs (diagnostics, tagging, etc.)

Importance of Prescott

Since the Prescott Grant Program was established in 2000, we have awarded more than $83.2 million to partners. Our grant recipient partners have leveraged an additional $34.5 million. Together we have built a strong network of more than 120 trained and professional response organizations and responded to more than 100,000 stranded marine mammals. Additional awards have funded marine mammal entanglement response and investigations into marine mammal health including diagnostics and scientific research.

These grants support a core mission of NOAA Fisheries: the conservation and recovery of protected marine species. This competitive funding improves marine mammal stranding response and investigation capabilities nationwide and supports the goals of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

In recent years, Prescott grants have supported activities including:

  • Large whale stranding events
  • Marine mammal entanglement response
  • Mass stranding events
  • Disease outbreaks

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

South Atlantic states cancel planned recreational red snapper seasons over lawsuit, push for fall dates instead

June 25, 2026 — South Atlantic states have canceled planned extended recreational red snapper seasons after a lawsuit by commercial fishermen, but officials hope to reopen the fishery with new recreational seasons this fall.

States bordering the federal Southeast Atlantic red snapper fishery have long demanded longer recreational seasons with larger catch limits, arguing that the fish population is far more abundant than official numbers suggest. NOAA Fisheries determined the red snapper fishery was subject to overfishing in 2021, and recreational fishing seasons have been limited to as few as two days as managers wait for the stock to recover more.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Predicting Future Northeast Ocean Conditions: Forecast Debuts in 2026 State of the Ecosystem Reports

June 24, 2026 — Fishermen, fisheries managers, and scientists have observed changes in our oceans that are impacting the location and growth of fish stocks. Until recently, there was no reliable way to predict these changes. This year, the 2026 Mid-Atlantic and New England State of the Ecosystem reports contain the first operational seasonal and decadal ocean forecasts for U.S. coastal fisheries regions. These ocean forecasts provide predictions of future marine ecosystem conditions that could impact the availability of commercial, recreational, and protected fisheries species. They can help resource managers make more informed decisions.

The Northeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team produces the State of the Ecosystem reports annually for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils. They provide a synthesis of Northeast Shelf ecosystem information. They are part of a holistic approach to maintain healthy and productive fisheries by considering environmental and socioeconomic information in decision making. The reports:

  • Contain current and long-term information about the Northeast Shelf ecosystems
  • Document how well the ecosystems are currently meeting fishery management objectives
  • Highlight potential risks to meeting those objectives.

However, resource managers have long sought forward-looking ocean forecasts that predict future ocean conditions to help them make more informed decisions.

“Due to limited resources, we have moved to more multi-year specifications for stocks, so the impacts of our decisions are now longer lasting. Given the increasingly dynamic nature of the ocean, and management’s sometimes-limited ability to be as dynamic in response, delivery of ocean forecasts to the Council provides more tools at our disposal to make better decisions that span multiple years.” — Megan Ware, member of the New England Fisheries Management Council

NOAA scientists in the Northeast are now providing their Councils with predicted ocean temperatures in this year’s” State of the Ecosystem reports using NOAA’s Modular Ocean Model version 6 ocean forecasts, developed by NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. The inclusion of the forecasts marks the agency’s first application of an ocean forecast in an ecosystem-based fisheries management product.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Scientists tag Pacific cod to track climate shifts in the Bering Sea

June 24, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries scientists have completed a multi-year satellite tagging study of Pacific cod in the Bering Sea, shedding new light on how the species responds to warming ocean conditions and what those movements mean for fisheries management.

The study, launched in 2019 and led by Dr. Susanne McDermott of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, was prompted by a dramatic northward shift in Pacific cod distribution that began in 2017, when the Bering Sea entered a period of unprecedented warming and sharply reduced sea ice. Pacific cod support Alaska’s second largest groundfish fishery and play a central role in the broader Bering Sea ecosystem.

“There was tremendous anxiety over what’s going on,” said McDermott. “Why are these fish in different places? Is this something that’s changing on a population level? Is this just the same population moving into different areas?”

To find answers, the research team — which also included fisheries biologists Julie Nielsen and Kimberly Rand — deployed pop-up satellite archival tags on cod in both summer and winter. The tags recorded depth, water temperature, light levels, and acceleration at intervals as short as one second, and transmitted that data to the Argos satellite network after detaching from the fish and surfacing. Tags that were physically recovered — returned by fishermen or beachcombers — yielded the full, unabridged dataset.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Fleet caught between cod management systems as federal review drags on

June 23, 2026 — New England groundfishermen are once again finding themselves caught between the fishery they are operating under today and the management system regulators expect them to use tomorrow.

More than a year after the New England Fishery Management Council submitted Amendment 25 and Framework 72 to NOAA Fisheries, both actions remain under federal review, leaving fishermen and sector managers trying to plan for a four-stock cod management system that has not yet been approved.

The situation has become increasingly frustrating because quota leasing decisions, catch accounting and fishing plans are already being influenced by a management structure that technically does not exist.

“It’s difficult because we’re managing both to the real allocation and the phantom upcoming allocation that doesn’t actually exist yet,” said sector manager Hank Soule.

For fishermen, the issue is not whether the transition to four cod stocks will happen. Most industry leaders support the change and expect it to move forward. The problem is the uncertainty surrounding when federal regulators will finally act.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman