Saving Seafood

Top Marine Stories and Posts You Loved in 2025

December 22, 2025 — This year proved, once again, that the ocean is truly a fascinating place. In 2025, our features ran the gamut from creatures of the deep and newly discovered species to killer whales and restoring American seafood competitiveness. Check out the list below and see if your favorite made the list!

Top Features

Stories on how ocean health is affecting marine life, how we’re working to enforce laws to protect marine mammals, and how our scientists discover brand new species were among the most widely read.

Early Bloom of Toxic Algae off Southern California Sickens Hundreds of Sea Lions and Dolphins

Rescue teams face hard decisions over which animals to save.

Responders received more than 100 calls a day reporting sick sea lions and dolphins

New Kids on the Block: Species Discovered by Our Scientists

Over the years, NOAA Fisheries scientists have discovered dozens of species. Learn more about these species and what we’ve learned about them.

We’ve discovered fish, marine mammals, and invertebrates

Diving into Creatures of the Deep

Dive in and learn about creatures of the deep. These mysterious species live way below the surface of the ocean.

Creatures that live in the deep ocean—from corals, to jellyfish, to octopus, and more

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries head says science is his priority

December 19, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Pineiro Soler said his top priority at the U.S. agency is improving science.

“My priorities when I took this job was number one science,” Soler said. “We have to have better science. We have to improve the science. We have to improve not our effort but our products, our results. And that’s number one priority of this administration.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW YORK: Operation Riptide: Highly Migratory Species Enforcement Levels the Playing Field for Law-Abiding Fishermen

December 18, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement led “Operation Riptide,” a 2-day multi-state operation targeting highly migratory species enforcement in July 2025. Agents and officers from NOAA, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and New York Department of Environmental Conservation worked together to help protect marine life and law-abiding U.S. fishermen. We conducted this operation to help improve compliance with highly migratory species regulations in the state and federal waters off of New York and New Jersey.

Each day of the operation began with virtual briefings before participating agents and officers hit the water. These briefings provided crucial information on historic fishing patterns to help them effectively assess potential violations. They included details such as:

  • Target species at that time of year
  • Up-to-date weather and tide information
  • Real-time species-specific migration and population density information in the operation area

Collectively, we conducted patrols covering the majority of navigable coastal inlets between Cape May, New Jersey to Montauk, New York. Eight NOAA Fisheries agents and officers participated in the operation along with several officers from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Our mobilization of state-owned patrol vessels was key to the operation’s success. A total of nine patrol vessels participated in the operation; five from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and four from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Participating agents and officers conducted a total of 87 boardings during the operation:

  • 63 federal HMS-focused boardings in the Exclusive Economic Zone
  • 24 state-waters boardings, which included both state-licensed and federally permitted vessels.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Seeks Comment on Bering Sea Chum Salmon Bycatch Proposals

December 17, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a new draft environmental impact statement for four potential strategies to reduce chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. Comments are due Jan. 5.

The document responds to a request from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to evaluate management options ahead of its February meeting in Anchorage.

Chum salmon, including fish from Western Alaska river systems, are unintentionally caught in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fleet.

Scientists and fishery managers attribute declines in Western Alaska chum to a mix of stressors, including changing marine conditions, competition with large numbers of hatchery-origin fish from Asia, commercial harvest, and bycatch in other fisheries.

For many Alaska Native communities, the downturn has caused repeated subsistence fishing restrictions, threatening food security and creating economic, social, and cultural strain.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Seafood Tips from the People Bringing You America’s Seafood (Part 2)

December 12, 2025 — Across the country, fishermen, farmers, chefs, and educators are working to keep fishing heritage alive while inspiring new generations to value the bounties of our coastal waters. Here, experts from the Pacific coast share their stories and tips for making seafood a bigger part of your life—no matter where you live.

Jenna Keeton, Washington Sea Grant

To celebrate Seafood Month, fisheries staff from Washington, Oregon, and California Sea Grants developed and launched Discover West Coast Seafood. The website features information about the species caught and farmed on the West Coast, along with harvester profiles, recipes, and where to find local seafood, all designed to help consumers explore their local seafood options and make informed choices.

For Jenna Keeton, one of the lead authors of the Discover West Coast Seafood website, working with seafood blends science, sustainability, and her love of food. She began her career in fisheries as an undergraduate with the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. While there, she also studied with the Alaska Salmon Program in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Her interest in connecting science to sustainable food sources led to her current role as fisheries specialist at Washington Sea Grant, one of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Programs. As part of Jenna’s work, she provides consumer education resources on seafood, sustainable commercial fisheries, and shellfish harvest activities. Washington Sea Grant also offers technical assistance and training to the seafood sector to ensure safe harvest and processing, while helping expand consumer access to U.S. seafood.

We are so excited to share this comprehensive educational resource highlighting the West Coast’s variety of seafood. I particularly like learning about the types of gear harvesters use.” — Jenna Keeton, Discover West Coast Seafood/Washington Sea Grant

The Discover West Coast Seafood Team’s Seafood Tips

  • Find dishes you already enjoy and incorporate local seafood for the protein in those recipes. For example, use a mild, flakey fish like rockfish or sole for taco night.
  • Explore new seafood and preparations methods gradually; small changes can help you expand your seafood repertoire. For example, try pan-searing your salmon to develop a caramelized flavor.
  • Support sustainable U.S. fishers and shellfish growers to ensure healthy oceans and thriving coastal economies.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

U.S. Fights for American Fishing in the Pacific, Leads Electronic Monitoring of International Fleets

December 12, 2025 — Tuna and technology took top priority—and top wins—for the United States at the 22nd Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission meeting. It was held December 1–5, 2025, in the Philippines.

Led by Andrew Lawler, NOAA’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Fisheries, the U.S. delegation:

  • Protected American Samoa and U.S. troll interests in the South Pacific albacore fishery
  • Fought for the economic viability of Hawaiʻi’s long line fleet targeting bigeye tuna
  • Secured the lead to develop an electronic monitoring measure for adoption at next year’s meeting

“The U.S. delegation worked very hard together to achieve these wins and, quite frankly, knocked it out of the park,” Lawler said. “We ensured a robust opportunity for our commercial fishing interests while enhancing conservation of our shared fishing resources.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Scientists investigate shark stranding in Florida

December 11, 2025 — A puzzling stranding drew NOAA Fisheries experts to Panama City Beach, Fla. On Nov. 21, an 11.4-foot female shortfin mako washed ashore in the early morning hours.

According to NOAA, strandings of “large pelagic species like the mako shark are relatively rare for this area,” prompting an immediate response from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center to secure the shark and conduct a full necropsy- an animal autopsy.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Leveling the playing field for domestic and imported seafood

December 11, 2025 — In early September, NOAA Fisheries released lists of countries that complied with Marine Mammal Protection Act rules comparable to those that domestic fishermen are held to, and those that did not. Beginning on January 1, 2026, countries that did not make the cut will not be allowed to export some or all of their fisheries’ products to the U.S.

While the ban will affect many products, the big item of contention is crab, and on October 10, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) announced that it, along with many crab processors, is suing NOAA to prevent the agency from stopping imports, particularly crab imports. The NFI and others claim that if they cannot get pasteurized crab from some of the countries on NOAA Fisheries’ List 2: Nations denied comparability findings for some fisheries or List 3: Nations denied comparability findings for all fisheries, then U.S. restaurants and markets will run out of crab cakes.

According to Tara Foreman, manager of her family’s crab picking business, Captain Neill’s Seafood, in Columbia, North Carolina, the market for fresh crab landed by U.S. fishermen won’t be affected if crab from places like the Philippines and Sri Lanka are blocked. “It’s Venezuela that will affect us,” says Foreman. “Because they’re so close, they export fresh crab to our market, and they’re going to be hitting it hard in the next couple of months. They just reopened their season and started fishing again, and they will try to get as much crab into the US as they can before these rules go into effect on January 1st.”

Foreman notes that as a result of Venezuelan crab pouring in, prices to U.S. fishermen will likely go down before they go up. But she notes that her markets are nervous and calling to confirm that they will be able to get crab. “They want to make sure of their supply,” she says. Foreman notes that Venezuela did not apply to NOAA for a comparability finding.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US bill would authorize disaster funding for commercial fishers hurt by foreign subsidies

December 8, 2025 — U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that would allow fishery disaster funding to be awarded to commercial fisheries hurt by foreign subsidies, predatory pricing, and illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery resource disasters assistance program provides financial assistance to commercial fishers and related businesses that experience sudden, unexpected losses. NOAA Fisheries has awarded fishery disaster determinations for hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, oil spills, and other man-made or natural events that cause harm to commercial fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource