Saving Seafood

Highly endangered right whales see a baby boom, but threats still loom

May 22, 2026 — A jump from 11 North Atlantic right whale births in 2024-25 season to 23 for this season might sound like a nice little bump.

But when the entire population of the North Atlantic right whale can fit in the main stage at Wilmington’s Thalian Hall, you know overall numbers are still incredibly low.

Still, researchers and environmentalists say this season’s calving numbers for the highly endangered marine mammal are a positive sign − especially after some subpar years since the start of the 2010s.

The 2025-26 season represented the highest number of births since 2009, and the fourth highest on record.

Read the full article at Star News Online

Bering Sea survey to track temperature shifts

May 22, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries is preparing to launch its annual eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey, with scientists set to begin collecting near real-time temperature data in June as part of one of the longest-running fishery datasets in the region.

Conducted each year by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the survey is mandated under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to track the distribution and abundance of fish, crab and other bottom-dwelling species. The data is used to inform stock assessments and ecosystem status reports for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Water temperature remains a key focus of the survey. According to NOAA, “temperature is one of many factors that influences species’ ranges and population sizes,” with warming conditions already linked to shifts in where species are found. Scientists record both bottom and surface temperatures at each station, allowing them to compare environmental conditions with the presence, or absence, of fish and crab.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

ASMFC Seeks Contractor for RAPID Project Management and Facilitation Services for Marine Recreational Fisheries Data Partnership Proposals Due June 10, 2026

May 21, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries), is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the planning, facilitation, and execution of workshops on Recreational Angler Partnership Improvement Directive (RAPID). Workshops will be held regionally throughout the US and are targeted for the Summer/Fall of 2026.

 
NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) has historically operated as a state-regional-federal program to develop and implement recreational fishing surveys. While this federal data collection program tracks long-term trends at the annual and regional level, partners and anglers have raised concerns regarding data uncertainty particularly when used to inform management at the state and local level and at the monthly, weekly, and daily level. To address these challenges and modernize data collection, NOAA Fisheries is transforming its recreational data enterprise through RAPID.
 
This initiative will lead the transition from MRIP to a new, shared-governance data system co-designed with anglers, state agencies, interstate commissions, and management councils. The goal is to establish a state-federal data collection and delivery system that is regionally flexible, nationally consistent, and enhances scientific credibility and stakeholder confidence in recreational fishing statistics used for management.
 
Proposals must be submitted by email no later than 11:59 PM on June 10, 2026 to Alex DiJohnson, ACCSP Deputy Director of Recreational Data, at alex.dijohnson@accsp.org. The RFP is available athttps://asmfc.org/resources/rapid-project-management-meeting-facilitation-for-a-shared-state-federal-recreational-data-partnership-rfp/.
 
For more information, please contact Alex DiJohnson.                                                 

Near Real-time Temperatures from the 2026 Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey

May 20, 2026 — Survey Progress and Bottom Temperatures

Every year, NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center conducts the eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey. We are mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act to collect distribution and abundance data for fish, crab, and other bottom-dwelling species in the Bering Sea. These data inform stock assessments and ecosystem status reports for the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

Temperature is one of many factors that influences species’ ranges and population sizes. For instance, we see many species moving farther north as ocean temperatures warm. To understand what’s going on in the Bering Sea, we record ocean bottom and surface temperatures at each sample station on the survey. These data will help us understand how variations in bottom temperature over time relate to the fish and crab we find—or don’t find—at the same station.

We will update this page with the most recent bottom temperatures recorded on most weekdays during the survey. For now, check out our completed 2025 bottom temperature map from the Bering Sea. This will be updated once the 2026 survey begins, and you’ll be able to see the updated temperature maps in near real-time. Note that in 2025 the survey included both the eastern and northern Bering Sea survey areas. In 2026, we will only survey the eastern Bering Sea area.

We have conducted the eastern Bering Sea survey annually since 1982 (except in 2020) making this the longest running, standardized time series of fish and invertebrate data in the region—43 years! Learn more about this survey, view temperature maps from previous years, and see examples of how these data are collected and used in this story from 2023.

All data collected on these surveys are and will be publicly accessible from:

Documenting the Bering Sea Cold Pool

Survey data are crucial for understanding the extent of the cold pool, which is an important oceanographic feature of the Bering Sea.

Each spring, the previous winter’s sea ice melts to create dense, cold, ocean water, which sinks to the bottom of the Bering Sea. This creates the cold pool, which is defined as the total area where bottom temperatures are less than or equal to 2°C. The location of this cold pool changes from year to year and affects the movement and ranges of fish, crab, and other bottom-dwelling species. And it can act as a boundary separating Arctic species from subarctic species.

Commercially important fish like walleye pollock, Pacific cod, and snow crab are dependent on the location of the cold pool. Due to warming ocean temperatures in the Bering Sea, we track and closely monitor the location of the cold pool by collecting ocean bottom temperatures at each station.

Learn more about temperature anomalies, the cold pool, and how bottom temperatures in the Bering Sea have changed over time.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Revised crab import rules lift bans for some countries

May 18, 2026 — Federal regulators have revised earlier import restrictions on swimming crab fisheries, allowing some countries to resume shipments to the U.S. while maintaining a ban on others.

According to a May 10 notice from NOAA Fisheries, the agency reconsidered its prior “comparability findings” under the Marine Mammal Protections Act, which requires foreign fisheries exporting to the United States to meet marine mammal protection standards comparable to those required of U.S. fleets.

The decision follows a broader 2025 review in which NOAA evaluated approximately 2,500 fisheries across 135 countries. That review found 240 fisheries in 46 countries out of compliance, triggering import bans that took effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Capelin: a “Sea Canary” for Marine Ecosystem Change in Response to Heatwaves

May 18, 2026 — Twenty years ago, Dr. George Rose with Memorial University of Newfoundland called capelin “a sea canary for marine ecosystem change.” A new study reinforces its role as a pillar of healthy marine ecosystems. It shows that heatwaves can dramatically affect capelin populations. Commercially important fish species like salmon and halibut rely on capelin as a food source—as do whales, seals, sea lions, and seabirds. And because they are not commercially harvested in the northeast Pacific Ocean, studying capelin in Alaska offers a unique opportunity to investigate population changes relative to environmental factors.

Between 2002 and 2022, Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientists observed capelin’s response to two marine heatwaves.They found declines in capelin abundance reduced energy available to predators to less than 1 percent of pre-heatwave values.

Capelin: an Indicator Species for Marine Ecosystems in Alaska

Lead author of the study Rob Suryan explains, “We consider capelin, along with herring, sand lance, and krill, to be the ‘big 4’ pelagic schooling forage species in Alaska. They are incredibly energy-rich—meaning they have a high lipid, or fat, content. And when they school, they form dense aggregations, which greatly increases foraging efficiency for predators. These two factors make them very valuable food for marine mammals, seabirds, and many commercial fish species.”

Abundant prey is critical for these predators. Decreased capelin populations, in particular, have been linked to declines in cod, birds, and seals and sea lions in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans.

In the North Atlantic Ocean, capelin are harvested for food, bait, and fishmeal by multiple countries. They are not commercially harvested in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Therefore, changes in capelin abundance and condition in the waters off Alaska primarily reflect natural changes that are independent of potential effects by commercial harvesting. This “canary” for ecosystem change in Alaska provides an important, unbiased indicator for understanding how environmental changes influence population fluctuations of capelin and other species throughout the ecosystem.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Trump administration asks NEFMC to kill rule forcing herring fishers to pay for at-sea monitors

May 14, 2026 — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) to abandon a rule forcing commercial herring fishers to pay for at-sea monitors out of pocket.

“After careful consideration, we have determined that an action removing Atlantic herring monitoring requirements […] may be warranted to remove unused provisions that are not achieving their intended goals and, thereby, reduce regulatory burdens on Atlantic herring fishery participants,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler said in a 1 May letter to the council. “Because the herring [industry-funded monitor] program imposes costs on [NOAA Fisheries] as well as the herring industry itself in order to be effectively implemented, in the face of declining resources and the need to prioritize our activities to support the Administration’s goals and objectives of Executive Order 14276, it is unlikely that [NOAA Fisheries] will have the resources necessary to support this program.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Lots of Talk About the Recent Cooperative Research Summit—Here’s What They’re Saying

May 14, 2026 — In early April, the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program joined us in hosting our fourth annual Northeast Cooperative Research Summit in Riverhead, Long Island, New York. It focused on bringing scientists and fishermen together to build research partnerships to address science and management needs.

Participants included the commercial and recreational fishing community, commercial fishing advocacy groups, non-governmental organizations, academic and non-profit research institutions, federal, state, and local agencies, and blue tech startups. They come to the Summit with purpose and goals for what they hope to achieve.

Here’s what some of them had to say about their Summit experience and what it meant to them. Their reflections help us better understand participants’ overall satisfaction of the event, hear their thoughts on the format and value of the presentations and breakout sessions, and identify ways to improve future Summits.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

NOAA Fisheries Finds Listing Gulf of Alaska Chinook Salmon Under the Endangered Species Act “Not Warranted”

May 13, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries has completed a status review and 12-month finding for Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon in response to a January 2024 petition. The Wild Fish Conservancy petitioned to delineate and list one or more evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. 

We have determined that listing any of the three ESUs of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted. This determination is based on the best available scientific and commercial information and the findings of the status review.

 

Magnuson-Stevens Act at 50: Charting a Course to Sustainable Fisheries

May 8, 2026 — In April, we celebrated the 50 years since the United States signed the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This landmark law set the United States on a course toward sustainably and cooperatively managed marine resources. But in order to appreciate how far we’ve ventured, it helps to understand why we embarked.

Vacuuming the Seas

The mid-20th century was a boom time for fishing around the world. Technological advances changed how people harvested, transported, and consumed seafood. More fish were being harvested off the coasts of the United States, but not necessarily by American fishermen.

Between 1965 and 1975, the volume of fish caught by foreign fishing vessels in the United States exceeded the catch of domestic harvesters. The newer, larger, far-ranging factory trawlers of the foreign fleets would anchor just beyond the 3-nautical-mile U.S. territorial limit. As Senator Warren Magnuson (D-Washington) recalled, the fleets were “virtually vacuuming the seas” of valuable marine life—and economic opportunity. When they depleted one stock, they simply moved on to the next. In many cases, they sold their harvest back to American consumers after

“If the U.S. is to maintain world prominence,” warned Magnuson, “we must learn to steward our declining resources.” He partnered with Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) and Representative Gerry Studds (D-Massachusetts) to push for action through extensive deliberations in both chambers of Congress.

Lawmakers agreed that a serious problem existed, but they debated how to solve it. The 94th Congress considered dozens of proposals before combining ideas into one law. On April 13, 1976, they passed what is now known as the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries