Saving Seafood

ALASKA: New Requirements for Halibut Charter Fishing in Alaska

June 8, 2026 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

If you’re going charter fishing in Alaska this year, you’ll need a charter halibut stamp if you plan on bringing halibut home. 

New Halibut Stamp Requirements

Beginning in 2026, adult anglers fishing aboard a charter vessel need a charter halibut stamp for each day they intend to catch and retain halibut. This applies to fishing in International Pacific Halibut Commission regulatory areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Southcentral Alaska). If you are fishing without a guide, you do not need a halibut stamp. 

The stamps cost $20—your fishing guide will take care of this for you. All you have to do is let them know that you plan to keep any halibut you catch before you start fishing for the day. Some guides might bundle the price into the total cost of the trip, while others might charge separately for it. If you’re just planning to catch and release, you don’t need a stamp!

Read more about how stamp fees will support the charter industry

NOAA strengthens commitment to aquaculture through new cooperative institute

June 8, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced the University of New Hampshire as host institution for the new NOAA Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Markets (CIFARM) to expand NOAA’s impact and strengthen efforts to boost American seafood competitiveness.

After a highly competitive application process, this new five-year cooperative institute will harness partnerships with cutting-edge researchers to advance American marine aquaculture. Approximately $13,500,000 will be available this year for projects following the establishment of CIFARM. 

“The United States is finally recognizing aquaculture as a vital complement to our world-class fisheries,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., NOAA administrator. “We look forward to collaborating with these exemplary partners to continue to unlock the potential of this industry in the United States.”

CIFARM researchers will investigate solutions that can be leveraged for industry advancement, such as: 

  • Marine aquaculture demonstration projects;
  • Engineering and technology development;
  • Artificial intelligence for aquaculture;
  • Environmental observations and forecasting;
  • Risk management and vulnerability analysis; and
  • Seafood markets research.

These research priorities will also magnify scientific advancement through education, outreach, and engagement.

“We are excited to partner with NOAA on this first-of-its kind cooperative institute to advance American aquaculture,” said Elizabeth Chilton, Ph.D., president of the University of New Hampshire. “By leveraging our coalition’s scientific excellence and regional expertise, we are poised to make great strides for the aquaculture industry.” 

University of New Hampshire has partnered with a diverse suite of outstanding academic, industry, and non-governmental organization partners, including: New Hampshire Sea Grant, the University of Miami, Florida Sea Grant, University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute, California Sea Grant, University of Hawaii and Hawaii Sea Grant.

“By investing in aquaculture research and markets, NOAA Fisheries continues its commitment to improving sustainable American fisheries through science-based management,” said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “We are proud to empower the industry to produce more seafood for American plates.”  

Americans eat $24.2 billion in imported seafood each year, about half of which is estimated to be farmed in other countries. Aquaculture creates jobs, uplifts coastal economies and complements wild-capture fisheries, while providing healthy and sustainable seafood to American families and bolstering domestic food security.

Congress directed the establishment of a new cooperative institute advancing U.S. marine aquaculture development in Fiscal Year 2024 Congressional appropriations. By providing scientific solutions for the aquaculture industry, NOAA’s effort also helps fulfill the 2020 Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth and supports President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.

NOAA Aquaculture Program’s mission is to provide science, services, and policies that create conditions for opportunity and growth of sustainable U.S. aquaculture. This long-term collaborative partnership will promote research, education, training and outreach aligned with this mission. 

Fishermen prepared for the longest red snapper season in recent memory. A court order stopped it

June 5, 2026 — Miles from shore, Chris Kemp pumps and reels as he battles a fish 150 feet below. Eventually, it gives up, and the 10-pound red snapper is hauled aboard the Jodie Lynn II.

There’s barely time to rejoice. As Kemp raises his trophy for a picture, the charter boat’s captain rushes over and then drives a knifelike tool into the fish’s gas-filled bladder. The procedure, required by federal law, is intended to improve the fish’s chances of survival after release.

“Send it overboard,” orders the captain. And with that, Kemp’s hopes of bringing the fish home to eat was lost.

Recreational fishermen like Kemp are pitched against commercial fishermen and environmentalists in a legal dispute that has halted what was expected to be the longest snapper season in years, reflecting broader tensions over the Trump administration’s efforts to loosen fishing rules and deregulate the seas.

As part of those efforts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in May exempted states from some restrictions under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the landmark law that guides fisheries management. But the decision was halted at the last minute by a federal judge in Washington who blocked the plan.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

OREGON: Reconnecting Rivers Boosts Oregon Coast Coho Recovery

June 5, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries supports one of the most ambitious salmon restoration projects on Oregon’s coast: the Salmon SuperHwy. This partnership of more than a dozen organizations works across the Tillamook, Nestucca, and Sand Lake watersheds. It works to restore fish passage at dozens of stream barriers, such as failing road culverts and tide gates. When complete, salmon and steelhead will be able to access 180 miles of habitat that had been blocked for decades.

The benefits of the Salmon SuperHwy project and other coastal restoration work are not just theoretical. Threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon have experienced a dramatic rebound in recent years. NOAA Fisheries Oregon Coast Branch Supervisor Lance Kruzic believes that restoring rivers and streams has helped more coho survive their juvenile life stage and return as adults to spawn.

“Over the last 30 years, substantial funding has been invested in restoring freshwater habitat, and coho have been benefiting,” said Kruzic. “For example, the Tillamook area—which was once one of the toughest places for coho to reach the habitat they needed—is now a bright spot for coho recovery. There’s been a total flip.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

FLORIDA: All snapped up, Destin charter fleet kicks off red snapper season

June 3, 2026 — One down, 146 more to go.

June 1 marked the start of the red snapper fishing season, and anglers came from near and far to take advantage of the kickoff.

Back in April, the NOAA Fisheries announced the red snapper season for vessels with a federal for-hire reef fish permit, which is the majority of the Destin charter fleet, would be 147 days. The season, which is 19 days longer than last year, started June 1 and closes at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 26.

Read the full article at The Destin Log

NOAA proposes moving more commercial fishers to electronic logbooks

June 3, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries is accepting public comments on a proposal to switch over more commercial fishers in the Gulf of Mexico – currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the administration of President Donald Trump – and South Atlantic Ocean from traditional, paper logbooks to electronic logbooks.

If approved, the change would apply to all federally permitted commercial fishers harvesting Gulf reef fish, Gulf or Atlantic coastal migratory pelagic species, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, and species in the South Atlantic snapper-grouper complex.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NCCOS Expands HAB Monitoring to New Coastal Northeast and Great Lakes Regions

June 2, 2026 — The new Coastal Northeast U.S. satellite imagery supports bloom tracking in the Gulf of Maine and coastal waters off New York and New Jersey. These products provide satellite-based information to help partners better understand potential bloom conditions across a broad coastal region.

NCCOS is also adding a separate demonstration high-resolution Great Lakes satellite imagery to include Maumee Bay, OH, Apostle Islands, WI, and Saint Louis River, MN. These products use Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument imagery, which provides higher spatial resolution (20m) than existing Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument products (300m). The higher-resolution imagery can support monitoring in smaller or more complex water bodies where finer-scale satellite observations may be useful.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Announces $2.3 Million to Study Atlantic Mackerel with the Northeast Fishing Industry

May 28, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries is beginning a cooperative research initiative, partnering with the Northeast fishing industry to learn more about Atlantic mackerel population dynamics. The initiative will receive $2.3 million in the current fiscal year.

The project will engage more than 50 fishing vessels to collect and analyze data to improve our understanding of the Atlantic mackerel stock. Fishing vessels will be involved in:

  • Developing acoustic technologies to detect and quantify mackerel, including active acoustics
  • Collecting mackerel samples for biological analysis
  • Tagging mackerel to understand movement between US and Canadian waters
  • Participating in mackerel egg surveys to better understand spawning
  • Developing and testing hypotheses about the ecosystem drivers of mackerel

This research initiative builds upon the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 20-year model of success with cooperative research. This research includes working with the fishing industry to identify research needs, collect data, and support sustainable management of resource species.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA surveys East Coast fishing crews amid industry pressures

May 28, 2026 — Federal fisheries officials are once again heading to commercial fishing ports from Maine to North Carolina as part of NOAA Fisheries’ ongoing effort to better understand the economic and social realities facing working fishermen and crew members across the East Coast.

The 2026 Commercial Fishing Crew Survey, conducted through the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, launched this spring and will continue through the fall at ports throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic.

The voluntary and anonymous survey focuses on commercial fishing vessel crew members and hired captains, gathering information on demographics, working conditions, fishing practices, job satisfaction, economic concerns and views on fisheries management. According to NOAA, the survey can be completed in person, online, by phone or through the mail and typically takes about 10 minutes.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Major gaps remain in monitoring of seafood imports

May 26, 2026 — A new policy brief released by a coalition of human rights and environmental civil society organizations concludes that most seafood imported into the United States lacks basic catch documentation and traceability.

The brief draws on a technical report by Simeone Consulting LLC in Littleton, N.H., which outlines critical reforms needed to keep seafood connected with illegal, unreported, and unregulated from entering U.S. markets.

Only a small percentage of all seafood imported into the U.S. is covered under current import regulations, and even for those 13 species groups, there are many loopholes, said John Simeone, author of the report, in an interview on May 19.

Most people think that a report released by NOAA Fisheries in November 2024 to improve the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program is very good, but this plan is missing how those goals would be achieved, he said.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman