Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries introduces new West Coast gear rules to reduce entanglements

October 13, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has rolled out new requirements and voluntary measures to reduce whale entanglements in commercial fishing gear on the U.S. West Coast.

“This rulemaking is, in part, in response to increased rates of entanglement of humpback whales with Pacific Coast fishing gear since 2014,” NOAA Fisheries said in its release. “Marine animals, like whales and turtles, can get caught in fishing gear, which can prevent them from eating or cause serious injury or death. The animal most often entangled in gear associated with the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery is the humpback whale.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Highly Migratory Species Management: Managing Shared Resources at Home and Around the World

October 12, 2026 — Through leadership in domestic and international organizations, NOAA Fisheries helps advance science-based highly migratory species fishery management to bolster healthy international fish stocks and advocate for U.S. fishermen and fishing communities.

Highly migratory species—like Atlantic yellowfin tuna, Pacific albacore, and Atlantic swordfish—travel thousands of miles across state, national, and international boundaries throughout their lives. These important commercial and recreational fisheries support seafood businesses and coastal communities across the United States. But highly migratory fish don’t recognize state or national borders, so managing them sustainably requires collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries. Strong domestic management and international cooperation sustain these fisheries and the communities that depend on these shared ocean resources.

In the United States, highly migratory species are managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Their management is consistent with requirements adopted by regional fisheries management organizations established by international treaties. Each of these RFMOs provide a forum for countries to work together to conserve these shared resources that spend their lives moving across jurisdictions.

Fisheries managers in the Atlantic and Pacific share the same goal: providing sustainable fishing opportunities while maintaining healthy fish stocks. Fisheries, geography, and management structures vary by region, so NOAA Fisheries uses different management tools and authorities to achieve that shared goal across fisheries.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Awards 14 Projects in 2026 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

October 9, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has made 14 new grant awards through the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. These projects support research that informs management decisions for one of the most valuable wild-caught fisheries in the nation.

Instead of awarding federal funds, this unique program sets aside a portion of scallops that would otherwise be available for commercial harvest. Those pounds are awarded to researchers who then work with the fishing industry to both conduct their research and harvest the scallops to fund the work.

This year’s projects were awarded more than 1.5 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops. At an estimated $16 per pound, the awards are expected to generate more than $25 million. Of that amount, $6 million will directly support research. The remaining $19 million will go to harvesters in support of small business owners and local fishing families.

The U.S. sea scallop fishery is a major contributor to the national seafood economy. In 2025, commercial scallop landings totaled 23.1 million pounds, valued at $417 million—making it the largest wild scallop fishery in the world.

The awarded projects are investigating research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council. This year’s projects include enhancements to existing scallop surveys, such as:

  • Expanded coverage on Georges Bank
  • AI-enhanced processing of survey imagery
  • Continued support of industry-driven data collection and co-management

Also new this year are two projects exploring opportunities for enhancement of scallop resources.

The research set-aside program is a model of innovation. It funds essential research without using federal dollars and builds strong partnerships between scientists and the fishing industry. NOAA Fisheries currently supports research set-aside programs for Atlantic sea scallops and monkfish.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NORTH CAROLINA: Hemilright, 59, remembered for commercial fishing advocacy

October 9, 2026 — Dewey Hemilright, an Outer Banks commercial fisherman known both for his passion for the seafood industry and his criticisms of fisheries regulation, died Oct. 2, 2026, from complications after suffering a stroke in August.

He was 59. His celebration of life is at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Manteo First Assembly in Manteo. The full obituary as well as a place to share condolences and memories are on the Twiford Funeral Homes, Outer Banks, website, which handled the arrangements.

Born Feb. 20, 1967, Francis Duon “Dewey” Hemilright, Jr., of Kitty Hawk, owned and operated the fishing vessel Tar Baby out of Wanchese. He represented the state’s commercial fishing industry as a member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council for 11 years, seven of which as chairman for the council’s Highly Migratory Species Committee, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, NC Catch, and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel, and International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT.

He was recognized with numerous awards for his commercial fishing advocacy, including the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which honored him in 2024 with the Ricks E Savage Award “given annually to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the management and conservation of fishery resources in the mid-Atlantic region.”

Read the full article at CoastReview.org

ALASKA: New Alaska sea sponge species fuel debate over fishery practices

October 9, 2026 — The vast and largely unexplored seafloor off Alaska’s coastline produces occasional startling discoveries.

The latest concerns the sponges that line the bottom of the ocean and contribute to an ecosystem that supports some of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests.

Scientists have now identified nine previously unknown species of sea sponges that dwell there, including one that represents an entire genus that was previously unknown.

The discoveries are the product of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program to better understand Alaska’s sponge and coral gardens, underwater zones about which knowledge is in only the early stages.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

How Will El Niño Affect Your Local Fisheries?

October 8, 2026 — What does El Niño mean for U.S. fisheries and marine life? What can fishermen and coastal communities expect to observe and experience as this event continues and potentially intensifies? And what are scientists at NOAA Fisheries doing to track this natural phenomenon?

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is a powerful atmospheric cycle that occurs in the Pacific Ocean along the Equator and weakens trade winds that blow from east to west. This allows warm surface water in the Pacific to slosh back east towards the Americas. It reduces the amount of cold water upwelling that usually occurs off the coast of South America. This natural phenomenon can have intense atmospheric and oceanographic effects, such as increased precipitation, flooding, and warmer ocean temperatures. These impacts vary by geographic location but are typically felt most directly by regions within the Pacific Basin.

In June 2026, NOAA forecasters announced that El Niño had formed in the tropical Pacific. As of October, they have predicted a greater than 83 percent chance of a “very strong event” during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026–27. Experts expect this event will persist through early spring 2027, with the potential for observable impacts in marine ecosystems for months or even years afterwards.

Scientists still can’t predict exactly what will occur during this period. But NOAA Fisheries can draw upon historic observations and an abundance of data collected throughout previous El Niño events to suggest likely impacts across our ecosystems. Additionally, we are actively deploying tools and strategies to monitor and predict El Niño’s impact on the marine environment across the United States, including:

Learn more about what you can expect from this El Niño event and what NOAA Fisheries is doing to forecast and document its impacts.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

United States Wins Key Measures Benefiting U.S. Fisheries on Pacific Bluefin Tuna and Ensuring Research on Dorado and Billfish

October 8, 2026 —  During recent international negotiations, the U.S. delegation to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission advanced key American economic and conservation priorities. The successes support Executive Order 14276 on “Restoring America’s Seafood Competitiveness” by improving U.S. fishing opportunities, leveling the playing field for U.S. commercial fishermen, and modernizing ocean governance.

At the September 2026 Commission annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, 21 nations built consensus on high-priority fisheries and issues, including:

  • Pacific bluefin tuna
  • Electronic monitoring
  • South Pacific albacore
  • Dorado, South Pacific swordfish, and other billfish
  • Sharks and seabirds

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Applicants Sought to Conduct Phase II of the Pilot Regional Industry-Based Bottom Trawl Survey

October 7, 2026 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP), NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) seek applicants to execute Phase II of the pilot Regional Industry-Based Bottom Trawl Survey (RIBTS). ASMFC will issue a funding contract to support conduct of the survey. The anticipated timeframe to conduct the Phase II Survey is fall 2027.

Standardized surveys of marine fisheries species are crucial for conducting stock assessments that inform fishery management and for tracking ecosystem changes over time. Motivated by the critical need to find viable contingency options for the NEFSC bottom trawl survey (BTS), NEFSC is collaborating with NTAP to develop RIBTS. The long-term goal of the RIBTS program is to reduce uncertainty and increase accuracy in resource assessments with an annual collaborative fishing industry-based regional trawl survey. RIBTS is being developed with a phased approach.

Phase I, conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the F/V Darana R, successfully evaluated day/night operational feasibility inside and outside of an offshore wind energy development area, established minimum vessel and scientific staff requirements, evaluated trawl performance across depth range, defined sampling limitations within offshore wind development infrastructure, and documented time-on-station requirements for catch, biological, and oceanographic sampling.

The goal of Phase II is to inform development of a full-scale survey, with focus on operational feasibility on multiple vessels and across a wider geographic area, including offshore wind areas, and the creation of reproducible methods and tools for a long-term RIBTS.

Proposals must be submitted as an electronic proposal by email no later than 11:59 PM on December 4, 2026, to Jainita Patel. Please see the Request for Proposals for more details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions.

 For more information, please contact Anna Mercer.             

Celebrate National Seafood Month by Choosing American Seafood

October 7, 2026 — October is National Seafood Month, a time to celebrate the essential role American seafood plays in feeding our nation, powering coastal economies, and preserving a heritage built around our working waterfronts. I’ve been part of the seafood sector my whole life, so to me, my family, and my colleagues at NOAA Fisheries, every month is Seafood Month! But October gives us the welcome opportunity to swell the tide of national gratitude for the hardworking fishermen and seafood farmers who feed us. Thanks to them and our science-based management system, American seafood represents the gold standard for sustainability. And while 50 years of management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act has made the United States the model for sustainable fisheries, there is still work to be done.

In my time at NOAA Fisheries, I hope I’ve made my focus clear: I want to ensure our domestic seafood sector thrives in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. By increasing opportunities in our wild-caught domestic fisheries and expanding seafood farming operations, we can get more American seafood on American plates. And NOAA has been empowered by the President’s Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness to do just that.

In recent months, we have committed to tangible agency actions to directly support the industry. We are confronting the economic headwinds facing our seafood sector by driving reforms designed to help our seafood producers. I believe we can go a long way toward meeting these goals by modernizing our regulatory framework, tackling market imbalances, and highlighting the unmatched quality and sustainability of American seafood.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries