Saving Seafood

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to Meet August 11-13, 2026, in Philadelphia, PA

July 21, 2026 — The following was released by the The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet Tuesday, August 11 – Thursday, August 13, 2026 at The Westin Philadelphia. The meeting is open to the public and will also be accessible via webinar. Meeting materials, webinar information, and public comment instructions are available on the August 2026 Council Meeting Page.

Major agenda items include:

  • Surfclam and Ocean Quahog: Adopt 2027-2028 specifications.
  • Butterfish: Adopt 2027-2029 specifications and consider alternative trip limits and other measures intended to increase quota utilization.
  • Monkfish and Skates: Review feedback received during the Spring 2026 listening sessions on potential fishery improvements.
  • Chub Mackerel: Review 2027 specifications and consider revisions if needed.
  • Northeast Fisheries Science Center Surveys: Receive an update on recent fishery-independent surveys and the Regional Industry Based Trawl Survey.
  • Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan: Receive a presentation from NOAA Fisheries on the scoping process for potential future modifications to the plan.
  • Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish: Review 2027 specifications and consider revisions, if needed.
  • Scup Winter I Framework (final action): Review alternatives and take final action.
  • Business Session: Receive committee, agency, and liaison reports; approve an appointment to the Scientific and Statistical Committee; and provide an opportunity for general public comment.

The Council welcomes public comment from in-person and remote participants. Instructions and deadlines for submitting comments are available on the meeting page.

Questions? Contact Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5261.

NOAA finds gray whales have increased in population along US West Coast over the past year

July 21, 2026 — A new study published by NOAA’s Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center found that population numbers of gray whales along the U.S. West Coast have increased since 2025.

How and why populations of Eastern North Pacific gray whales are seeing an uptick is still under research, but in a release, NOAA confirmed that the increase “likely exceeds the reproductive capacity of the population.” Last year, the most recent estimate for gray whale calves was the lowest on record at 85. Now, researchers estimate the population of Eastern North Pacific gray whales is between 15,930 and 20,530, which is much higher than last year’s estimate of between 11,690 and 12,890.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Ropeless Fishing

July 20, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking information from fishery participants and others with specialized knowledge on the potential voluntary use of ropeless fishing gear, which includes on-demand fishing gear and other fixed gear that does not use persistent buoy lines.

Responses to this request for information may inform the potential future voluntary use, development, and management of ropeless fishing in the Greater Atlantic Region. NOAA Fisheries is seeking feedback from various stakeholders, primarily fixed-gear and mobile-gear fishermen, and intends to summarize the responses to this request for information and share that summary publicly.

The comment period is open through October 14, 2026. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal. NOAA will accept anonymous and non-anonymous comments.

For more information, read the request for information as published in the Federal Register.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick goes against top choices for fishery management councils

July 17, 2026 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has opted to go against some top nominations for U.S. fishery management councils.

In a 26 June announcement Lutnick announced he selected Forrest Bowers, the second choice for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, instead the Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s top choice and current Alaska Department of Fish & Game Board Chair Märit Carlson-Van Dort. For the Pacific Fishery Management Council, Lutnick selected second-choice Chad See, director of the Freezer Longline Coalition, over the Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s first pic of Jamie Goen, the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers trade group.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Maine seeks new ESA tools to speed Atlantic salmon recovery

July 16, 2026 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is asking federal fisheries officials to evaluate whether existing authorities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could help accelerate Atlantic salmon recovery while maintaining current protections.

In a June 4 letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson requested that NOAA review whether the ESA could provide additional flexibility to expand Atlantic salmon recovery efforts. The Bangor Daily News reported that the request could eventually create opportunities for tightly controlled, conservation-oriented catch-and-release fishing if the species recovers.

The request follows decades of habitat restoration, fish passage improvements and river connectivity projects that have benefited Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish. However, Sean Ledwin, director of the DMR Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, said adult Atlantic salmon returns remain very low despite those investments.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US congressional committee votes to extend moratorium on new right whale regulations through 2035

July 16, 2026 — In a 22-13 vote, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation that would extend a five-year pause on new lobster regulations related to North Atlantic right whales through 2035.

“Protecting the North Atlantic right whale and supporting America’s fishing communities are goals that can and must go hand in hand. By extending the current regulatory framework through 2035, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act provides the time needed to develop durable, science-driven solutions that protect this endangered species without imposing unnecessary burdens on fishermen,” U.S. Representative Mike Lawler (R-New York) said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Environmental groups sue government to stop a big change to the Endangered Species Act

July 15, 2026 — By altering the interpretation of a single word in the Endangered Species Act, the Trump administration has made what could be a sweeping change to how wildlife is protected in the United States.

That word is “harm.” For more than 50 years, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service defined harm to refer to anything that injures or kills a protected organism, including “significant habitat modification or degradation” that might impact a species’ ability to feed, reproduce or seek shelter.

But now, the federal government has officially rescinded that definition — a move that is already being challenged in court.

“This action restores common sense, respects private property, provides much-needed certainty for landowners and follows the statute Congress actually passed,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement Friday, when the change was announced.

“The final rule will restore the definition of ‘harm’ to its original intent as written under the ESA, and will maintain protections for endangered species while reducing unnecessary or duplicative permitting requirements, cutting compliance costs, and eliminating confusion for Americans,” a representative for NOAA Fisheries said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

But environmental groups worry the rule change, which goes into effect on September 14, could destroy the wild places that endangered species depend on, undermining the protections that have helped sustain them.

Shortly after the new rule was published in the federal register Tuesday, the law firm Earthjustice, alongside more than half a dozen other environmental groups, filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Seattle against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries (also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service).

Kristen Boyles, an attorney with the group, told NPR that they’re contesting the change on various levels. “The agencies haven’t explained themselves adequately,” she says. “Making this kind of dramatic change doesn’t make any legal sense because it goes against the fundamental purpose and spirit of the statute itself. All of those things make it an unreasoned and unreasonable decision.”

Read the full article at NPR

 

Millions of seafloor images fuel scallop stock assessments

July 13, 2026 — The cameras are rolling again on Georges Bank, where NOAA Fisheries scientists are collecting millions of images of the seafloor to help shape future management of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

The agency’s annual Habitat Camera, or HabCam, survey completed its second leg in late May after spending nine days photographing the seafloor across Nantucket Lightship, the Great South Channel and Georges Bank, roughly 60 to 100 miles offshore. Unlike traditional research surveys that collect animals, HabCam relies on a towed camera system that documents scallops and other bottom-dwelling species without disturbing them.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump administration touts National Scallops Day designation, Georges Bank territory opening

July 13, 2026 – – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is touting its designation of National Scallops Day, the opening of the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to scallop fishing, and permit stacking as a means of boosting the fishery.

The administration recently sent a deregulatory wish list to regional fishery management councils, which included a range of different recommendations like modernizing fleet capacity in the area managed by the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and shifting the management of red snapper away from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA again cites Mexico for illegal fishing as Southern Shrimp Alliance calls for seafood import ban

July 13, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has once again issued a negative certification to Mexico over illegal fishing in U.S. Gulf waters, marking the third consecutive report to do so.

Last week, NOAA Fisheries issued its most recent “biennial” report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. The agency explained that despite the recent release, the report “was prepared in 2025.”

Six countries were identified for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing: Costa Rica, Grenada, Mexico, Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.

Two countries were identified for the production of seafood-related goods through forced labor: Burma and the People’s Republic of China.

The agency also updated “certification” determinations, providing this explanation:

“NOAA Fisheries issues a positive certification if the nation or entity has provided evidence of actions that address the activities for which it was identified. If sufficient action has not been taken, NOAA Fisheries issues a negative certification which results in U.S. port restrictions for fishing vessels of that nation or entity, and could result in import restrictions on certain fish or fish products.”

Read the full article at