Saving Seafood

US Congress continues exploring possible solutions for North Atlantic right whale, lobster fishery challenges

March 18, 2026 — U.S. lawmakers in Congress are continuing to prioritize spending to address ongoing issues between the New England lobster industry and the endangered North Atlantic right whale, a species whose habitat overlaps with valuable fishing grounds.

The North Atlantic right whale population – which began experiencing an “unusual mortality event” in 2017 – hit a low in 2020, when researchers estimated their population at just 358 individuals. The declining population triggered regulatory efforts to save the species and help it recover, but those efforts have clashed with the commercial fishing industry in the region, which has come under fire for entanglements and vessel strikes.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New Research Reveals Broad Spawning Distribution for Bluefin Tuna

March 13, 2026 — Atlantic bluefin tuna migrate over long distances and spend much of their lives in the open ocean, making them notoriously challenging to study. A question persisted for decades: Where exactly do they spawn in the western Atlantic? Now, new research provides more clarity.

Diving Deep into Seven Decades of Bluefin Tuna Data

Working with partners, NOAA Fisheries scientists did a deep dive into bluefin tuna spawning patterns. They compiled a large dataset from fisheries surveys, archive and museum specimens, and research cruise reports going back to the 1950s. Their analysis included more than 35,000 plankton tows, and they examined nearly 5,000 individual tuna larvae. The results, published in Progress in Oceanography, indicate that bluefin tuna have a much broader spawning distribution than previously recognized. In addition to the known spawning ground in the Gulf of America, bluefin spawn in:

  • Northwest Caribbean Sea
  • North of the Bahamas
  • Blake Plateau
  • Off of the Carolinas shoreward of the Florida Current
  • Western Slope Sea (an area off the Northeast U.S. continental shelf, between the shelf break and the Gulf Stream)

Of these areas, the northern Gulf in the late spring and the western Slope Sea in the early summer produce the most larvae. The results suggest that bluefin spawn in a continuous area during a prolonged spawning season. Spawning starts in April in the southernmost areas—the northwest Caribbean and southern Gulf of America—and ends in early August in the northernmost spawning area, the Slope Sea.

Research fish biologist Dave Richardson, the lead author of the study, explained, “Previous larval studies outside the Gulf of America were often based on a single year of sampling. When we compiled data from many surveys, the consistency was remarkable. When you sample the same area at the same time of year, you consistently find bluefin larvae. This confirmed the pattern we’ve seen in recent years has been going on for a long time. For example, bluefin larvae have been collected from the 1970s through the 2000s in both the Yucatan Channel in the south and the Slope Sea in the north.”

Historically, bluefin tuna have been managed as two stocks—one that spawns in the Mediterranean Sea (the eastern) and the other that spawns in the Gulf of America (the western). Recent larval and reproductive sampling added the Slope Sea to the list of known spawning grounds. Previous research suggests that the populations may mix in the Slope Sea. The scientists conducting this study wanted to know where else bluefin tuna spawn. Mapping all of their spawning grounds is critical to provide a more realistic picture of the population structure. It could also show the extent to which there are unique groups of fish that primarily interbreed with one another.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

U.S. Leads the Way to Strengthen Monitoring and Control of Fishing in the South Pacific

March 13, 2026 — At the 14th Meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organisation (SPRFMO), the United States took action to protect American consumers and the U.S. fishing industry. We advanced sustainable management and ensured compliance in fisheries that export fish to the United States, which is a priority for this Administration and NOAA.

Squid Management

The meeting was held February 24–March 6, 2026 in Panama City, Panama. The United States led the effort to control effort in the jumbo flying squid fishery through adoption of a conservation and management measure. It included a U.S.-proposed 15 percent reduction in the number and size of the vessels allowed to participate in the fishery. The high seas squid fishery in the SPRFMO Convention Area has been the subject of significant allegations of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and uncontrolled expansion. There are also concerns about labor abuses, particularly onboard Chinese-flagged vessels. The Chinese squid jigging fleet is the largest in the Convention Area, with more that 57 percent of the authorized squid jigging vessels flagged to China.

“The work of this Commission is critical to addressing the widespread concerns about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the squid fishery off the west coast of South America, and the United States has been leading the charge to advance these efforts,” noted Eugenio Piñiero-Soler, NOAA Assistant Administrator. From 2022–2024, the United States imported almost 40.5 billion kilograms of squid, valued at more than $215 billion, from China alone.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries: Gulf shrimp fleet cannot sustainably compete with imports

March 12, 2026 — A NOAA Fisheries snapshot report concluded that the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fleet “cannot sustainably compete” with imported shrimp, though the authors suggest domestic harvesters can find success by presenting Gulf shrimp as a differentiated or premium product.

“This report puts numbers to the economic challenges facing the U.S. shrimp industry. Achieving a truly resilient Gulf shrimp industry hinges on its ability to sustain profitability,” NOAA National Seafood Advisor Sarah Shoffler said in a release. “The path forward will likely involve a strategic combination of technological investment, market differentiation, and robust public-private partnerships. We are committed to exploring solutions that could support this industry into the future.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

USFWS moves to reclassify squids as shellfish, reduce regulation

March 11, 2026 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed reclassifying squids and other cephalopods as shellfish, removing its responsibility for regulating those fishery products and ensuring they are regulated by NOAA Fisheries like other mollusks.

Current U.S. law describes shellfish narrowly as “an aquatic invertebrate having a shell.” Despite being mollusks and being considered shellfish by NOAA, squids and octopi do not have external shells, precluding them from falling into the shellfish category under U.S. law

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries considers changing right whale protections

March 11, 2026 — In a matter of weeks, more than 20 North Atlantic right whale mothers and their babies will begin swimming hundreds of miles up the East Coast to their feeding grounds.

Their offshore route from the northern Florida and Georgia coasts north to New England slices through waters heavily traveled by seagoing vessels, making the journey for these critically endangered whales particularly dangerous.

Ship and boat strikes, along with fishing gear entanglement, are the leading killers of North Atlantic right whales, of which there are roughly 384 on the planet.

To reduce the strike threat, vessels 65 feet or longer are supposed to heed speed limits of no faster than 10 knots when traveling through federally-designated seasonal management areas, or those where right whales and heavy vessel traffic overlap. Though not required, vessels shorter than 65 feet in length are encouraged to slow to speeds of 10 knots or slower within those areas.

Read the full article at CoastalReview.org

Upwelling Fueled Productive West Coast Ocean, Holding Warm Waters Offshore in 2025

March 10, 2026 — A massive marine heatwave warmed the eastern Pacific Ocean through much of 2025, but the wind-driven upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that drives the rich marine productivity of the West Coast kept the ecosystem healthy.

That is the conclusion of the California Current Ecosystem Status Report, an annual assessment of the West Coast marine ecosystem by NOAA’s California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team. The report provides ecological insight for the Pacific Fishery Management Council and others on the ecological, social, and economic factors likely to influence fisheries and other ocean uses in the coming year.

The report assesses conditions and trends over the last year for insight on coming seasons. The leading takeaways from the annual report include:

  • Strong upwelling fostered productive waters and held heatwave warmth offshore
  • Deep-water nutrients likely fostered toxic algae as it mixed with warm surface water
  • Juvenile salmon, young rockfish and anchovy flourished in productive conditions
  • Shrimp-like krill, which often reflect the health of the ecosystem, proved abundant coastwide
  • Precipitation on land reduced drought conditions but sparse snowpack reduced water storage
  • Four coastal fish processors closed as total coastwide landings remain low

This year’s report also highlights new technology, ocean forecasts, and collaborations with vessel operators that provide fishing fleets and managers with timely ecosystem insight that helps support sustainable fisheries. It includes projections that many marine species will move farther offshore and into deeper waters as the ocean warms, which could affect fishing fleets and their communities on the West Coast.

Researchers from the NOAA Fisheries Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers presented the findings to the Council this week. They said abundant forage such as krill, juvenile rockfish, and anchovy helped boost species including salmon, squid, seabirds, and more.

“Warming continues to be an inescapable reality off the West Coast, but upwelling saved the day,” said Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer at the NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center and an editor of the annual ecosystem reports. “The cold water influx helped hold off the marine heatwave and sustained many of the fisheries and species the California Current is known for.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

5 ways aquaculture is boosting coastal economies

March 10, 2026 — On land and in the water, aquaculture offers new opportunities to meet the rising demand for seafood and boost local economies.

From training new workers and navigating regulations to connecting seafood producers with buyers, here are 5 ways Sea Grant’s aquaculture initiatives are helping to bring farm-fresh U.S. seafood to consumers’ plates and ensure a healthy future for our waters.

1. Supporting disaster recovery for Louisiana’s crawfish industry

In 2023, record-setting drought and extreme heat devastated Louisiana’s crawfish industry, a critical aquaculture sector that supports thousands of jobs and significantly contributes to the state’s economy. Louisiana Sea Grant worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to document the harm to crawfish from the excessively dry and hot conditions. The resulting scientific report was instrumental in securing more than $100 million in disaster relief for the state’s crawfish farmers. In addition to providing economic relief to growers, the disaster funds prevented long-term declines in production and preserved the economic vitality of an industry that holds great cultural and economic value in Louisiana.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Framework finally implemented as Gulf of Maine haddock quota increase takes effect

March 9, 2026 — After weeks of frustration from New England groundfish sector managers and stop-fishing notices for some vessels, Framework 69 has finally been approved and implemented by federal regulators.

According to a March 5 notice from NOAA Fisheries, the agency approved Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and announced final catch limits for fishing year 2025. The action officially went into effect March 9.

Framework 69 establishes annual catch limits and management measures for multiple groundfish stocks, including a significant increase to the Gulf of Maine haddock quota– an increase fishermen have been waiting on for months.

The approval comes after mounting pressure from industry leaders who argued the delay was forcing boats to tie up during one of the most productive fishing periods of the year. Just days before NOAA issues its final notice, six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service for relief, calling the delay in approving the framework “frankly ridiculous.”

At the time, several sectors had already begun issuing stop-fishing notices after vessels exhausted their Gulf of Maine haddock allocations under the interim limits.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries Sets Management Measures for Northeast Multispecies Fishery

March 5, 2026 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries is approving updated management measures for the Northeast multispecies fishery (Framework 69). These measures, developed by the New England Fishery Management Council, establish catch limits for several multispecies stocks for fishing years 2025–2027, modify the accountability measure implementation catch threshold for the scallop fishery and several flatfish stocks, and remove certain reporting requirements for sectors. Allocations for two stocks of Atlantic cod were established in an emergency rule that went into effect on May 1, 2025, and are not changed by this action. Framework 69 also approves sector provisions and catch allocations for 2025 and 2026 fishing years, sets recreational measures for haddock, updates common pool possession limits, and clarifies and corrects regulations.

Read the final rule and the permit holder bulletin available at our website.