Saving Seafood

Predicting Future Northeast Ocean Conditions: Forecast Debuts in 2026 State of the Ecosystem Reports

June 24, 2026 — Fishermen, fisheries managers, and scientists have observed changes in our oceans that are impacting the location and growth of fish stocks. Until recently, there was no reliable way to predict these changes. This year, the 2026 Mid-Atlantic and New England State of the Ecosystem reports contain the first operational seasonal and decadal ocean forecasts for U.S. coastal fisheries regions. These ocean forecasts provide predictions of future marine ecosystem conditions that could impact the availability of commercial, recreational, and protected fisheries species. They can help resource managers make more informed decisions.

The Northeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team produces the State of the Ecosystem reports annually for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils. They provide a synthesis of Northeast Shelf ecosystem information. They are part of a holistic approach to maintain healthy and productive fisheries by considering environmental and socioeconomic information in decision making. The reports:

  • Contain current and long-term information about the Northeast Shelf ecosystems
  • Document how well the ecosystems are currently meeting fishery management objectives
  • Highlight potential risks to meeting those objectives.

However, resource managers have long sought forward-looking ocean forecasts that predict future ocean conditions to help them make more informed decisions.

“Due to limited resources, we have moved to more multi-year specifications for stocks, so the impacts of our decisions are now longer lasting. Given the increasingly dynamic nature of the ocean, and management’s sometimes-limited ability to be as dynamic in response, delivery of ocean forecasts to the Council provides more tools at our disposal to make better decisions that span multiple years.” — Megan Ware, member of the New England Fisheries Management Council

NOAA scientists in the Northeast are now providing their Councils with predicted ocean temperatures in this year’s” State of the Ecosystem reports using NOAA’s Modular Ocean Model version 6 ocean forecasts, developed by NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. The inclusion of the forecasts marks the agency’s first application of an ocean forecast in an ecosystem-based fisheries management product.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Scientists tag Pacific cod to track climate shifts in the Bering Sea

June 24, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries scientists have completed a multi-year satellite tagging study of Pacific cod in the Bering Sea, shedding new light on how the species responds to warming ocean conditions and what those movements mean for fisheries management.

The study, launched in 2019 and led by Dr. Susanne McDermott of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, was prompted by a dramatic northward shift in Pacific cod distribution that began in 2017, when the Bering Sea entered a period of unprecedented warming and sharply reduced sea ice. Pacific cod support Alaska’s second largest groundfish fishery and play a central role in the broader Bering Sea ecosystem.

“There was tremendous anxiety over what’s going on,” said McDermott. “Why are these fish in different places? Is this something that’s changing on a population level? Is this just the same population moving into different areas?”

To find answers, the research team — which also included fisheries biologists Julie Nielsen and Kimberly Rand — deployed pop-up satellite archival tags on cod in both summer and winter. The tags recorded depth, water temperature, light levels, and acceleration at intervals as short as one second, and transmitted that data to the Argos satellite network after detaching from the fish and surfacing. Tags that were physically recovered — returned by fishermen or beachcombers — yielded the full, unabridged dataset.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Fleet caught between cod management systems as federal review drags on

June 23, 2026 — New England groundfishermen are once again finding themselves caught between the fishery they are operating under today and the management system regulators expect them to use tomorrow.

More than a year after the New England Fishery Management Council submitted Amendment 25 and Framework 72 to NOAA Fisheries, both actions remain under federal review, leaving fishermen and sector managers trying to plan for a four-stock cod management system that has not yet been approved.

The situation has become increasingly frustrating because quota leasing decisions, catch accounting and fishing plans are already being influenced by a management structure that technically does not exist.

“It’s difficult because we’re managing both to the real allocation and the phantom upcoming allocation that doesn’t actually exist yet,” said sector manager Hank Soule.

For fishermen, the issue is not whether the transition to four cod stocks will happen. Most industry leaders support the change and expect it to move forward. The problem is the uncertainty surrounding when federal regulators will finally act.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Reducing Bycatch in Shrimp Trawls Through Education

June 19, 2026 — NOAA’s Gear Monitoring Team has made significant progress improving and maintaining turtle excluder device compliance in the Gulf of America shrimp fishery. TEDs allow shrimp to pass through the bars to the end of the net. This allows fishers to maintain catch levels, while larger marine animals like sea turtles get “excluded” from the net.

Our gear experts cover the entire Gulf—from Key West, Florida to Brownsville, Texas. Through their efforts conducting outreach, education, and enforcement training within fishing communities, TED compliance rates in the Gulf shrimp fishery now exceed 90 percent

Refresher for Law Enforcement

The team provides training to state and federal enforcement agencies to improve understanding of TED requirements and promote consistency in enforcement. This year we provided refresher training to:

  • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers and the U.S. Coast Guard near Marco Island, Florida
  • Texas Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Coast Guard in South Texas
  • Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement coordinated and participated in these training sessions with our team and state law enforcement partners. This allowed officers to gain proficiency in TED requirements and gain on the water experience measuring the devices.

“We conducted a classroom portion of the training to review regulations and provide hands-on practice,” said Jason Letort, gear specialist and Gear Monitoring Team lead. “This was followed by a day of offshore patrols several miles west of Marco Island and Naples, Florida, where we boarded seven vessels and checked TED compliance on all of them. This allowed the officers to gain real experience checking TEDs on the back deck of a shrimp boat, which they can’t get in a classroom.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

ALASKA: Feds sending $99 million in aid to address three declared Alaska fishery disasters

June 19, 2026 — Alaska has been allocated about $99 million in new fishery disaster assistance, making up the majority of the $123.6 million in aid that federal officials on Wednesday said is headed to Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.

In Alaska, the money is to address previously declared fishery disasters for Bering Sea snow crab and Chignik and Cook Inlet salmon harvests, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fishery service said.

For the lost snow crab harvest of the 2023-24 winter, the second year that the usually lucrative fishery was canceled because of low stocks, NOAA Fisheries is allocating $75.2 million in aid. That follows a 2024 allocation of $39.5 million in aid for the lost harvest in the winter of 2022-23.

Snow crab harvests have now resumed, though at much lower levels than in past years.

For the Chignik salmon disaster that occurred in 2022, the agency is allocating $18.5 million in aid. For the declared disaster for the 2023 Upper Cook Inlet east side setnet salmon harvest, the agency said it is allocating $5.8 million in aid.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: Murkowski and Sullivan Welcome Funding for Fisheries

June 19, 2026 — The following was released by the Office of U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski:

Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) welcomed the announcement of roughly $99 million in funding allocated for Alaska fishery disasters from the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is a step toward funding for three Alaska fisheries that experienced disasters from 2022-2024. NOAA Fisheries will now work with the State of Alaska and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to develop a spend plan.

“Our fishing industry is part of the beating heart of coastal Alaska, but seemingly every fishery over the last decade has been hit hard by disasters beyond their control,” said Senator Murkowski. “This is one step in the process, but one step closer to ensuring fishermen, their crews, seafood processors, and communities impacted by these fishery disasters receive the funding they need. I sincerely appreciate Secretary Lutnick and those at the Department of Commerce for their commitment to helping our fishermen.”

“Alaska’s subsistence harvesters, commercial fishermen, and fishing communities have endured a series of fishery disasters and stock collapses beyond their control, threatening livelihoods and entire coastal economies,” Senator Sullivan said. “I have been pushing to resolve these disaster declarations and get this relief into the hands of Alaskans who need it. This nearly $100 million allocation—roughly 80 percent of the funding announced today—will provide critical support to those affected by the Bering Sea snow crab, Chignik salmon, and Upper Cook Inlet East Side Setnet salmon disasters. I want to thank Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce for recognizing the extraordinary scale of the challenges facing Alaska’s fisheries and working with us to ensure Alaska’s fishermen receive the timely support they need.”

U.S. Department of Commerce allocates $123.6M in fishery disaster funding to Alaska, Oregon, California and Squaxin Island Tribe

June 17, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA announced the allocation of $123.6 million in fishery resource disaster funding, appropriated by Congress in the American Relief Act, 2025. The funding will address fishery resource disasters that occurred in Oregon, California, the Squaxin Island tribe, and multiple Alaska fisheries between 2019 and 2023.

“Fishery resource disasters have devastating effects on local communities and our economy,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D, NOAA administrator. “This disaster funding provides much needed assistance to our fishing industry, and we will work with the affected communities to help them recover. This action demonstrates our continued commitment to hardworking American fishermen and to the President’s vision to uphold the United States as the world’s dominant seafood leader.” 

Today’s allocation announcement applies to previously declared fishery resource disasters, including:

  • 2023/2024 Bering Sea snow crab fishery in Alaska
  • 2023 Oregon ocean commercial salmon fishery
  • 2022 Chignik salmon fishery in Alaska
  • 2023 Upper Cook Inlet East Side Setnet salmon fishery in Alaska
  • 2024 State of California Sacramento River Fall Chinook and Klamath River Fall Chinook ocean and inland salmon fisheries  
  • 2023 Squaxin Island Tribe Puget Sound Fall Chum salmon fishery in Washington.

NOAA Fisheries used commercial revenue loss information to allocate funding across the eligible disasters. 

“These fishery resource disasters are of great concern for the fishing industry and the people and communities that depend on these fisheries to support their local economies,” said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “NOAA will continue to provide guidance and resources to boost recovery and support more resilient fishing communities in the future.”

These funds will help improve the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of the impacted fisheries. Funds can be used to assist commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, charter businesses, shore-side infrastructure, subsistence users, and other impacted community groups. Activities that can be considered for funding include fishery-related infrastructure projects, habitat restoration, state-run vessel and fishing permit buybacks, job retraining and more. Certain fishery-related businesses impacted by the fishery disasters may also be eligible for assistance from the Small Business Administration. 

As delegated by the Secretary of Commerce, NOAA Fisheries will administer the funds. In the next steps, NOAA Fisheries will work with the state of Alaska, the state of California, the state of Oregon, and the Squaxin Island Tribe and/or the appropriate designated entity. Fishing communities and individuals affected by these disasters should work with their state or Tribe as appropriate.

For more information see the detailed allocations to states and learn more about fishery disaster assistance.

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management: Science, Stewardship, and Shared Successes

June 17, 2026 — Fisheries management decisions often involve difficult tradeoffs between conservation goals, economic pressures, and the needs of fishing communities. The Mid-Atlantic region became an early example of how collaborative, science-based management could work across state and federal waters.

That commitment to collaboration helped shape early approaches to fisheries management that evolved into today’s continued efforts. After Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1976, eight newly formed regional councils became the foundation for fisheries management in the United States. In 1977, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council was one of the first councils to implement science-based fishery management plans in partnership with NOAA Fisheries, state agencies, fishermen, and scientists. Their first fishery management plan—covering both Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog—marked the beginning of decades of innovation in fisheries science and management in the region.

Building a Foundation for Sustainable Fisheries Management

Today, the Mid-Atlantic Council manages fisheries for 15 species under seven fishery management plans. The Council’s fishery management plans designate more than 50 forage species and species groups as “ecosystem components.” The Council works closely with NOAA Fisheries, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the New England Fishery Management Council, fishermen, researchers, coastal communities, and others to balance conservation goals with economic opportunities.

A hallmark of the Mid-Atlantic region is its collaborative approach between federal and state managers. The Council and the Commission jointly manage several important fisheries across state and federal waters, including commercial and recreational fisheries for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. This level of coordination across jurisdictions is relatively uncommon nationally, and has been an effective approach for cooperative fisheries management of interconnected resources.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Humpback whale disentangled off coast of Massachusetts

June 16, 2026 — The Center for Coastal Studies disentangled a humpback whale Sunday afternoon off the coast of Massachusetts.

The young whale was anchored in fishing gear in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and was freed by the center’s Marine Animal Entanglement Response team.

While the whale sustained some injuries from the entanglement, the team feels reasonably confident that it will recover, according to a release from the Center for Coastal Studies.

Late Sunday morning, recreational boaters reported a relatively small whale struggling in the buoy line of fishing gear.

The boaters reported the sighting to the U.S. Coast Guard, who contacted the NOAA Fisheries and the Center for Coastal Studies hotlines.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police were on patrol nearby and volunteered to stand by the whale while the response team attempted the disentanglement during a very short window of calm seas. TowBoatUS overheard the report and offered to stand by.

Read the full article at The Inquirer and Mirror

Governor welcomes presidential proclamation supporting American commercial fishing in the Pacific

June 16, 2026 — Gov. David M. Apatang welcomed President Donald J. Trump’s June 11, 2026, signing of the Executive Proclamation Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific, which restores access to designated fishing grounds within certain Pacific marine national monuments and reaffirms science-based fisheries management under existing federal law.

The proclamation includes portions of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument and places these fisheries within the established management framework of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, NOAA Fisheries, and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

The action recognizes the important role Pacific communities play in the stewardship and management of ocean resources.

Read the full article at Marianas Variety