Saving Seafood

The race to respond to right whales, via buoys

February 4, 2026 — At 4 p.m. on Jan. 20, new squiggles emerged on Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Senior Scientist Mark Baumgartner’s computer screen. Two years since it was deployed, Savannah’s acoustic buoy finally made its first detection: two contact calls from a North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW).

The calls sound like a questioning “huhhh?” or “hmmm?” pitched low to high, about two seconds each and seconds apart, intended to signal one’s identity to another NARW. While Baumgartner didn’t hear it, the calls were visualized by two small upticks on a frequency graph.

“We were very happy to see it,” said Baumgartner.

Soon after the detection, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created a voluntary slow zone in the Southeast U.S., alerting ships to slow to 10 knots or less within 15 or so nautical miles of the buoy, bobbing on the surface about 30 miles southeast of Tybee. Ten knots should give enough time for NARW females and their calves to scurry out of the way, said Baumgartner.

Read the full article at Savannah Morning News

NOAA observer identified among victims of missing Gloucester fishing vessel

February 2, 2026 — The close-knit community of Gloucester came together Sunday, mourning the crew of the fishing vessel Lily Jean lost at sea in a tragic accident Friday, as shaken visitors piled flowers at the city’s iconic Fisherman’s Memorial and families huddled inside a stone church.

By the late afternoon, hundreds attended a memorial mass for those aboard the Lily Jean at St. Ann’s Church. At the beginning of the mass, the families of the vessel’s seven crew members lit candles in front of framed pictures of their lost loved ones.

“When we hurt, when we grieve, when we are in pain, we come together,” Rev. James Achadinha said during the somber service.

The full identities of the Lily Jean’s crew have not been shared officially. Coast Guard officials said over the weekend they estimated releasing the information Monday following family notifications.

But one of the crew has been identified by her family as 22-year-old federal fisheries observer Jada Samitt.

Samitt was on the Lily Jean about 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann when the ship sank on Friday. The Coast Guard found debris and one body in the water. The Coast Guard looked for survivors for 24-hours before calling off the search Saturday during frigid winter conditions with seven-to-ten foot waves and 30-knot-winds.

Samitt had been on board as an observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries.

Read the full article at The Boston Herald

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guard identifies all 7 crew members of fishing boat that sank of Gloucester coast

February 2, 2026 — The Coast Guard has officially identified all seven crew members who were aboard a fishing boat when it sank off the coast of Gloucester on Friday.

The seven crew members were:

  • Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo, captain
  • Paul Beal Sr., crew
  • Paul Beal Jr., crew
  • John Rousanidis, crew
  • Freeman Short, crew
  • Sean Therrien, crew
  • Jada Samitt, NOAA fisheries observer and crew
As of Sunday afternoon, family and friends of nearly all of the crew members had come forward to identify them.

Sanctions threats loom as IPHC sets historic low 2026 halibut harvest

January 30, 2026 — The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) set the 2026 Pacific halibut harvest at a historic low last week, following tense U.S.-Canada negotiations that included threats of economic sanctions against Canadian halibut exports.

The Northern Journal reported that the four-day annual IPHC meeting in Bellevue, Washington, came amid strained relations between the two countries under the Trump administration, whose tariff policies and rhetoric toward Canada have fueled political friction.

Serving as the non-voting head of the U.S. delegation was Drew Lawler, a political appointee to NOAA. During private negotiations, U.S. representatives threatened tariffs or other trade restrictions unless Canada agreed to reduce British Columbia’s share of the halibut catch.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Critically endangered right whale found dead off NC coast

January 30, 2026 — A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale that a team of responders attempted to disentangle from fishing gear nearly two months ago was found dead earlier this week off the North Carolina coast.

The 4-year-old male, identified as “Division,” died from injuries caused by being entangled.

An aerial survey team on Tuesday spotted what was left of Division’s carcass floating about 25 miles offshore of Avon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On Dec. 4, 2025, responders from NOAA Fisheries, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took to the sea to join forces with a Georgia-based aerial survey team from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute in an effort to document Division’s entanglement and monitor his behavior.

At that time, Division was off Georgia’s coast near St. Simons Island.

Read the full article at CoastalReview.org

MARYLAND: Maryland oyster hatchery faces federal funding cut

January 29, 2026 — In a potentially serious blow to oyster restoration efforts in Maryland, the Trump administration has slashed federal funding that supports the operation of the state-run oyster hatchery on the Eastern Shore.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is cutting nearly in half the $740,000 grant it has provided annually for spawning and rearing oysters at the Horn Point laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES).

The cut comes on the heels of the successful conclusion of a more than decade-long campaign to restore oysters in 10 Chesapeake Bay tributaries in Maryland and Virginia — an effort the state-federal Chesapeake Bay Program is now looking to expand. It also comes as Congress, in a rare show of bipartisanship, has increased rather than cut federal funding for Bay oyster restoration efforts.

The Horn Point hatchery, one of the largest on the East Coast, has played a central role in the restoration of oyster reefs in Maryland’s five tributaries. Its annual output of oyster larvae since 2020 has ranged from 400 million to nearly 2 billion.

The hatchery sells some of those larvae to private oyster farmers, but three-quarters of the newly spawned bivalves are set or attached to oyster shells and planted on the bottom of Bay tributaries targeted by the state for restoration.

Read the full article at the Bay Journal

Alabama, Gulf Coast senators push NOAA to tighten enforcement against illegal Mexican fishing in Gulf

January 26, 2026 — Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt joined a group of Gulf Coast lawmakers in urging federal regulators to crack down on illegal fishing by Mexican vessels in U.S. waters, warning the practice undercuts American fishermen, threatens fish stocks and fuels cartel activity.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, led a Jan. 14 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calling on the agency to use its import restriction authority and other enforcement tools to stop illegally harvested red snapper from entering U.S. markets according to a news release. Cassidy and other Gulf lawmakers said enforcement at sea alone has not been enough to deter the activity.

“We write to express concern regarding the continued illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters in the Gulf of America. The Coast Guard has demonstrated sustained and effective operational enforcement through repeated interdictions and seizures; however, the continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea, by itself, is insufficient to eliminate the incentive to fish illegally. We urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner that supports law-abiding U.S. fisheries,” the senators wrote.

Read the full article at Gulf Coast Media

CALIFORNIA: California invests $10 million to restore salmon and steelhead habitats

January 22, 2026 — In a significant move to bolster California’s salmon population, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has allocated over $10 million in grants to 16 projects aimed at restoring, enhancing and protecting salmon and steelhead habitats across the state. This initiative is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s comprehensive strategy to address the challenges facing these vital fish populations.

The funding, awarded through CDFW’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP), includes contributions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. These efforts align with the objectives of the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future, which seeks to restore salmon populations and improve their habitats.

Among the funded projects, the Upper Klamath River Design and Planning Project was awarded $739,196 to the Mid Klamath Watershed Council. The project will develop a 100% level fisheries restoration design on 7 miles of Beaver Creek.

Read the full article at KRCR

Maine Sea Grant receives $2M in new NOAA awards to support innovative American lobster research, outreach

January 21, 2026 — The Maine Sea Grant Program at the University of Maine has received $2 million in funding.

$1.4 million of the funding comes from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), awarded to support research and outreach activities of the NOAA Sea Grant-funded American Lobster Initiative. Another $600,000 has been provided in second-year support for four 2025-26 American lobster research awards.

With this new four-year NOAA award, Maine Sea Grant and its regional partners will support collaborative research to address complex challenges facing the American lobster fishery, according to UMaine News, in a news release. The initiative will also synthesize research findings so they are accessible and actionable for fishermen, policymakers and the public, and support place-based technical assistance within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Southern New England region.

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is among the nation’s most valuable fisheries, with approximately 113 million pounds landed in 2024, valued at $715 million. The industry supports thousands of Maine families across the fishing and seafood supply chain and faces growing uncertainty driven by environmental and market change.

“This underscores the need for collaborative research to understand how lobsters are responding to changing conditions and how best to sustain the fishery,” said UMaine, in the release.

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Pilot

Federal appeals court urged to reel in fishing monitor rules

January 20, 2026 — A conservative legal group is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling allowing the government to charge New England commercial fishermen for the cost of boat monitors.

In a legal brief filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the New Civil Liberties Alliance asks the three-judge panel to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from enforcing an “unlawful” regulation requiring Atlantic herring fisherman to pay for the cost of federal monitors to observe their catch.

The legal fight stems from a 2024 ruling by the U.S. Supreme that overturned the so-called “Chevron doctrine,” a decades-old administrative law principle that directs courts to defer to a federal agency’s interpretation when regulations or policies are unclear.

The principle stems from the Supreme Court’s 1984 ruling in Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council, in which the justices said courts should defer to an agency in “ambiguous situations” as long as its interpretation of a law is “reasonable.”

Read the full article at The Center Square