Saving Seafood

AFSC researchers use AI to do more with less

April 21, 2026 —  Scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) in Juneau are increasingly using artificial intelligence to better track fish as climate changes, says Bob Foy, science and research director.

“We’ve been using AI for decades,” Foy said. “It is getting better and better,” he said on Thursday, April 16, while presenting on NOAA-AFSC data collection modernization at 2026 ComFish Alaska in Kodiak, the state’s annual largest fisheries and trade show.

All this is a process of doing more with less, as AFSC works to better monitor fisheries and make abundance surveys better.

“Things are changing in the ocean so fast that now is the time to change the gears, he said. “We are changing survey design.  Some of it is AI and it is getting better,” he said, as AFSC spreads its research efforts over about 100,000 square nautical miles, not including the Arctic.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US Celebrates 50 Years of the Law of Fisheries Management — the Magnuson-Stevens Act

April 17, 2026 –This week, fisheries managers, conservation activists, harvesters, processors and those who love seafood have cause to thank the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act (MSA), keystone legislation to sustainably manage the nation’s fishery resources, which turned 50 on Monday.

Led by the late US Senators Warren Magnuson (D-WA) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) in the Senate and Representatives Gerry Studds (D-MA) and Don Young (R-AK) in the House, Congress outlined a road map to expel foreign fleets from our waters and rebuild the fish stocks that were collapsing around the country. The Act also extended US jurisdiction from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles and established eight regional councils to protect the nation’s federal waters.

In 1976, Alaska’s Ted Stevens was a relative newcomer to the Senate, and Washington’s Warren Magnuson was nearing the end of his career.

“I had the distinct pleasure of serving as a member, chair, and vice chair of the Caribbean Council for many years,” remembered NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler on Monday. “In fact, it is the job title that I most cherish. I also had the good fortune of meeting Senator Stevens on a number of occasions, and something he told me has always stuck with me: ‘We don’t only manage fish. We manage people.’ This is why the councils and the commitment of its members are so important.”

Read the full article at SeafoodNews.com

Magnuson-Stevens turns 50 as NOAA cuts raise concern

April 14, 2026 —  The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) turns 50 today, marking a milestone for a law that has shaped nearly every aspect of modern U.S. commercial fishing.

Signed into law on April 13, 1976, by President Gerald Ford, the MSA laid the groundwork for federal fisheries management at a time when foreign fleets were working just off U.S. shores and domestic stocks were in steep decline. For many fishermen, the law’s legacy is tangible: rebuilt fisheries, more stable quotas, and a system that—while often debated—has brought a level of structure to an industry once defined by a race for fish.

Since its passage, dozens of previously depleted fish stocks have rebounded under management measures tied to the act. By 2000, more than 50 stocks had been rebuilt, and today fisheries like Atlantic sea scallops and Pacific widow rockfish stand as examples of how science-based management can restore both abundance and opportunity on the water.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA closing Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area on Monday morning

April 13, 2026 — Just a dozen days after it opened, NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective Monday at 12:01 a.m.

As of Monday, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area, NOAA said.

NOAA set the total allowable landing limit at 484,753 pounds for the season, down from 675,563 pounds in 2025. Scallop regulations require closure of the management area once NOAA projects that 100% of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside — 437,867 pounds in 2026 — will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year on March 31, 2027.

Trump budget proposal targets NOAA

April 7, 2026 — The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget request is drawing sharp concern from environmental groups and ocean advocates, with proposed cuts to key federal agencies that support fisheries science, management, and coastal communities.

According to Inside Climate News, the spending plan would continue efforts to scale back funding for climate and environmental programs, including significant reductions to NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The proposal outlines a broader push to “constrain non-defense spending,” while increasing defense funding to $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent jump.

At the EPA, funding would be cut roughly in half under the proposal, with grants reduced by $1 billion. Inside Climate News also reported that the agency has already seen significant staffing losses, with more than 4,000 employees leaving during the first year of Trump’s second term. That represents a 24 reduction in workforce, bringing staffing levels to their lowest point since the 1980s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA Reopens Northeast Canyons Nat’l Monument to Commercial Fishing

April 7, 2026 — NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has withdrawn a longstanding ban on commercial fishing within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The action follows through on a proclamation to reopen the area, signed by President Donald Trump in February – but certain gear types are still restricted.

The monument area covers about 4,900 square miles, and it is home to high-value species like red crab, mackerel and swordfish. In a statement, NOAA said that it was following input it had received from fishing companies and acting on a desire to improve economic conditions for fishermen.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

ThayerMahan reports successful anti-IUU fishing demonstration with NOAA Fisheries

April 3, 2026 — Maritime technology and surveillance company ThayerMahan reported a positive demonstration of its counter illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing solution with NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, validating its technologies for future use.

“This demonstration is important for our maritime national security, and the preservation of U.S. marine resources,” ThayerMahan Vice President Offshore Programs Greg Sabra said in a release. “We’ve proven to NOAA, the Coast Guard, and their partners that ThayerMahan’s advanced sensing and data flows give them a dependable, scalable, and repeatable way to observe protected waters and areas of interest, around the clock, with no crewed vessels or aircraft in the loop. This is how the United States can combat illicit actors at operational scale.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Rescinds Regulation Prohibiting Commercial Fishing in Atlantic Monument Area

April 3, 2026 — NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service rescinded a regulation that prohibited commercial fishing within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument boundaries. This action was necessary to align fishing regulations with President Trump’s Executive Proclamation Unleashing American Commercial Fishing in the Atlantic to reopen the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing.

NOAA is proud to support the Administration’s pledge to restore US seafood competitiveness through the America First Fishing Policy. The President’s Executive Proclamation and NOAA’s regulatory actions come as a direct result of feedback from the US fishing industry, and they will increase economic opportunities for American fishermen.

Read the full article at ECO Magazine