Saving Seafood

Environmental lawyers, Trump officials meet in court over fishing in Pacific monument

August 7, 2025 — Was the process of allowing commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument followed properly?

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in April to open PIHMNM to commercial fishing, in part by ordering that the secretary of commerce “shall not prohibit commercial fishing” in the monument, located in the central Pacific Ocean.

About a week later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that commercial fishing is no longer banned in those waters, and just days after that, longline fishing boats were observed fishing in the monument.

But environmental lawyers in a legal battle to stop the fishing say a formal process, which includes public hearings, is required first.

Read the full article at Hawaii Public Radio

2025 Coral Reef Survey Sets New Records in the Mariana Archipelago

August 7, 2025 — Scientists have returned from a 3-month expedition assessing coral reef health and ocean conditions in Wake Atoll, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The effort was part of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. The mission, funded by the Coral Reef Conservation Program, broke previous records for the number of fish and benthic surveys completed in a single year for this region.

Each year, scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center spend several months at sea gathering long-term data to monitor changes in coral reef ecosystems. These data help scientists, resource managers, and communities conserve reefs that protect our coastlines, sustain fisheries, and power local economies.

This year’s mission took scientists, aboard NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette, to the coral reefs of the Mariana Archipelago and Wake Atoll. Since the early 2000s, NOAA Fisheries has surveyed this region regularly, and the data collected this year will further enhance the long-term dataset. Summarized results from recent years are available through NOAA’s Data Visualization Tool, and all data can be accessed via Data.gov by searching “National Coral Reef Monitoring Program.”

Survey Study Area

Scientists traveled more than 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) from Honolulu, Hawai‘i to Wake Atoll. That’s roughly the same distance as crossing the continental United States from coast to coast! During the 10-day journey aboard Oscar Elton Sette, they prepared gear and instruments for the upcoming coral reef surveys.

Following 6 days of surveys around Wake Atoll, the ship traveled another 6 days to reach Guam. Over the next 2 months, scientists completed surveys throughout the Mariana Archipelago. They collected data critical to understanding the health and resilience of coral reefs in the region.

Islands visited in the Mariana archipelago:

  • Uracas (also known as Farallon de Pájaros)
  • Maug
  • Agrihan
  • Pagan
  • Alamagan
  • Guguan
  • Sarigan
  • Saipan
  • Tinian
  • Aguijan
  • Rota
  • Guam

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

RHODE ISLAND: Proposed NOAA cuts raise concerns for Rhode Island’s fishing industry

August 4, 2025 — President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the upcoming year includes significant cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), spurring pushback from Rhode Island lawmakers.

The administration is proposing a $1.6 billion year-over-year reduction to NOAA’s budget. The plan specifically calls for the complete elimination of funding for climate research in fiscal year 2026, which begins Oct. 1.

Some of these proposed cuts have already raised alarms among those who depend on NOAA’s services — particularly commercial fishermen in the Ocean State.

Point Judith fisherman Frederick Mattera has more than 40 years of experience. Mattera said his industry relies heavily on two specific aspects of NOAA that are at risk in next year’s budget: climate research and weather data.

Read the full article at WPRI

US Senate Commerce Committee advances Trump’s nominee to lead NOAA

August 1, 2025 — The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance the nomination of Neil Jacobs – a former NOAA acting administrator and U.S. President Donald Trump’s current pick to lead the agency once more.

Jacobs was first named acting administrator of NOAA in 2018 during Trump’s first administration, but his nomination was never approved by the full Senate. When Trump was succeeded by President Joe Biden, Jacobs was replaced by Richard Spinrad.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

2022 and 2023 Combined Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States

August 1, 2025 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries released the 2022 and 2023 Combined Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States. It includes information on confirmed cetacean (whale, dolphin, and porpoise) and pinniped (seal, fur seal, and sea lion) stranding rates, trends, and activities in the United States. In 2022, there were 6,061 confirmed strandings; in 2023, there were 6,648. The number of confirmed strandings in these years is comparable to the 16-year (2006-2021) average.

Responding to stranding events is essential for minimizing risks to public health and safety from stranded marine mammals and providing for animal welfare. And it is an essential resource for scientific information, management tools and decisions, and law enforcement investigations.

This is the fifth installment in a series of annual stranding reports compiled by the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. Overviews for the previous reports are on our website.

How to Report a Stranded Marine Mammal

The Stranding Network relies on reports of stranded marine mammals by the public to save animals in distress and understand causes of injuries and mortalities. If you come across a stranded marine mammal, remain a safe and legal distance from the animal. Please report the animal to your regional 24/7 hotline. The most important information to collect is:

  • Date and time
  • Location of the stranding (including latitude and longitude, if known)
  • Number of animals
  • Condition of the animal (alive or dead)
  • Species (if known)

Photos or videos from different angles and from a safe and legal distance can provide valuable information to Stranding Network responders. Stranded marine mammals are large, wild, unpredictable, and may have diseases that are transmissible to people. For these reasons—as well as legal requirements—only trained and authorized responders should approach or pick up a stranded marine mammal.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Conservation groups to sue NOAA Fisheries, US Coast Guard over West Coast vessel strikes on whales

July 31, 2025 — The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Friends of the Earth plan to sue NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Coast Guard over vessel strikes on whales and sea turtles off the coast of California.

According to CBD, neither NOAA Fisheries nor the Coast Guard have properly analyzed how California shipping lane designations could contribute to vessel strikes on whales or sea turtles.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: First salmon in nearly 100 years found in Northern California river

July 30, 2025 — An endangered species has returned to its Northern California river habitat for the first time in almost a century, wildlife officials said.

Winter-run chinook salmon — one of nine species considered to be most at risk of extinction by NOAA — have been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1994. But new concerns for the species came to light after California’s historic statewide drought between 2012 and 2016, when the fish all but vanished from the McCloud River, which flows through Siskiyou and Shasta counties.

The construction of Shasta Dam above the 77-mile-long waterway had already been causing problems for the species since the late 1930s, cutting them off from the mountain streams kept cool by melting snow where they like to spawn. But when the dam lost its own cold water pool during the drought, increasing water temperatures and reduced oxygen rates led to the deaths of 95 to 98% of eggs and recently hatched salmon incubating in their nests, according to NOAA.

So it came as a surprise when, earlier this month, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed reports of adult Chinook salmon in the river near Ash Camp. Officials saw one female exhibiting spawning behavior and “guarding her nest,” while multiple smaller males were observed nearby, competing to spawn themselves, the agency wrote of the July 15 sighting.

Read the full article at KCRA

NOAA Fisheries confirms 64 large whale ‘entanglements’ in 2023

July 28, 2025 — Fishing gear is a hazard to whales. When they get caught in fishing lines, it’s called “entanglement” and it puts them at risk for injury and death.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps track of the incidents, and its latest report, released this month, shows data from 2023. That’s when 64 large whales were found entangled in fishing gear in U.S. waters.

That confirmed number was down from the previous year, when there were 67 incidents.

Read the full article at KPBS

Marine heatwaves impact maturation of black rockfish

July 24, 2025 — A newly released study by Oregon State University and NOAA Fisheries researchers shows that marine heat waves in increasing frequency are having an impact on the growth and maturation of black rockfish in Oregon and Washington.

“We do know that the occurrence of marine heatwaves is more often and more intense,” said Claire Rosemond, now a fisheries biologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Newport, Ore. “There are some monitored ocean indicators that can help us understand if the coming year would be warmer or cooler, but it is harder to predict how hot or how cold.”

Results of her dissertation while at OSU with fisheries biologist Melissa Head, also of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Scott Heppell, a professor at OSU ‘s Department of Fisheries Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, were published on June 3 in the journal Ecological Applications.

The study investigated the impact of intense and less intense marine heatwaves on black rockfish reproduction and growth along the Pacific Coast between 2014 and 2021.
They found that while black rockfish exhibited elevated growth during intense marine heatwaves, their maturation was delayed. In fact, during intense marine heatwaves, maturation was postponed, reproductive success was lower by one third, and parasite prevalence in ovaries was nominally high.

Younger females were large at age during intense marine heatwaves, and throughout the last decade, growth rate coefficients were higher than what is typically expected for slower-growing fishes like rockfishes.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine Sea Grant students helping state conserve endangered Atlantic salmon

July 22, 2025 — Atlantic Salmon have been on the brink of extinction for more than two decades, but through conservation efforts researchers in Maine are working to improve the species growth while also building the next generation of marine scientists.

From fish stocking to lab work, students are diving into efforts to help conserve the endangered Atlantic salmon along the Gulf of Maine this summer though a program offered by Maine Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries.

“We take genetic samples and scale samples and all kinds of stuff, so we can continue to have data on them into the future,” said Maine Sea Grant Intern Wade Hill.

Read the full article at Fox 22