Saving Seafood

Shutdown means some fishermen can use expired permits, NOAA says

October 24, 2025 — Fishermen in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico can continue to fish on expired permits through the government shutdown as long as they have applied for renewals, according to NOAA’s Southeast regional office.

In a bulletin issued Wednesday, regulators said the shutdown, now in its 23rd day, has created a backlog of applications at the agency’s St. Petersburg permitting office, creating a potential disruption for thousands of fishermen and dockside dealers who purchase their catches.

Read the full article at E&E News

US senators demand NOAA Fisheries nominee address fisheries surveys

October 23, 2025 — U.S. senators used a hearing for U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead NOAA Fisheries to demand the administration improve the survey work necessary to manage the nation’s commercial fisheries.

On 22 October, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing for Congressional staffer Timothy Petty, the president’s nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, where he would oversee NOAA Fisheries. After former President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the agency, Janet Coit, stepped down at the end of his administration, NOAA Fisheries was initially led by longtime NOAA employee Emily Menashes. She was replaced in April when the White House named former commercial fisherman and officeholder Eugenio Piñeiro Soler acting assistant administrator.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA nominee pledges ‘scientific integrity’ in fisheries regulation

October 23, 2025 — Lawmakers representing the nation’s fishing communities pressed President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee oceans and fisheries to prioritize baseline surveys and stock assessments that undergird the nation’s $320 billion dollar seafood economy.

In a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Timothy Petty pledged to kick-start stalled surveys and other research necessary to set fundamental fishing regulations — including annual catch limits, the length of fishing seasons, fishing area closures, and restrictions on activities that could harm the overall health of fish and other marine life.

“Our seafood industry needs two things from the federal government: surveys and timely promulgation of regulations to open fisheries,” Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan told Petty, who awaits confirmation for assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere.

Read the full article at E&E News

ALASKA: UAF/ADF&G collaborate on king salmon smolt project

October 23, 2025 — A new study of king salmon smolt aims to track their trail from fresh water to the ocean to better understand the troubles facing this prized Alaska fishery.

The project, which began this past summer, is a collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). It is funded by a $4 million federal earmark through NOAA to research juvenile king salmon.

Resources for studying king salmon have been largely focused on adult fish. This one will concentrate on those in the smolt stage, a relatively understudied period of development.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

MARYLAND: Maryland lawmaker pushes for final decision on offshore wind project

October 22, 2025 — Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza is urging federal officials to reject offshore wind energy development off the coast of Ocean City.

In a letter to Eugenio Piñeiro-Soler, Assistant Secretary at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Carozza expressed support for his recent visit to Ocean City and a September 24 meeting at Sunset Marina. She said attendees were encouraged by his remarks and hope for a final rejection of US Wind’s project, as well as any future offshore wind proposals.

Carozza outlined concerns about the size and number of turbines, potential impacts on marine life, commercial fishing, tourism, and Maryland ratepayers. She also cited testimony from a January Congressional field hearing in Ocean City, where industry representatives highlighted flaws in offshore wind planning and warned of risks to commercial fisheries and food security.

Read the full article at CoastTV

Advancement of Young Fishermen’s Development Act reauthorization

October 21, 2025 — The Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC) commends the Senate Commerce, Science, and Technology Committee for marking up S.2357, the Young Fishermen’s Development Extension Act, which reauthorizes the Young Fishermen’s Development Act (YFDA) program for a second five-year period. By advancing this legislation, Congress is recommitting to America’s fishing industry, supporting workforce development, and promoting the safety, prosperity, and ingenuity of our nation’s early-career commercial fishermen.

“The YFDA is a true example of policy responding to and supporting community needs,” said Michelle Stratton, Executive Director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. “Workforce development programs like the Young Fishermen’s Development Grant are more than symbolic investments. They are lifelines to sustaining working waterfronts, nurturing the next generation of stewards, and maintaining resilient local economies. In the first five years of the program, we’ve seen how targeted training, mentorship, and technical assistance help bridge the gap for early-career harvesters struggling with volatile markets and ever-increasing barriers to success. By reauthorizing this program, Congress sends a clear signal that the United States values its fishing heritage and is committed to securing seafood supply chains, thriving coastal communities, and opportunities for young, dedicated fishermen. We thank Senators Sullivan and Murkowski and the bill’s cosponsors for their leadership and urge swift advancement of this legislation.”

Five years ago Congress passed and President Trump signed the original YFDA and launched the program. The success of the YFDA hinges upon a strong alliance between elected officials, our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) partners, and organizations like commercial fishing associations and universities to fund, develop, and advance these innovative workforce development and retention efforts. We are deeply grateful that Senator Sullivan and the bill’s co-sponsors, Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) are committed to reauthorizing the YFDA.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Rare North Atlantic right whale grows population to 384

October 21, 2025 — One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth in the wake of new efforts to protect the giant animals, according to scientists who study them.

The North Atlantic right whale now numbers an estimated 384 animals, up eight whales from the previous year, according to a report by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium released Tuesday. The whales have shown a trend of slow population growth over the past four years and have gained more than 7% of their 2020 population, the consortium said.

It’s a welcome development in the wake of a troubling decline in the previous decade. The population of the whales, which are vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear, fell about 25% from 2010 to 2020.

The whale’s trend toward recovery is a testament to the importance of conservation measures, said Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist with the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. The center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collaborate to calculate the population estimate.

New management measures in Canada that attempt to keep the whales safe amid their increased presence in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have been especially important, Hamilton said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Lawmakers to question NOAA, energy nominees

October 21 2025 — Senate committees will question nominees to NOAA and the Tennessee Valley Authority this week as the administration looks to reform operations there.

As assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere, Timothy Petty would oversee NOAA Fisheries, whose role in regulating commercial and recreational fisheries has become a major policy focus for the administration.

In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the Commerce Department to restore America’s seafood competitiveness, including by rolling back environmental restrictions on commercial fishing fleets and stepping up enforcement of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that has harmed the U.S. seafood industry.

Read the full article at E&E News

MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor of New Bedford urges NOAA to approve proposal allowing scallop permit stacking

October 20, 2025 — The mayor of the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is calling on NOAA Fisheries to allow full-time scallop vessels to stack two permits on one vessel.

Mayor Jon Mitchell, in a letter sent to NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, called on the agency to allow for permit stacking in order to help protect the industry. Mitchell’s letter said he has reconsidered his position on the matter, as the scallop fishery continues to face limited days at sea.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Gay Head Lighthouse joins right whale protection network

October 20, 2025 —  The Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah has joined a marine safety network meant to reduce the number of vessel strikes for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

StationKeeper tracks vessel activity and sends messages directly from shore to vessels. Equipment installed at participating lighthouses makes it possible to warn mariners to slow down when they’re traveling through right whale habitat.

Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown is a StationKeeper site, and more recently, the Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah has joined the network, Gay Head Lighthouse principal keeper Chris Manning said.

“[StationKeeper] communicates and integrates with NOAA [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] to receive whale location data, and in turn it sends that information and the speed restriction zones to ships passing nearby,” he said. “As far as our role at the lighthouse, we host the system, but the system really operates and runs all on its own.”

Read the full article at CAI