Saving Seafood

US lawmakers advance bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office

July 17, 2026 — U.S. representatives on the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance a bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office on 15 July.

“The House just took a key step toward investment in the science, restoration, and education that’s essential to the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek said in a statement. “We’re grateful to House leaders for advancing the WATERS Act and look forward to action in the Senate on the companion bill.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Golden-sponsored bill to extend pause on new lobster fishing rules

July 16, 2026 — The Maine lobster industry may be getting an extended reprieve on new regulations aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales.

A bill, the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), will extend a moratorium on those regulations for Maine lobster fishermen until 2035. Yesterday, the bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 22-13.

In remarks to the committee, Golden noted that many communities in Maine rely on the lobster industry, and are being threatened by the new regulations.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

US congressional committee votes to extend moratorium on new right whale regulations through 2035

July 16, 2026 — In a 22-13 vote, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation that would extend a five-year pause on new lobster regulations related to North Atlantic right whales through 2035.

“Protecting the North Atlantic right whale and supporting America’s fishing communities are goals that can and must go hand in hand. By extending the current regulatory framework through 2035, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act provides the time needed to develop durable, science-driven solutions that protect this endangered species without imposing unnecessary burdens on fishermen,” U.S. Representative Mike Lawler (R-New York) said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Nonprofit sues Trump administration to learn why it’s modifying right whale speed rule

July 9, 2026 — The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has sued the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to find out more about the process behind the government’s decision to roll back a vessel speed limit designed to protect North Atlantic right whales.

“The public has a right to know who’s behind a government process that could condemn these whales to extinction,” CBD Oceans Legal Director Kristen Monsell said in a release. “Right whales are facing threats from all directions, and the speed rule is one of their few protections. Federal officials should be making decisions based on science and forward thinking, not industry cronyism and short-term profits at the expense of the ocean’s future.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Tech helps boaters slow down for the endangered North Atlantic right whale, though new federal protections unlikely

July 2, 2026 — Last year, the Museum of Coastal Carolina agreed to take part in the ship speed monitoring system during the endangered right whale calving season. The technology was installed through a partnership between the federal agency, NOAA, and Maritime Information Systems, Incorporated.

The museum, located in Ocean Isle Beach, joined about 60 other entities along the East Coast to send signals to ships 65 feet and longer to slow down to 10 knots in certain management areas from the beginning of November until the end of April.

Jamie Justice is the director of programs and exhibits for the Ocean Island Museum Foundation, which runs the Museum of Coastal Carolina and Ingram Planetarium.

“We’ve got an antenna that sends the signals out in about a 50-mile radius,” she said.

Read the full article at WHQR

One lobsterman’s lawsuit going to the Supreme Court

June 24, 2026 — In 2023, the state of Maine mailed a package to Vinalhaven lobsterman Frank Thompson. “I got the little black thing in the mail, and the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) said, ‘hook it up and turn it on.’ I did. They wanted to track us, to collect data. Some guys mailed it back, but the DMR just sent it back to them. But I was curious, and so I sent it to a friend of mine at Google, and he said, ‘yeah, it’s tracking you 24/7 whether you’re fishing or not, and it has the potential to transmit video and audio.’”

According to legal filings, available here, “the primary purpose is to reduce the risk of North Atlantic right whales from getting entangled in fishing lines… (1) improve information available to fishery managers and stock assessment scientists; (2) support the development of offshore renewable energy in U.S. waters; and (3) improve the efficiency and efficacy of fishery management and offshore enforcement efforts in the EEZ.”

It was too much for Thompson and many other lobstermen, who contend that then DMR commissioner Pat Keliher told them that it had nothing to do with the whales or the wind, but never gave a definitive answer on what it was for, even when asked. They say it violates their 4th Amendment protection from unlawful search and seizure, and Thompson is now taking the case to the Supreme Court.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Endangered whale recently seen off Cape Cod may need rescue after entanglement

June 15, 2026 — A young right whale that was seen off Massachusetts two months ago may need to be rescued after it was observed in Canadian waters with fishing gear in its mouth.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said that on June 8, aerial observers spotted an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Shippagan, New Brunswick. They said if the whale is spotted again and conditions allow, “efforts will be made to remove any gear from the animal.”

The New England Aquarium said that the unnamed 5-year-old male was seen gear-free in Cape Cod Bay on April 21.

Read the full article at CBS News

Highly endangered right whales see a baby boom, but threats still loom

May 22, 2026 — A jump from 11 North Atlantic right whale births in 2024-25 season to 23 for this season might sound like a nice little bump.

But when the entire population of the North Atlantic right whale can fit in the main stage at Wilmington’s Thalian Hall, you know overall numbers are still incredibly low.

Still, researchers and environmentalists say this season’s calving numbers for the highly endangered marine mammal are a positive sign − especially after some subpar years since the start of the 2010s.

The 2025-26 season represented the highest number of births since 2009, and the fourth highest on record.

Read the full article at Star News Online

Right whale calving season brings ‘cautiously optimistic’ hope

May 14, 2026 — North Atlantic right whales, which give birth off the coast of Georgia, the Carolinas and Florida each winter, had their most successful calving season in more than 15 years. There are only about 380 right whales still alive, so every new baby is considered critical to keeping the species from extinction.

Scientists spotted 23 right whale calves swimming with their moms this past calving season, which runs from November to April. It’s the most new calves since 2009. The number has researchers “cautiously optimistic,” said Amy Warren, scientific program officer at the New England Aquarium. But she said calving is only part of the whales’ story.

“Having 23 calves is excellent, but we hope that all of these 23 calves can make it through the first year and then into adulthood,” she said.

It’s not uncommon for calves and adult whales alike to be killed, often by boat strikes or entanglements in fishing gear.

Read the full article at Savannah Now

Conservationists ask to defend US right whale speed rule in court

May 14, 2026 — A group of conservation organizations have filed a request to defend vessel speed limits designed to protect North Atlantic right whales from a legal challenge, questioning U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration’s willingness to fully defend the regulation in court.

“With lawmakers and the Trump administration trying to delay right whale safeguards for another decade, preserving the Vessel Speed Rule is more important than ever,” Conservation Law Foundation Senior Counsel Erica Fuller said in a release. “This rule is the only one that protects the few remaining right whales from vessel strikes. Weakening it would be a reckless abandonment of our responsibility to protect endangered marine life and the health of our oceans for generations to come.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource