Saving Seafood

MAINE: What’s the biggest threat to the lobster industry?

September 1, 2026 — Lobstermen are under threat. They all agree on that much. The threats they describe vary from one to the next. But they are worried about their future, and the future of a livelihood that many learned from their fathers and grandfathers and want to pass to their children and grandchildren.

The risks are larger than any one lobsterman — or even the industry as a whole. Lobstering “is not only an economic driver of coastal and island communities, it is an identity of our communities,” said Kristin Garabedian, a community development officer with the Island Institute’s Center for the Marine Economy. In other words, losing lobstering would make a town like Harpswell less like Harpswell.

Most lobstermen see the biggest threats coming from outsiders pursuing their own aims without regard for the lobstermen who live and work here. Those might be wind-power proponents, whale protectors, big businesses or homebuyers.

Few, if any, see climate change as an immediate or catastrophic threat, although they are deeply in tune with the changes happening in the Gulf of Maine and are worried about human impacts on the environment they depend on.

Read the full article at Harpswell Anchor 

Climate change may halve omega‑3 fatty acids in fish and the organisms they eat

August 31, 2026 — You’ve probably heard eating fish and other seafood is good for your health. One of the main reasons is that seafood is an excellent source of two important omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA.

EPA and DHA are critical for the development and function of brains, eyes and healthy hearts. They also reduce chronic inflammation, which is linked to many chronic diseases. They can also reduce the risk of premature births and perhaps even some types of cancer.

While humans can produce EPA and DHA from ALA (an omega-3 fat found in plants) and it’s possible to get them from foods such as linseed and walnuts, seafood is the main source for most people.

However, our new study shows many fish and other seafood will become less rich in omega-3s over time, due to rising ocean temperatures as the climate changes. In fact, we found omega-3 could drop by 50% under very high warming scenarios.

This is very bad news for human health but also for the health of other animals in the food web.

Read the full article at The Conversation 

‘We’re facing a double whammy’: America’s hottest tinned fish snack is shrinking by nearly half thanks to climate change and war in Iran

August 31, 2026 — Tinned fish is having a real global moment. The pandemic-era pantry habit has since turned into restaurants nationwide serving tinned fish straight out of the can. Domestically, sales climbed from $2.3 billion in 2018 to more than $2.7 billion in 2024, and the U.S.’s obsession with sardines specifically is only accelerating: Americans bought $3.52 billion worth of shelf-stable seafood over the past year, and sardines have overtaken salmon as the second-most-popular canned fish behind tuna, as Grubhub reported orders of tinned fish tripled in 2025. The global tinned fish market was worth roughly $10.24 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $17.97 billion by 2034. Canned sardines are a meaningful part of that worldwide push.

But the supply behind that growing appetite is shrinking fast. Morocco, the world’s top sardine supplier, saw its fish landings fall nearly 46% between 2022 and 2024, and the reasons are feeding into each other. Because sardines are unusually sensitive to temperature, warming water as a result of climate change is pushing the fish into new territories farther away from fishermen.

The war in Iran, coupled with the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz (through which one-fifth of the world’s global oil supply normally passes), is driving up fuel costs. Fishermen now need to go farther to catch the fish, just as it’s costing them that much more to travel longer distances, and they’re bringing back almost half the quantity as before.

Rashid Sumaila, a professor and Canada Research Chair in interdisciplinary ocean and fisheries economics at the University of British Columbia, has spent his career studying fisheries and how they navigate geopolitical forces. He said the combination is something he hadn’t seen affect the fishing industry in quite this way before.

“Sardines are very sensitive to climate change, and we know it here on the Pacific Coast,” Sumaila told Fortune. “When it’s warm, sardines move from Mexico through the U.S., and Canadians see more sardines. They follow the temperature.”

He said Morocco’s sardines are shifting, too, and he saw the same thing while on a trip to Portugal this summer, when he left his hotel at 2 a.m. for an early flight and the temperature was still 34°C (91°F).

“Some of that 45% drop is partly climate change, and partly overfishing, and other things happening to the ocean,” he said. “There’s just so much. You have pollution, plastic. Stresses upon stresses.”

The Iran war adds a second layer. While Iran’s own waters are not a major sardine source, Sumaila said the war still reaches Moroccan boats through the price of fuel.

“The Iran war doesn’t quite impact this directly,” he said, “but indirectly it does, because prices are going up. The price of fishing, the vessels, the energy. It’s crazy.”

Since the conflict began, Brent crude surged 10% to 13% after the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to shipping this spring, an event the International Energy Agency called the largest oil-supply disruption in the market’s history. Sumaila said he heard the same complaint from fishermen thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf.

“Thai fishers are feeling it,” he said. “You can imagine Moroccan fishers, or fishers in Africa or the Pacific Islands, feeling it too.”

Read the full article at Fortune

Earth is simmering in its hottest water temps on record, and that’s bad for fish and us

August 25, 2026 — The world’s oceans simmered to their hottest temperatures on record over the weekend and are likely to warm even further in the next few months, putting stress on life in the water and on land too, the European climate service Copernicus announced Monday.

Spurred by a still growing but already supersized natural El Nino and human-caused climate change, the world’s ocean temperatures hit 21.1 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday and Saturday, narrowly edging out the average daily record set in March 2024, said Samantha Burgess, strategic climate lead for Copernicus.

“This is yet another sign of our climate system under strain and the ocean under immense pressure,” Burgess said.

Jane Lubchenco, an oceanographer and former chief of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called the record “very troubling.”

“An ocean this warm destabilizes weather patterns and threatens food security, economic prosperity and marine life,” Lubchenco said in an email. “A warmer ocean is not our friend.”

Read the full article at Associated Press

Lobsters and acidic seas: can shellfish help neutralise one of the greatest threats to the ocean?

August 21, 2026 — For many in the US region of New England, the lobster roll is synonymous with summertime. Loaded into a toasted bun, chunks of the sweet meat are served hot and soaked in butter, or chilled and slathered in mayonnaise with celery and herbs.

The only thing more debated than the recipe is the price: the once-humble roll now routinely fetches $30 (£22), or even $50, in a sign of the changing times – and seas.

A third-generation lobster fisherman, Scott Lord spends his days hauling traps on the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. “Whether you agree with who says why it’s happening, it is happening,” he says.

Bycatch that was once plentiful, such as sea urchins, sand dollars or starfish, are increasingly rare. And, most concerning, Lord has noticed the number of inshore lobsters dropping dramatically over the past 15 years, pushing fishers farther and farther offshore.

Motivated to find a remedy, Lord joined a regional shellfish committee. “Why are there not clams where there used to be clams? Why are they not coming back, no matter what we do?” he asks.

Hundreds of miles to the south in Massachusetts, on a sandy crook of land that spins out to form Cape Cod, Adam Subhas, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is trying to find the answers.

Read the full article at The Guardian

ALASKA: ‘How do you buy time?’ Scientists look to slow an Alaska glacier’s march to the sea

August 21, 2026 — The Valerie Glacier is sliding toward the ocean, fast. Over the course of 18 days in July, the glacier galloped a whopping 150 feet— the length of four school buses parked end-to-end.

With it went a small research camp, made up of a cluster of tents pitched under jagged peaks. The scientists were there to study the Valerie and whether it might be possible to slow its disappearance into the sea.

As the team donned snowshoes and skis to head into the field, Melenda Lekanof, the project’s community liaison, took in the seemingly endless glaciated landscape. She said she was thinking about her ancestors – the Ginéix Kwáan or Kwáashk’ikwáan, of the Copper River region – migrating through here centuries ago.

“It’s breathtaking, and it’s a bit overwhelming, because this is part of who I am,” said Lekanof, who is from Yakutat and is Tlingit and Aleut.

But she’s also worried about the future. The world’s glaciers have lost about 5% of their ice since 2000 as temperatures rise with climate change. And Alaska’s glaciers are disappearing even more quickly.

“I don’t know if this is going to be here in my time,” Lekanof said. She added: “We need to know what’s going on.”

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

IFFO reports weak fishmeal and fish oil output as El Niño impacts fisheries

August 20, 2026 — IFFO – the Marine Ingredients Organization is reporting continued weak output of fishmeal and fish oil as a coastal El Niño weather pattern impacts raw material availability.

Scientists warned in July that a “Super” El Niño was likely to develop in 2026, causing a wave of different impacts on multiple global fisheries. Fisheries were already anticipating the phenomenon before it started to gain strength but, ultimately, could do little but react to warming water.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina weighs habitat protections, fishing licenses

August 19, 2026 — North Carolina fisheries managers will consider advancing new coastal habitat protections and setting the number of commercial fishing licenses available for the coming year at the Marine Fisheries Commission meeting on August 19-20 in Raleigh.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to release a proposed 2026 amendment to the state’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan for public and advisory committee review. The action would not adopt the plan or create new fishing restrictions but could set the stage for a broader habitat rulemaking process beginning in 2027, according to the Island Free Press.

The draft amendment calls for further consideration of how fishing gear and other activities affect submerged aquatic vegetation, or underwater grass beds, as well as deep-water oyster recovery areas. Any regulations developed through that process would require additional commission approval and public review.

North Carolina’s coastal waters have historically supported nearly 200,000 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation, which provides spawning, nursery, and feeding habitat for commercial and recreationally important species. The draft says those grass beds are declining by more than 1 percent annually as water clarity, warming temperatures, and sea-level rise affect coastal waters.

The proposed habitat work would also overlap with upcoming reviews of the state’s shrimp and bay scallop fishery management plans. Marine Fisheries staff are recommending delaying the bay scallop review until 2027 so it can move forward alongside the shrimp review and habitat rule development.

If the amendment is released for review, the commission would consider comments from the public and advisory committees before the plan returns for possible final action in November.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

$15M grant aims to protect New England’s ‘legacy’ seafood industry

August 17, 2026 — This grant will fund new fishery technology and innovations, which will help researchers at URI and other partners better understand the changing sea environment.

The seafood industry has long been an economic driver in Rhode Island, but it’s facing a number of challenges — including rising costs, warming waters and an aging workforce. In an effort to combat these obstacles, the National Science Foundation has awarded a $15 million grant to the University of Rhode Island and several regional partners.

Morning host Luis Hernandez spoke with Marta Gomez-Chiarri, an aquaculture and fisheries professor at URI, about how her lab is hoping to use the money to spur technological innovations that can help strengthen the health and viability of the local seafood industry.

Read the full article at Ocean State Media

El Niño could bring highest sea levels ever recorded to CA coast

August 11, 2026 — A strengthening El Niño could bring the highest sea levels ever recorded to the California coast this year, raising the risk of widespread and damaging flooding.

It’s the latest effect forecast for what’s expected to be an historically strong event, one forecasters warn could also lash Southern California with powerful rain and broil both land and sea with punishing heat waves.

“We’re expecting likely the highest sea levels ever recorded on the California coast associated with this event,” said Mark Merrifield, director of the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation.

During a recent online town hall, Merrifield presented a NASA satellite image showing sea levels already more than half a foot higher in the eastern Pacific Ocean compared to the reference state, and said by this fall and winter, “we should be seeing sea levels far above the average seasonal cycle.”

According to NASA, El Niño’s warmer ocean water displaces colder water close to the sea surface. Warmer water causes a rise in the sea surface height because water expands as temperature rises.

Data collected by scientists over the years also have shown how El Niños contribute to “enormously strong” waves, which can cause beaches to “erode and to narrow,” Merrifield said. “It’s well documented that during El Niño events, beaches across the entire state tend to move landward by about 30 meters [98 feet] or so.”

Read the full article at the Seattle Times