Saving Seafood

Beyond Ocean Mapping: Using Uncrewed Vehicles to Advance Ocean Research

August 21, 2026 —  It’s January off of Nantucket Shoals. An uncrewed surface vehicle begins a series of carefully planned transects through Southern New England, collecting data day and night. There are no scientists onboard, but the 30-foot vessel is constantly measuring ocean currents, water temperature, salinity, weather and other ocean conditions. It’s also helping identify areas with high fish and plankton abundance. Every nautical mile traveled adds to a more complete picture of how marine ecosystems function.

These missions reflect NOAA’s growing use of uncrewed systems technology. Traditionally, these autonomous platforms have supported hydrographic surveys, nautical charting, and ocean mapping. But the benefits extend beyond creating better maps. Today, the same technologies are helping scientists answer complex ecological and oceanographic questions. They’re collecting critical, high-accuracy, and time-sensitive data across nearly every mission area.

“Over the last several years, we have been able to expand the applications for how uncrewed surface vehicles can help with various research related to stock, ecosystem, and protected species evaluations and assessments,” explains Dr. Conor McManus, marine development and advanced technology program lead for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “With each mission we conduct, we are learning more about the Northeast U.S. Shelf ecosystem, but also how we can better operationalize these technologies to meet our scientific or data needs.”

These technological advances are expanding where, when, and how our scientists collect ocean data. The results allow researchers to observe the ocean more continuously and in places that are difficult to sample with ships alone. These vehicles complement ship-based surveys—filling gaps in data that can arise from challenges like winter weather and limited ship availability.

This year, there were three uncrewed surface vehicle missions in the Northeast—two operated by Chance Maritime Technologies and one using DriX. They demonstrated how the benefits of uncrewed survey technology can answer many different scientific questions.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Seafloor boulders challenge fishermen, and energy developers

August 18, 2026 — Boulder fields have strewn the sea floor off southern New England since the ice ages. Commercial fishermen have maneuvered around those obstacles for generations.

Now with offshore wind projects in the region, subsea cable installers have relocated some stones to make way – changing the bottom seascape and potentially creating new hazards for towed gear and access to traditional fishing grounds.

A new report from the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program and the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University School of Law is titled Boulder Relocation for Offshore Energy Development in Rhode Island: Artificial Reefs and Cross-Industry Collaboration.

The paper examines legal and policy considerations around the permitting of boulder relocation – and looks at how the process could “better incorporate commercial fishermen into planning and decision-making,” according to a Sea Grant summary.

Read the full article at WorkBoat 

NOAA Report Finds Gulf of Maine Warming Slowed for Now, but Ecosystem Remains Unstable

July 28, 2026 — Maine’s fishing ports are doing well for now, but climate change is destabilizing the Gulf of Maine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest “State of the Ecosystem” report for New England waters. Federal scientists presented the report to the New England Fishery Management Council in April, and published it online last week.

They found that some Maine fishing ports are growing busier, likely driven by the high price of lobster. Stonington, Harpswell and Friendship all see more activity now than they did roughly 20 years ago.

And 2025, like 2024, offered slightly cooler water temperatures after more than a decade of rapid and record-breaking warming in the Gulf of Maine. But the scientists predict that temperatures will warm again this fall, and will continue to rise long-term as the burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

To weather these ongoing changes, fishermen and their communities need to diversify their businesses, experts say.

“Things don’t look particularly stable either in terms of the fishery or the ecosystem,” said Joseph Caracappa, a research biologist at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center who edited the report. “We’re seeing big changes that are sweeping across the ecology of the system and fisheries. Even socially, culturally — how communities are structured, where people are fishing, who’s actually doing the fishing.”

This annual report includes contributions from more than 100 scientists across the Northeast. NOAA has had to make do with fewer resources as the federal government’s priorities have changed under the second Trump administration, but otherwise the report has been prepared and published as usual, Caracappa said. And in fact, this latest report debuted a new section dedicated to forecasting ocean conditions in the year ahead.

Read the full article at U.S. News

URI Studying Jonah Crabs to Learn about Offshore Wind Turbines’ Effect on Underwater Ecosystems

July 28, 2026 — Since the first offshore wind project was developed in Rhode Island in 2016, University of Rhode Island researchers have been attempting to understand their impacts on local marine ecosystems. That work is continuing with first-year URI Ph.D. student Emmanuel Oyewole’s study of the artificial reefs that are often found at the base of turbines.

It’s been established through research surrounding offshore wind that the base of turbines serves as a foundation for algae and coral, which acts as a base for a booming ecosystem

In an attempt to find the cause of this blossoming of aquatic activity, Oyewole is studying the movement and dietary habits of one special creature found at the base of offshore wind turbines: Jonah crabs. He’s working with his academic advisor, Kelton McMahon, an associate professor of oceanography.

“It’s really, really important for understanding the impact of these wind farms on biodiversity, on ecosystem structure and function, and on fisheries production,” McMahon said.

Jonah crabs were often overlooked by Rhode Island commercial fishermen and were thrown away when caught in lobster traps, according to Oyewole, but as the local lobster population has declined due to overfishing and warming waters, the Jonah crab population has become a viable source of income.

Oyewole said Jonah crabs have seen an increase in market value and about 70% to 85% of all Jonah crab stock is from the Rhode Island area. Jonah crab fishing doesn’t require new equipment or infrastructure; lobster boats can use the same lobster cages to catch the crabs. Although the market for Jonah crabs is new and growing, understanding the impacts of offshore wind is important in understanding the future of the market.

“If [the turbines] are aggregating different biomasses from different areas, that means that you’re having a lot of stock like Jonah crab stock coming from fishable areas to that particular area, which is less fishable,” Oyewole said.

Read the full article at ecoRI

Offshore wind turbines create home for Jonah crabs in New England as lobster population declines

July 16, 2026 — From the docks at the Port of Galilee in Narragansett, fishermen are selling lobster, but they’re also selling Jonah crab, a crustacean that’s been making itself at home near offshore wind turbines.

Historically, Jonah crabs that were caught in lobster traps were thrown back out to sea, but things started to change in the early 2010s when fishermen started targeting the species. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attributes the shift to a decline in lobsters in Southern New England waters.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission estimated there were roughly 50 million lobsters in this area in 1998. Fast forward to 2022, and the population dropped to less than 10 million.

“Environmental conditions in the American lobster’s range are changing at some of the fastest rates in the world,” the Commission wrote on its website. “The 2025 Assessment indicates the [Southern New England] stock is significantly depleted and overfishing is not occurring.”

Read the full article at WPRI

National Marine Fisheries study determines four genetically different cod populations in Gulf of Maine, southern New England, adjusts management

July 1, 2026 — The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has approved an update to the Multispecies Fishery Management Plan developed by the New England Fishery Management Council. The plan is to improve management of the chronically overfished Atlantic cod population and rebuild the historic New England fishery by incorporating new genetic information and requiring 100% observer coverage, according to a June 30 news release.

For more than 40 years, Atlantic cod has been managed as two distinct populations: Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. Recent studies, however, show there are four genetically distinct populations: Eastern Gulf of Maine, Western Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Southern New England. Using new genetic data to count and manage each population individually is a more effective way to reduce overfishing, prevent collapse, and help rebuild fish populations, the NMFS said.

“Sound science is the foundation of good management. We commend the National Marine Fisheries Service for integrating new genetic data to create forward-looking policies for one of New England’s most iconic and economically vital fisheries,” said Gib Brogan, Fishery Campaign Director for Oceana, in the release. “Using this new genetic information will lead to better management within each population of Atlantic cod to prevent overfishing, reduce the risk of collapse, and rebuild fish populations for future generations.” 

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Pilot

Council Approves HAPC for Southern New England; Previews Northeast Regional Habitat Assessment Data Explorer

July 18, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council voted in late June to establish a new Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) that overlaps offshore wind-energy lease sites in Southern New England and includes a 10-kilometer buffer on all sides of the sites (see map below).

The Council selected this area to highlight its concerns over potential adverse impacts from offshore wind development on: (1) sensitive hard-bottom habitats; and (2) cod spawning activity. If approved by NOAA Fisheries, the HAPC designation would be applied during the essential fish habitat (EFH) consultation process for offshore wind projects in the area. Some projects are already permitted, while others are currently undergoing environmental review or are within the site assessment phase.

HAPCs are a subset of EFH. The proposed Southern New England HAPC overlaps designated EFH for several Council-managed species that rely on complex habitats. Furthermore, there has been recent evidence of cod spawning activity on Cox Ledge within the proposed HAPC. The boundaries cover the footprint of the wind-energy leases plus a buffer on all sides, recognizing that some aspects of offshore development may have impacts that extend out to at least 10 kilometers, such as acoustic impacts from pile driving.

The Council reviewed four other HAPC alternatives before selecting this fifth option, which combines the conservation objectives of the other alternatives and emphasizes the importance of complex habitat on the egg, juvenile, and adult life stages of species ranging from herring and scallops to monkfish, skates, winter flounder, and red hake in addition to cod. The Council initiated the framework for this HAPC in February 2022, postponed action in April pending further development, and took final action in June. View the latest HAPC presentation and other June meeting materials here.

Read the full release here

Herring fishing will be limited off East Coast rest of year

March 14, 2018 — BOSTON — Some vessels that harvest herring off the East Coast will be limited in how much they can bring to shore for the rest of the year.

Herring is a major fish population in the Atlantic Ocean, where the little fish are harvested for use as bait, food and fish oil. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says some herring boats in the southern New England and mid-Atlantic areas have reached a limit for the amount of shad and river herring they are allowed to catch.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post

Feds Seeking Comments on Future Lobster Regulations

November 27, 2017 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is seeking comments on possible revisions for the lobster industry.

They include changes to lobster trap gear requirements and allowing substitute vessels to fish lobster traps for those that are federally permitted but inoperable.

The poor condition of the of the Southern New England lobster stock is part of the reason for this action.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Notice of Availability for the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2

October 6, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, we published a Notice of Availability for the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2.

We are seeking public comment on an action that would:

  • Revise the essential fish habitat designations for all New England Fishery Management Council-managed species and life stages;
  • Add Habitat Areas of Particular Concern to highlight especially important habitat areas;
  • Revise the spatial management system within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the southern New England area;
  • Establish two Dedicated Habitat Research Areas;
  • Revise or implement seasonal spawning protection measures; and
  • Add system for reviewing and updating the proposed measures.

Read the Notice as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: John Bullard, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

The comment period is open through December 5, 2017.