Saving Seafood

Groundfish rule brings gear marking changes for 335 vessels

October 16, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has finalized new gear marking and entanglement-reduction requirements for portions of the Pacific Coast groundfish fleet, including new color-coded lines and buoy markings for vessels fishing with pot and bottom longline gear.

The final rule, published in the Federal Register on Oct. 13, applies to limited entry and directed open access groundfish fisheries in federal waters off Washington, Oregon, and California. Most provisions take effect Jan. 11, 2027, while fishermen will have until Jan. 11, 2030, to transition to manufactured line meeting the new color requirements.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries introduces new West Coast gear rules to reduce entanglements

October 13, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has rolled out new requirements and voluntary measures to reduce whale entanglements in commercial fishing gear on the U.S. West Coast.

“This rulemaking is, in part, in response to increased rates of entanglement of humpback whales with Pacific Coast fishing gear since 2014,” NOAA Fisheries said in its release. “Marine animals, like whales and turtles, can get caught in fishing gear, which can prevent them from eating or cause serious injury or death. The animal most often entangled in gear associated with the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery is the humpback whale.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries confirms 76 large whale entanglements in 2025

October 6, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries confirmed 76 large whale entanglements in 2025, which is fewer than the 95 confirmed cases in 2024 but higher than the 18-year average of 72.7 cases.

“Entanglements in fishing gear or marine debris represent a continued threat to the welfare and recovery of many whale species,” NOAA Fisheries said in a release. “This includes species that are endangered, such as North Atlantic right whales. Entanglements involving threatened or endangered species can have significant negative impacts on the population as a whole.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

California tops U.S. in whale entanglements, NOAA report finds

October 2, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries has released a report documenting 76 confirmed whale entanglements across the United States in 2025, a decrease from 95 cases the previous year, with California reporting the highest number of incidents.

Scientists expressed concern over the ongoing issue. “It is, I think, disheartening to see the numbers are still remaining high and we’re not seeing that decrease that we were hoping to see,” said Geoff Shester, Senior Scientist and Director of Fishery Innovation for Oceana.

The report revealed that about 46% of confirmed entanglements in 2025 involved commercial or recreational fishing gear.

“When these are confirmed, most of the entanglements are caused by fishing gear. In California, the Dungeness crab fishery is the one that does seem to be the biggest culprit. It’s obviously because that’s the biggest fishery that we have that uses traps,” said Shester.

Read the full article at KSBW

OREGON: Oregon crabbers face new requirements

August 21, 2026 — Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishermen will face new electronic monitoring requirements beginning Feb. 1 as state officials work to reduce the risk of whale entanglements.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approved rules Friday requiring commercial crab vessels to use electronic monitoring systems that track vessel locations and record when fishermen pull crab pots. Other rules regarding permits for experimental fishing gear were also approved and took effect immediately.

Justin Ainsworth, Marine Resources Program Manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the system will have two main components: a GPS device and a hydraulic pressure sensor.

The GPS device will track a vessel’s location, while the hydraulic pressure sensor will detect when a vessel is using its hydraulic system to pull up a crab pot.

Read the full article at KVAL

OREGON: Oregon to start testing ropeless crabbing gear next spring to stop whale entanglements

August 19, 2026 — Oregon fishermen will begin testing ropeless crabbing technology next spring in an effort to save whales from often-fatal entanglements.

The state since 2021 has taken steps to reduce whale entanglements, including requiring additional late season crabbing tags and limiting how many crabbing pots fishermen can use and how deep they can place them, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program Manager Justin Ainsworth told the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in a meeting Friday.

But with whale entanglements increasing, commissioners are turning to two new tools to reduce whale deaths. Rules the commission adopted Friday will require fishermen to share their vessel location with state fishery managers and allow them to test ropeless crabbing gear already allowed in California.

Traditional commercial crabbing gear requires hundreds of traps to sit on the ocean floor, each attached to a vertical line connected to a buoy on the surface. Whales can easily get entangled and injured, often fatally, in those lines, as was the case with a humpback whale freed about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast in late July that wasn’t expected to survive because the entanglement left it unable to feed.

The pop-up gear the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife can begin authorizing as soon as spring 2027, however, stores the rope and buoy with the trap on the seafloor. Fishermen can set a timer or trigger a release mechanism that allows the line to uncoil and buoy to surface to retrieve the catch, ensuring whales and other creatures have a clear path most of the time.

Pop-up gear is currently unlawful because all pot and trap gear must be marked at the surface with a buoy. The proposed rule would allow the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue some experimental fishing gear permits as soon as spring 2027, and the commission could consider wider authorization if the tests prove effective.

Read the full article at the Astorian 

Giving North Atlantic Right Whales a Check-Up Using Advanced Technology August 17, 2026

August 18, 2026 — This story is part three of a three-part series. Read about how we are listening for North Atlantic right whales with passive acoustics, monitoring them with aerial surveys, and using boats, drones, uncrewed surface vehicles and satellites to learn as much as we can about them and their habitat. In the Northeast, we work with many partners to track right whales, including mothers and calves, using advanced technology to help inform actions that reduce risks to the species.

Passive acoustic monitoring and aerial surveys can provide critical information about endangered North Atlantic right whales. But to assess their health, you need to get closer. That’s why we use these techniques in tandem with vessel surveys. From the water, scientists conduct drone photogrammetry, take biopsies and photographs, and even collect breath samples. Our team flies drones and takes samples from the R/V Selkie, a 23-foot boat, in Cape Cod Bay in the spring and in the Southeast over the winter.

Assessing Right Whale Health Using Drones and Biopsies

Taking and analyzing specialized photos using a drone is called photogrammetry. It allows scientists to measure calf growth rates and check on mother right whales’ health. Mothers nurse their calves but do not eat while they are in the Southeast, so they lose blubber until they start feeding again in the Northeast. Our team gets a longer time series by sampling both in the Southeast calving grounds and Northeast feeding grounds. They also use drone imagery to examine scarring and entanglements. Our team processes the photos using an open source software called MorphoMetriX .

Our vessel survey teams also collect right whale biopsy samples. Along with state partners, they biopsied all but one of the 23 newborn calves this season. Samples provide critical information about the genetics of the calves. Genetics allow us to identify individuals and trace family relationships. These samples can also inform scientists about the health of the calf. That information is added to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog.

To biopsy a whale, scientists slowly approach within 30 feet on a small boat and use a specialized hollow biopsy dart discharged by a crossbow. They collect a small sample of skin and blubber—about 1 inch long and the diameter of a pencil. The dart floats, allowing scientists to easily retrieve it for genetic and health analysis. The samples are quickly flash frozen aboard the boat. Ultimately, the samples are stored at the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab in Charleston, South Carolina. They are available for many types of ‘omics research studies. The team hopes that long-term preservation will enable researchers to do the most good for right whales.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

OREGON: Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approves new rules for Dungeness crab fisheries

August 18, 2026 — The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approved new rules for Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fisheries during a meeting Friday, Aug. 14, with changes aimed in part at reducing whale entanglements.

The new rules include updates involving experimental gear, such as pop-up crab gear designed to reduce the amount of line in the water, as well as surface gear, including buoys and lines at the water’s surface.

Read the full article at KATU

OREGON: Oregon approves electronic monitoring system for Dungeness crab vessels

August 18, 2026 — During an 14 August board meeting, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) unanimously voted to pass electronic vessel monitoring requirements for the state’s Dungeness crab operations, aiming to reduce the risk of whale entanglement.

ODFW said in a release that each commercial crab vessel in the state’s Dungeness fishery must now install an electronic vessel monitoring system by 1 February 2027. Original legislation required the installation two months earlier, but upon listening to public feedback, the commission pushed back the deadline to next year.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Feds to weigh possible new fishing rules and restrictions to protect Mid-Atlantic whales

August 17, 2026 — Federal fisheries officials are beginning a process that could eventually lead to new fishing restrictions along the East Coast designed to protect native whale species.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced Aug 14 that it intends to conduct an environmental review of potential changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. The plan is intended to reduce deaths and serious injuries of North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and fin whales caused by entanglements in commercial trap/pot and gillnet fishing gear along the East Coast.

NMFS stresses that Friday’s publication merely begins a public comment process and is not a proposed federal rule.

Read the full article at WBOC