U.S. House Hearing Highlights Mutually Exclusive Policy Goals With NOAA Fisheries in the Middle 

Yesterday's oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, part of the House Natural Resources Committee, was focused on challenges facing the seafood industry addressed by President Trump’s Executive Order 14276 of April 17 on “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.”  

But the subcommittee got more than that. 

From both witnesses and panel members, Subcommittee Chair Harriet Hageman (R-WY) heard how competing policies within the executive branch — the President’s E.O. and DOGE cuts to NOAA Fisheries in the Department of Commerce — were working...

NOAA Fisheries Reports a 24% Drop in Staff From Six Divisions Across the Alaska Region 

Tomorrow the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council will hear the report from the Alaska Region (AKR) NOAA fisheries that 28 our to 115 federal employees have left the region since the Council’s April meeting, resulting in a total of 30 staff removals since President Trump’s inauguration. 

The staff losses come from the Sustainable Fisheries, Protected Resources, Restricted Access Management, Information Services, Operations Management, Habitat Conservation Divisions and from NOAA General Council Alaska Section. 

Three long-time and highly visible NOAA workers...

“I’m Starting to Get Real Upset,” Sullivan’s Frustrated Call for Fisheries Surveys in Alaska

Last week, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, pressed Mr. Paul Dabbar, the nominee who will likely be the new Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, on fisheries stock surveys in Alaska. 

Sullivan pointed out that if staffing and approved funding from the Department are not prioritized, there will be no fishing. Sullivan also demanded that Dabbar and Commerce officials work promptly with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to sign the pending maintenance contract for the Kodiak...

NOAA Fisheries Closes Federal Scallop Fishing in Northern Gulf of Maine Until April 2026

Today, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) announced the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area to all scallop vessels fishing under federal scallop regulations, effective April 28, 2025, at 0001 hour.

According to NMFS’ recent press release, the federal entity projects that 100% of the set-aside for the NGOM Scallop Management Area will be taken by April 28, henceforth the end of the 2025 fishing season.  

Per the announcement, no scallop vessels within the federally permitted limited access general category may fish...

Sec. Lutnick Taps Eugenio Piñeiro-Soler as Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries

Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—currently the parent department for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), or NOAA Fisheries—named Eugenio Piñeiro-Soler as the Assistant Administrator of NOAA Fisheries, effective immediately.

Piñeiro-Soler takes the reins of the agency tasked with overseeing the nation’s marine fisheries and conservation work, which comes only a few weeks after several hundred fishery researchers and managers lost their jobs due to the recent decisions of the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)...

New Portable DNA Tool Helps NOAA Identify Illegal Fish Imports at Rapid Speed

The NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement began its first pilot test of a new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) device. This allows field officers to perform immediate genetic analysis.

NOAA explained that this device will help personnel identify fish species without having to send genetic samples to forensics labs, which can take up to two weeks. The tool could be a key part of NOAA’s battle against seafood fraud and illegal seafood products entering the US market, as it can identify species in hours...

NMFS Uses Early Genetic Detection Methods for Bitter Crab Disease Amid Low Bering Sea Crab Stocks

Amid unprecedented low abundance levels for Tanner crab and snow crab in the Bering Sea, scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS, or NOAA Fisheries) have been utilizing sensitive genetic detection methods to establish earlier detection of bitter crab disease.

The ailment, which has recently impacted the Bering Sea’s historically large Tanner crab and snow crab fisheries, is caused by microscopic parasites that infect crabs, leading to increased crab mortality rates. Infected crabs are known to taste bitter, hence the name of the disease.

NOAA scientists were able to use these...

North Atlantic Right Whales Found Entangled, Bringing Mortality Event Toll to 150

A pair of endangered North Atlantic right whales were found entangled by a NOAA Fisheries aerial survey roughly 50 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on December 9.

The first whale was identified as juvenile male #5110. NOAA Fisheries scientists preliminarily determined that #5110’s entanglement was a “serious injury” case. Signifying that it will likely die from the injury. #5119 has a thick line that passes once across his head and once across his back. This whale was first spotted as a calf in 2021 and was...

NMFS Announces New 2025 Regulations for Commercial Fishing of Pacific Tuna

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently published the final rule under the Tuna Conventions Act (TCA) of 1950, which involves new regulations for fish aggregating device design and reporting requirement in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The new regulations will affect commercial fishing for the following species: Pacific yellowfin tuna, Pacific skipjack tuna, and Pacific bigeye tuna.

According to a news release by NOAA Fisheries, the regulatory decision was published on December 6, 2024, and will result in the implementation of two resolutions adopted at the 101st Meeting of...

NOAA Makes $100 Million Available for Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Projects

On Friday, December 6, 2024, NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of $100 million in funding through the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Program.

The program, funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, has helped more than 2,200 coastal habitat restoration projects and restored more than 94,000 acres of fish habitats since its 1996 creation. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA will continue supporting habitat restoration approaches that enhance the resilience of coastal and Great Lakes communities — including tribes — against climate hazards.

Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce...

NOAA Receives $147.5M to Modernize Fisheries Science and Build Climate Resilience

The Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA announced a $147.5 million investment through the Inflation Reduction Act that will focus on NOAA’s capabilities to support “climate-ready fisheries.”

NOAA said the funding will enable it to “modernize its science enterprise, delivering critical information and tools to support decision-making and adaptation strategies for rapidly changing marine ecosystems.”

“This funding, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, will make our nation’s fisheries, protected species and coastal communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change...

Trump's Commerce Nomination Sparks Questions on NOAA and Tariff Agenda

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Howard Lutnick as his Commerce Secretary. He will be tasked with leading 13 bureaus under the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Lutnick is the CEO of financial services giant Cantor Fitzgerald and has worked as the co-chair of Trump’s transition team.

In a statement posted to Trump’s Truth Social platform, he said that Lutnick “…will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative...

NOAA Fisheries Unveils Action Plan for Enhanced Seafood Import Monitoring Program

NOAA Fisheries will implement an action plan to enhance its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).

Last November, NOAA conducted a comprehensive review of SIMP to identify areas for improvement. That led to engagement from over 7,000 stakeholders, including seafood industry professionals, foreign governments, researchers, and civil society groups.

Based on the input, NOAA has shaped an action plan that is “designed to strengthen its impact, focusing on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and bolstering seafood traceability.”

NOAA Fisheries said it would work to limit the impact...

Fisheries of the U.S. 2022 Report Reflects Slightly Lower Landings, Value, Consumption Than 2021

Between 2021 and 2020, U.S. per capita consumption of seafood products fell to 19.8 pounds from 20.5 pounds the year earlier.

Commercial landings in the United States also dropped slightly in 2022 were 8.4 billion pounds valued at $5.9 billion, down by 2.6 percent (224 Mlbs) by weight and 11 percent ($632 million) by value. The 2022 average ex-vessel price paid to fishermen was 70 cents per pound, 6 cents less than in 2021.

The nation’s largest commercial fishery remains Alaska polock, with ...

NOAA Issues Biological Opinion on Arthur Kill Terminal Project

NOAA Fisheries announced that it has issued a Biological Opinion on the Arthur Kill Terminal Project to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

NOAA said its Biological Opinion considers the effects on threatened and endangered species from the construction, mitigation and operation of the project in New York/New Jersey, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

NOAA Fisheries found that the proposed creation of an offshore wind staging and assembly port, “is likely to...

NOAA Fisheries: Alaska’s Seafood Industry Bore a $1.8 Billion Loss in 2022-23

For anyone curious about what all the disaster declarations, price drops, rising costs, market shifts, and labor shortages have added up to over the past two years, now we can — it’s $1.8 billion.

NOAA Fisheries has done the heavy lifting of summing up the financial impacts of consumer behavior changes, shifts in global markets, climate change, and other factors in its 67-page economic report called Alaska Seafood Snapshot, released yesterday.

In the three-year period 2021-2023, the report says that the Alaska fishing ...

New NOAA Research Suggests that Alaskan Salmon Sought Temporary Refuge During Marine Heatwaves

The NOAA Alaska Regional Office recently released new research indicating that Pacific salmon in the Gulf of Alaska used the inshore waters of the Icy Strait as a temporary buffer during marine heatwaves.

Researchers found that salmon likely gravitated towards the Icy Strait’s cold, low salinity waters, seeking refuge during these marine events, which occurred in 2014-2016 and 2019.

According to NOAA, prior studies also found connections between the survival and growth rates of juvenile Pacific salmon to oceanographic conditions and food availability in the marine...

NMFS Issues Temporary Rule to Ensure Uninterrupted Northeast Groundfish Season; Fishery Opens May 1

On April 29, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) signed a temporary rule to facilitate uninterrupted fishing for the Northeast Multispecies fishery, otherwise known as the Northeast groundfish fishery. The rule is effective May 1, the same day the fishery’s 2025 season opens up.

Per the emergency action, NMFS established interim specifications for Georges Bank haddock and two stocks of cod, as well as affirmed specifications for other Northeast Multispecies stocks previously set in Frameworks 65 and 66. As a result, the measure will allow the fishery to...

Eight Projects Recommended for NOAA’s 2025 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

NOAA Fisheries recently recommended eight new projects for the 2025 Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. The program, which supports applied research for the U.S. wild-caught scallop fishery, awards scallop set-asides instead of monetary funding, thus providing fishery researchers with the means to conduct their research while also harvesting scallops to fund their work.

The scallops that are set aside would normally have been available for commercial harvest only. NOAA Fisheries placed 2023 U.S. commercial scallop landings at 27.4 million pounds, valued at $360 million, making...

NOAA Officially Closes Scallop Fishery in Northern Gulf of Maine

Effective April 11 at 3:00 p.m. EST, NOAA Fisheries closed the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area to all scallop vessels fishing under federal scallop regulations.

The temporary closure applies to all scallop vessels fishing within the federally permitted limited access general category and prohibits such vessels from fishing for, possessing, or landing scallops in or around the fishing area specified above.

This decision adheres to federal scallop regulations, which require NOAA to close areas projected to reach 100% of the annual NGOM Set-Aside, or until...

CDFW Looks for Success in Spring Chinook Pilot Project on North Yuba River

A fourth major salmon project in California has resulted in spring-run Chinook swimming in some of the best river waters in the state.

The North Yuba River hasn’t seen salmon in almost 100 years due to dams and other habitat impediments. But California is testing a technique used in other areas of the Pacific Northwest to determine whether injecting salmon eggs in the gravel riverbed – their historic spawning and rearing habitat in the mountains of Sierra County – is feasible.

In late October 2024, the California Department...

Commerce Nominee Lutnick Pledges to Keep NOAA Intact

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary said he would not attempt to dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during his confirmation hearing last week.

The Hill reported that Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) asked Lutnick if he wanted to break up NOAA, which falls under the Commerce Department.

“I have no interest in separating it. That is not on my agenda,” Lutnick said. 

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked Lutnick a similar question. Lutnick answered “no” when asked about NOAA’s future in relation to the...

NEFMC Finalizes Adjustments to Framework 69 with Focus on Atlantic Cod Catch Limits and Stock Units

The New England Fishery Management Council recently took final action on Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan, which includes catch limits and management measures for 2025 and beyond.  

Before the decision-making process began, the Council reviewed the following reports:

• Peer-reviewed results of Management Track Stock Assessments 2024 for American plaice, pollock, witch flounder, Atlantic halibut, Georges Bank haddock, and Gulf of Maine haddock, as presented by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center

• Overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological...

NOAA’s Ocean Research Examines Varied Conditions for Juvenile Salmon Off Oregon Coast

According to a news release by NOAA Fisheries on December 6, 2024, researchers at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center have reported varied oceanographic shifts in the northern California Current in 2024.

During the winter of 2023-2024, a strong El Niño event brought warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures to the Pacific Ocean. According to NOAA Fisheries data, the California Current has experienced an increase in El Niño events since the 1980s, with this higher frequency of events seemingly characteristic of recent extended periods of warm ocean conditions...

NOAA Makes $99 million Available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

Yesterday the Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for state and tribal projects conserving and restoring salmon in Alaska and along the West Coast.

The funding, which will focus on Pacific salmon and steelhead, will support projects that advance population and habitat restoration and increase environmental and economic resilience in surrounding communities.

Of the total funding available, $34.4 million was provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)...

NOAA Fisheries Hosting Trio of Observer Safety Workshops

NOAA Fisheries and the Office of Law Enforcement will host a trio of workshops for members of the fishing industry that will answer questions about harassment and to further support observers in the field.

The workshops will be hosted in person and will have a hybrid option for those interested in participating virtually, per the NOAA Fisheries event page.

“Workshops are voluntary and the topics will include: what constitutes harassment, how to communicate safety-related concerns, how NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement follows up on harassment reports, and more...

NOAA Proposes New Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in California and Gulf of Mexico

In what was described as a “major milestone,” NOAA Fisheries unveiled a pair of draft programmatic environmental impact statements (PEIS) to support proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA said it identified 10 locations in Southern California as proposed AOAs. Eight are located in the Santa Barbara Channel and two in Santa Monica Bay, each ranging in size from 500 to 2,000 acres and totaling up to 16,500 acres.

The draft impact statement considers multiple scenarios, including the potential impacts of...

New Advisory Board on Ocean Acidification Set; Asks for Member Nominations

The Administrator of NOAA and the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) announced recently that a new Ocean Acidification Advisory Board (OAAB) has been set up to provide independent advice and recommendations to the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG-OA) and SOST. 

Ocean acidification has been a critical issue at NOAA for years. The new board will be called upon to understand impacts and develop mitigation techniques for ecosystems and human communities. The Federal Register notice also requested nominations for membership on the OAAB.

The OAAB's ...

Last Year the North Atlantic Right Whale Population Increased to 372. Then 2024 Happened.

Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released the updated population abundance estimate for North Atlantic right whales as of November 2023. At that time, there were approximately 372 animals alive in the world, up from the 2022 population estimate of 356. The newly released estimate for 2023 included 12 calves of the year.

The species is still endangered, experiencing an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event, that began in 2017 and is marked by gear entanglements and vessel strikes as being the most frequent causes of...

NOAA Announces $2 Million Investment to Enhance Red Snapper Management in the Gulf of Mexico

Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA announced that $2 million will be awarded through the Inflation Reduction Act to improve the data and management decisions for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.

The funding will be used to collect data and improve modeling for the species via partnerships with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami.

NOAA Fisheries explained that additional data will help better understand and adapt to climate...