Enviros and Tribes Join Lawsuit Calling Federal Management in BSAI Outdated and Inadequate

“The National Marine Fisheries Service (Service) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by adopting the 2023-2024 harvest specifications for the groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island region without considering dramatically changed ocean conditions as part of its NEPA process.” With that opening statement in the amicus brief, five new groups were added to an original lawsuit filed in April by the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), with representation from Earthjustice, against the federal fisheries management of ...

Center for Biological Diversity Will Sue DOC and NMFS For Killer Whale Deaths in Bering Sea

Last Monday, the Oakland-based Center for Biological Diversity announced their plan to sue federal fishery managers for violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in relation to the recent deaths of nine killer whales in the Bering Sea, if the agency "does not remedy these violations within 60 days ..."

The conservation group sent a 13-page letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Janet Coit, and ...

Everything You Need to Know About NOAA’s National Seafood Strategy

This week NOAA Fisheries released their first-ever National Seafood Strategy, an eight-page document designed to outline direction over the next five years to support a “thriving domestic U.S. seafood economy.”

According to NOAA, the National Seafood Strategy is “nested within a suite of policies and guidance that directs NOAA Fisheries’ activities.” This means there may be overlap and cross-agency coordination in order to reach goals. 

Currently the National Seafood Strategy has four goals...

Why the Fracas Over Changing the NOAA Guidelines to MSA’s National Standards?

Last May, National Marine Fisheries Service asked the public to weigh in on a potential update to the implementation guidelines for three of the ten National Standards used as the core goals in U.S. fisheries management. Ho-hum, yes? No, not in Alaska especially where broad shifts in equity and representation are rocking the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. 

The agency made it clear that it had not yet decided to change any of the guidelines that the eight U.S. federal management councils use when applying any of ...

“I Love Seeing Dams Come Down”: River Herring Return in Massachusetts After 200 Years

Since 1996, NOAA Fisheries has been removing dams to restore free-flowing rivers and allow salmon, steelhead, and other commercial species to return to traditional spawning grounds. In the past three decades, more than 94,000 acres of habitat and more than 4,400 miles of streams and rivers have been restored to expand fish migration.

This nationwide effort got a significant boost with the passage of last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and NOAA’s recommendation to use $105 million ...

Photo credit of the Armstrong Dam: NOAA Fisheries