Nathan Strout

The U.S. House’s Natural Resources Committee has approved legislation that would finally bring America’s regulations into alignment with amendments to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty signed in 2016.

The 1987 treaty enables American tuna purse-seine vessels to fish in the exclusive economic zones of 16 Pacific Island nations and is key to the ongoing operations of America’s South Pacific tuna fleet. In 2016, the treaty signatories

A bill introduced in the U.S. Congress designed to encourage offshore aquaculture has drawn opposition from a coalition of fishermen opposed to the practice.

The SEAfood Act would authorize NOAA to create an offshore aquaculture assessment program, establish a grant program for aquaculture centers of excellence, and order two reports on aquaculture regulations. Don’t Cage Our Oceans, a group opposed to offshore finfish farming, came out

NOAA has awarded USD 16.8 million (EUR 15.9 million) in funding for 10 projects conducting collaborative research on Gulf of Mexico fisheries and the environment.

“The Gulf of Mexico is a vibrant ecosystem with diverse and productive habitats,” NOAA National Ocean Service Director Nicole LeBoeuf said. “These awards represent NOAA’s commitment to providing the best available science to the natural resource managers who

A NOAA Fisheries analysis found that North Atlantic right whales will go extinct unless vessel strikes and gear entanglements are “considerably reduced.”

The comprehensive population viability analysis was conducted by the NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic Right Whale Implementation Teams and considered three threats to the species: Entanglements in fishing gear, vessel strikes, and changes in prey abundance and availability. Looking at

NOAA scientists believe a 2018-2019 marine heatwave helped lead to a decline in snow crabs in Alaska, according to a study published in the periodical Science this month.

The snow crab population in the Eastern Bering Sea dropped by 50 percent from 2018 to 2019, and in 2021 a NOAA survey found the lowest number of snow crabs in the region since the survey began in 1975. Regulators responded by closing the fishery for the 2022–2023 season.

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (WFC) is considering extending a buffer zone prohibiting the commercial harvest of menhaden, also known as pogies, along the coast.

Louisiana introduced a quarter-mile buffer zone stretching across the entire Louisiana coast and a three-mile buffer between Holly Beach and Rutherford Beach this season. On 5 October, the WFC passed a notice of intent to amend the menhaden fishery rules, extending the

U.S. lawmakers last week reintroduced the Science-based Equitable Aquaculture Food (SEAfood) Act, legislation designed to foster and encourage more offshore aquaculture development.

If passed, the legislation would authorize NOAA to establish an offshore aquaculture assessment program and a grant program that would help minority-serving educational institutions create aquaculture centers of excellence. The law would also require the Government

The U.S. Supreme Court will listen to arguments on two challenges to NOAA Fisheries’ regulatory authority in January 2024, the court announced this week.

The court announced 13 October that it would take up the case of Relentless, Inc. v. the U.S. Department of Commerce, a lawsuit filed by Atlantic herring fishermen in 2020 challenging the government’s authority to require fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors on their vessels. The

Alaskan commercial salmon fishing groups and advocates are lashing out at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) for failing to take any action to reduce Alaska chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery.

“Today’s North Pacific Fishery Management Council process does not work for the majority of Alaskans,” SalmonState Executive Director Tim Bristol said. “The council’s inaction in the face

NOAA has announced USD 20 million (EUR 19 million) in awards for research on dangerous algal blooms and hypoxia.

"Harmful algal blooms and hypoxia affect coastal and inland waters and can be devastating to communities and businesses," Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Office Director Carl Gouldman said. "These awards are part of NOAA's ongoing commitment to advance our abilities to forecast, manage, and mitigate the effects of these