Nathan Strout

U.S lawmakers want to temporarily ban deep-seabed mining until a full assessment of its environmental impact is completed and a new regulatory regime is established to protect ocean resources.

Last week, U.S. Representative Ed Case (D-Hawaii) introduced two bills – one creating a moratorium on seabed mining in American waters, and one calling for an international moratorium.

“Our deep oceans and seabed are the last unexplored regions

The U.S. state of Oregon is considering a handful of new restrictions on Dungeness crab fishermen – including a 20 percent reduction in pot limits – to reduce the risk of wildlife becoming entangled in crabbing gear.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is planning to host a meeting in Salem, Oregon, U.S.A. on 4 August to discuss the changes and evaluate the effectiveness of previously adopted measures.

The department is

A team of researchers from NOAA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other partners have released the first batch of fish DNA barcodes, curated DNA sequences that can be used to identify and authenticate seafood.

Identifying seafood after processing has removed any identifiable features is difficult – fillets of one species can look identical to another. DNA testing offers one solution and can provide concrete identification, but

California commercial fishermen and seafood processors as well as other coastal property owners and businesses could be awarded a second settlement as a result of an oil spill near Huntington Beach in October 2021.

In October 2021, approximately 25,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from a cracked pipeline owned and operated by Amplify Energy and its subsidies near Huntington Beach, according to a federal grand jury indictment against the

The U.S. Department of Labor is working with local labor organization Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores to improve worker safety at seafood processing facilities in New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offices in Braintree, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island have signed a formal agreement with Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores to establish an alliance to address the risky workplace

NOAA Fisheries wants to create a new national database to collect private and public information – including vehicle registrations, phone records, social media accounts, and more – to help its law-enforcement division conduct investigations.

The agency issued a notice in late June seeking contractors capable of building the new system. Companies currently have until 12 July to submit capability statements to NOAA Fisheries as they

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is too slow in passing on information about potential illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing imports, making it difficult for NOAA Fisheries to conduct inspections, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

NOAA Fisheries manages four separate programs designed to stop the import of IUU products, but it cooperates regularly with CBP and other agencies to target potential IUU

Bull kelp does not warrant listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to NOAA Fisheries.

The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit known for its work on protecting endangered species and other wildlife through legal action, petitioned the agency to declare bull kelp a threatened or endangered species in September 2022.

“Extreme heat events over the past eight years have caused immense damage to bull kelp

NOAA Fisheries has updated its Climate Science Regional Action Plans, providing new guidance to fisheries managers through 2024.

“The newly released plans build upon ongoing efforts first launched in 2015 by NOAA Fisheries to address climate change,” NOAA Fisheries said in a release. “They highlight our current and planned efforts with partners to better track, understand, forecast, and use information on changing ocean and

International trade imbalances are hampering America's seafood industry, but the U.S. government is working to address those issues and promote exports, according to a new export strategy from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Released in late June, the strategy calls for increased coordination across government agencies, using artificial intelligence to process export data, and greater outreach to the seafood industry.

“Difficulty