Nathan Strout

NOAA Fisheries has finalized its plans for a new quota system for Pacific cod trawling, which will require U.S. fishermen to join a cooperative to harvest cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands region in most of 2024.

Under the Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program, NOAA Fisheries will set an overall harvest quota and then assign quota permits to cooperatives. The cooperatives, which must be associated with a processor, will then determine

U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed a new national marine sanctuary off the coast of central California.

If approved, the 5,617-square-mile area would be designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, and be the 16th national sanctuary in the U.S.

“The proposed sanctuary is rich in marine life and includes kelp forests, rocky shores, sandy beaches, a globally-significant ecological transition zone and important offshore

NOAA Fisheries plans to test a new fishing device designed by the Hawaii Longline Association along with other gear in the Pacific Islands to see what is safest for marine mammals.

Hawaii fishermen developed the fighting line device in response to concerns over harm to porpoises and sharks caught in fighting gear in the Pacific longline fisheries. The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) has been working to reduce false killer

The U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that tariffs should be placed on tin products used in seafood canning being imported from China, Canada, and Germany. The government declined to place tariffs on tin being imported by companies in South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

“These findings demonstrate that Commerce took a careful and nuanced approach based on the particular circumstances presented by

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to purchase 108,000 pounds of walleye fillets, according to a 17 August solicitation.

The walleye will be used in the National School Lunch Program and other federal food assistance programs, according to the government’s solicitation. Offers are due 23 August, and contracts are expected to be announced by midnight, 30 August.

The fillets are to be sent to Idaho and Missouri, with deliveries

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has announced nearly USD 300 million (EUR 276 million) for salmon recovery and fish passage improvement projects.

This week, NOAA Fisheries recommended USD 106 million (EUR 98 million) in funding for 16 salmon recovery projects along the West Coast and in Alaska through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). At the same time, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway

NOAA Fisheries has awarded FLOAT Partners a five-year, USD 50 million (EUR 46 million) contract to oversee efforts to put observers on commercial fishing vessels in the Pacific Islands.

Under the contract, which is set to begin 1 September and continue into 2028, Hawai'i, U.S.A.-based FLOAT will recruit, supervise, and outfit fisheries observers as part of the Pacific Islands Region Observer Program (PIROP).

The program puts observers on all

Update: This story has been updated with comments from American Seafoods.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed USD 1 million (EUR 917,000) in civil penalties against American Seafoods for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.

The regulatory agency claims that five of the Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., company’s vessels violated their permits while operating off the coast of Washington and Oregon. The EPA settlement

The U.S. state of Mississippi is accepting applications for financial relief from commercial fishermen hurt by the 2019 Mississippi Bonnet Carre Spillway disaster.

The spillway is designed to divert floodwater away from the city of New Orleans and into the Mississippi Sound, but the surge of freshwater spillover into the ocean can shock oysters, crabs, and other aquatic life. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway

NOAA Fisheries believes new ultraviolet-phased lighting technology could help keep seabirds away from fishing vessels, and the agency is embarking on a several-year research effort to see if it lives up to its promise.

Tempted by the bait used to lure in fish, seabirds have long been attracted to commercial fishing operations. Unfortunately, it typically isn’t the free meal that it appears to be, with the birds becoming hooked or entangled