Nathan Strout

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is accepting public comments on whether it should list southern resident killer whales under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Southern resident killer whales were first listed as endangered under the U.S. federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005, and the population was estimated at just over 70 individuals in 2024. The whales depend primarily on salmon for prey, and declining… Read More

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced legislation providing additional funding for restoring salmon in the San Joaquin River, clearing the bill for a vote from the full Senate. If passed into law, the bill would triple the cap on funding available under the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act from USD 250 million (EUR 219 million) to USD 750 million (EUR 656 million). The original legislation was passed in… Read More

Conservation groups have filed suit against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after the government rolled back the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act. “Preventing harm to wildlife by protecting where they live, eat, and sleep is a basic foundation of the Endangered Species Act,” Kristen Boyles, the managing attorney of Earthjustice's Northwest Regional Office, said in a release. “The Trump administration… Read More

U.S. representatives on the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance a bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office on 15 July. “The House just took a key step toward investment in the science, restoration, and education that’s essential to the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek said in a statement. “We’re grateful to House leaders for advancing the… Read More

In a 22-13 vote, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced legislation that would extend a five-year pause on new lobster regulations related to North Atlantic right whales through 2035. “Protecting the North Atlantic right whale and supporting America's fishing communities are goals that can and must go hand in hand. By extending the current regulatory framework through 2035, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act provides the time… Read More

The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has partnered with the Spanish government to test semi-pelagic trawl doors – also known as flying doors – off the coast of Spain. Organizers hope the field trials will show that the technology reduces the environmental impact of bottom trawl fisheries without reducing catch totals. “During the fishing operations, researchers will assess catch rates, catch composition, gear… Read More

Hawai’i-based mariculture startup Ocean Era said it has secured the final permit needed to launch a red drum farming demonstration 40 miles off the coast of Florida. With Velella Epsilon, Ocean Era plans to raise up to 20,000 red drum in a single net pen about 40 miles off the coast of Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit, the project is expected to produce a total fish harvest weight of… Read More

Two major advisory councils to the European Commission have called on regulators to increase scrutiny of squid imports, especially those originating from China’s fleet, to better combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In a new advice issued 1 July, the Markey Advisory Council and the Long Distance Advisory Council called on the European Union to increase verifications and audits of consignments to better address IUU fishing… Read More

A working group of nations that commercially harvest Pacific bluefin tuna concluded its July meeting without agreeing on new management measures to be implemented in 2027. “For much of the last decade, Pacific bluefin management showed that when governments work together, they can bring a severely overfished species back from the brink of collapse. But at a joint management meeting in Nagasaki, Japan, governments disregarded a tentative… Read More

The U.S. government has redefined the meaning of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), no longer considering damage to a species’ habitat as harming its chance of survival. The change could have a massive impact on U.S. commercial fishers, who often are tasked with avoiding habitats listed under the ESA to harvest fish and shellfish. “President Trump is rescinding overly broad and burdensome regulations that have restrained our… Read More