Dr. Mike Jech and Captain Bill Bright calibrating an echosounder mounted on the F/V Retriever. Credit NOAA Fisheries/Dr. Anna Mercer

Advancing Active Acoustics: How Scientists Use Sound to Monitor a Three-Dimensional Ocean

11/9/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. The ocean is a three-dimensional world. Life moves vertically and horizontally through the water, often across large areas and at depths scientists cannot easily observe. Active acoustic technology gives researchers a tool to sample what’s hidden under the surface, gathering information that nets and other sampling gear… SEE MORE
A signboard thanking patrons at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market in San Diego. Credit: Tuna Harbor Dockside Market.

Strengthening U.S. Fisheries, Coastal Economies, and Food Security

10/31/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. The United States manages some of the world’s most productive and sustainable fisheries. American commercial fishermen and seafood businesses operate on a foundation of rigorous science-based standards set through decades of fisheries monitoring and careful management. Despite the successful management strategies that have ensured abundance within domestic… SEE MORE
A snow-Tanner hybrid crab collected during the 2026 eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey. Hybrid crab exhibit intermediate morphological traits—such as a curved mouth—relative to snow and Tanner crab parent species. Credit: NOAA Fisheries / Leah Zacher

Marine Heatwave Triggered a Hybrid Crab Surge in the Bering Sea

10/21/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. A team of scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Kodiak Laboratory has uncovered an unexpected ecological aftermath following the major 2018–2019 Bering Sea marine heatwave. The results, published in a new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, show the abundance of snow-Tanner crab hybrids increased by more… SEE MORE
A car drives through a snowstorm in Broomfield, Colorado, in 2024. (Image credit: Bob Hyatt/NOAA)

El Nino looms large over U.S. Winter Outlook

10/17/2026 - By noaa.gov, noaa.gov. NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook, released today, shows how El Nino will likely influence the upcoming winter months (December 2026 to February 2027), with warmer-than-average temperatures expected across the northern U.S.; wetter-than-average conditions likely across the southern U.S., from California to Florida, and along the Eastern Seaboard; and drought improving… SEE MORE
Archival photo of New England swordfishing vessel (left) courtesy of NOAA Fisheries; Background photo and photo offloading fish (right) courtesy of Hawaii Longline Association/Eric Kingma

Highly Migratory Species Management: Managing Shared Resources at Home and Around the World

10/16/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Highly migratory species—like Atlantic yellowfin tuna, Pacific albacore, and Atlantic swordfish—travel thousands of miles across state, national, and international boundaries throughout their lives. These important commercial and recreational fisheries support seafood businesses and coastal communities across the United States. But highly migratory fish don’t recognize state or national borders, so… SEE MORE
A freediver from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project works to carefully remove a ghost net from the reef at Kamokuokamohoali‘i (Maro Reef) in Hawaii. (Image credit: Andrew Sullivan-Hawkins/Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (Under permit # PMNM-2024-003))

Large-scale Marine Debris: 4 Ways to Clean up the Big Stuff

10/12/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Marine debris is a challenging problem. Across the country, NOAA and partners remove everything from lost fishing gear tangled on the seafloor to sunken vessels, abandoned tire reefs, and other trash that have become hazards to navigation and marine ecosystems in the ocean and Great Lakes. Beginning in… SEE MORE