NOAA Autonomous Surface Vehicle in Narragansett Bay during testing. Goat Island and the Newport Bridge in the background.

Beyond Ocean Mapping: Using Uncrewed Vehicles to Advance Ocean Research

8/26/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. It’s January off of Nantucket Shoals. An uncrewed surface vehicle begins a series of carefully planned transects through Southern New England, collecting data day and night. There are no scientists onboard, but the 30-foot vessel is constantly measuring ocean currents, water temperature, salinity, weather and other ocean… SEE MORE
Image Credits: fisheries.noaa.gov.

Technology Week: Launching into the Future with Advanced Technologies

8/21/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA scientists rely on cutting-edge technology to collect and analyze the data needed to manage our ocean resources and habitats. Because some ocean creatures live in remote areas and have complex life cycles, better understanding them requires unique tools. By leveraging advanced technologies, we gather critical data to… SEE MORE
Image Credits: Fisheries.noaa.gov.

The Unexpected Catch: Friendship at Sea

8/19/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. One Random Room Assignment When I graduated from college and entered the workforce, I never imagined my path would lead me to becoming a fisheries observer. It wasn't exactly a career I had planned, but looking back, I'm so glad it found me. Before the month-long training began,… SEE MORE
Members of the monitoring show off adult salmon captured at a monitoring station. From left to right, Kevin Vandenack holds a steelhead, Katherine Stonecypher holds a coho salmon, and Bryan Crouch holds a Chinook salmon. Credit: Katherine Stonecypher/Cal Poly Humboldt

Can Habitat Restoration Help Salmon Recover? Prairie Creek Offers Clues

8/18/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. This story is part 2 of a 2-part series. Read part 1. When any habitat restoration project finishes, a critical question remains: Will the project help threatened fish and other species recover? Answering that question requires rigorous long-term monitoring. At the Prairie Creek salmon habitat restoration project in Northern California,… SEE MORE
Prairie Creek project partners gather at the restoration site before construction begins. Credit: Michael Weir/CalTrout

Restoring California’s Prairie Creek Supports Salmon Recovery and Local Community

8/17/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. This story is part 1 of a 2-part series. Read part 1. For more than a decade, NOAA Fisheries and a broad coalition of partners worked to transform degraded fish habitat on California's Prairie Creek into a thriving floodplain ecosystem for juvenile salmon and steelhead. Located in California's redwood… SEE MORE
A researcher in a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter first spotted the entangled humpback anchored to the bottom about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast. The whale’s white pectoral flipper extends underwater to the lower left, while white baleen outlines its open lower jaw at bottom right. The entanglement left the whale’s mouth stretched permanently open, making it unable to feed. Photo collected in partnership with Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute and Cascadia Research Collective.

Fishing Vessel Joins Trained Team to Free Injured Humpback Whale 20 Miles off Oregon Coast

8/16/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. An Oregon team joined by experts from Washington and a local fisherman freed a severely entangled humpback whale about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast on July 26. While the team removed all of the gear from the whale, the entanglement left the young whale’s jaw permanently… SEE MORE