Category: Ocean Science

Vessels from the West Coast squid fleet followed market squid north into Oregon as ocean waters warmed, leading Oregon to adopt its first regulations for squid fishing in the state. Photo courtesy of California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

7 Ways El Niño and Large Marine Heatwave Could Affect West Coast Marine Species

6/23/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. A large marine heatwave has bathed parts of the West Coast in very warm ocean waters over the past year, breaking temperature records in the Pacific. NOAA has also announced that El Niño has developed in the tropical Pacific and is predicted to intensify to a moderate or strong level this… SEE MORE

NOAA Fisheries Announces $2.3 Million to Study Atlantic Mackerel with the Northeast Fishing Industry

6/11/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA Fisheries is beginning a cooperative research initiative, partnering with the Northeast fishing industry to learn more about Atlantic mackerel population dynamics. The initiative will receive $2.3 million in the current fiscal year. The project will engage more than 50 fishing vessels to collect and analyze data… SEE MORE

Neskowin Creek, a salmon stream in Tillamook County, Oregon, flows out to the Pacific Ocean. Credit: Adobe Stock

Reconnecting Rivers Boosts Oregon Coast Coho Recovery

6/10/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA Fisheries supports one of the most ambitious salmon restoration projects on Oregon’s coast: the Salmon SuperHwy. This partnership of more than a dozen organizations works across the Tillamook, Nestucca, and Sand Lake watersheds. It works to restore fish passage at dozens of stream barriers, such as failing… SEE MORE

Image Credits: The Australian Institute of Marine Science.

WHOI Develops Tool to Predict Coral Bleaching Months Before It Strikes

6/9/2026 - By whoi.edu, whoi.edu. A new forecasting tool from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution could give reef managers and coastal communities a five-to-six-month head start on one of the ocean's most destructive events: coral bleaching. Called the Bleaching Event Early Predictor (BEEP), the system works by tracking three large-scale climate patterns in… SEE MORE

Coral bleaching at Cheeca Rocks in the Florida Keys in 2023. [Credit: NOAA]

World’s Fourth Mass Coral Bleaching Event Likely Ended in 2025

6/7/2026 - By nesdis.noaa.gov, nesdis.noaa.gov. After analyzing satellite data and bleaching observations, NOAA’s experts say the record-breaking fourth global coral bleaching event likely concluded in mid-2025. The fourth global coral bleaching event was confirmed by NOAA on April 15, 2024. From early-2023 to mid-2025, bleaching-level heat stress impacted 84% of the world’s coral… SEE MORE

During the 2025 Deep-sea Habitats of the Cook Islands expedition on Exploration Vessel Nautilus the team surveyed various seascapes to better understand seabed environments, and natural and mineral resources in the region. In this image, polymetallic nodules rest on sediment accumulated in a depression between rounded pillows and extended lobate lava flows, which are evidence of ancient volcanoes. (Image credit: Courtesy of Ocean Exploration Trust)

NOAA Scientists and Partners to Map Deep Waters, Seabed in the Cook Islands

6/6/2026 - By noaa.gov, noaa.gov. This summer, NOAA Ocean Exploration will conduct an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to map, explore and characterize deep waters off the coast of the Cook Islands. The effort is in partnership with the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority. Using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), mapping technologies and onsite… SEE MORE

A NOAA Fisheries-led team counts and samples Pacific salmon, trout and Arctic char below the NOAA Fisheries Auke Creek Research Station fish weir in Juneau, Alaska, May 4, 2022.(Image credit: NOAA Fisheries)

Pink Salmon Invasion in Great Lakes Has Lessons for North Atlantic, Arctic Communities

6/3/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. New NOAA-led research on the history of the rise of pink salmon in the Great Lakes may help fishery managers and communities on the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans tackle the recent rapid growth of the species in these new areas. It could also help those in… SEE MORE

Cyclothone or "Bristlemouth" fish illustration

The Ocean’s Most Abundant Fish Evolved in Extreme Heat — and That May Be Good News

5/31/2026 - By Daniel Hentz, whoi.edu. The most numerous fish in the ocean isn't one most boaters or anglers will ever see. Bristlemouths — tiny, deep-dwelling fish of the genus Cyclothone — number in the quadrillions and play a major role in the ocean's biological carbon pump, helping move CO₂ from the… SEE MORE