Coastally-trapped Kelvin waves, a signature of El Niño, traveled north along the West Coast during the 1997/1998 El Niño, as shown in a map of sea surface height anomalies. Darker reds show sea levels higher than normal, while darker blues show heights below normal. Scientists are now watching for similar waves to move up the West Coast this fall. Credit: Dillon Amaya/North Carolina State University

Ocean Indicators We’re Tracking for El Niño’s Arrival on the West Coast

9/5/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Has El Niño reached the West Coast? You might think it has. After all, the ocean off Southern and Central California is unusually warm. But that is from a recent marine heatwave predates the current El Niño. Much of the Pacific Coast is experiencing relatively normal conditions while still… SEE MORE
Docked fishing boats at Yaquina Bay, Newport, Oregon. Credit: iStock

Advancing Agency-Level Reforms to Restore American Seafood Competitiveness

9/3/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Over the past year, I have met with fishermen, processors, coastal community leaders, and regional fishery management council members and staff across the country. In every harbor and at every meeting, the message has been consistent: American fishermen just want to fish, and they need their government… 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