The future of fisheries-independent surveys will include traditional capture-based surveys as well as advanced technology such as acoustic, optical, and molecular tools deployed from survey vessels, uncrewed vehicles, and moored to the seafloor. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Su Kim

Charting the Future of Fisheries-Independent Surveys

9/7/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Fisheries-independent surveys operate on dedicated survey vessels and are the foundation of sustainable fisheries management. They provide the consistent data on marine resources we need to inform stock assessments. These data are collected using a scientifically rigorous sampling framework and are used to set catch limits. As… 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
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
Pacific capelin with unknown maturity. Scientists make microscopic observations to determine if capelin spawn only once or if they are capable of spawning over multiple years. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Scientists Discover Repeat Spawning in Pacific Capelin

8/12/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. For certain fish species, like Pacific salmon, reproduction is a once-in-a-lifetime event, known as semelparity. Many other fish are iteroparous—meaning they can spawn repeatedly throughout their lives. New research by NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center reveals the first evidence that Pacific capelin can be repeat spawners. Over the past decade,… SEE MORE
Enforcement officer inventories shark fins. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Officers Deploy for High Seas Patrols Combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing

8/9/2026 - By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Enforcement officers from NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement have successfully wrapped up deployments for Operation North Pacific Guard, an annual international mission targeting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas. The officers, who used their specialized experience to support the operation, patrolled over 8,000 nautical miles aboard… SEE MORE