With a decades-long connection to our mission, new head of NOAA Fisheries Eugenio Piñeiro Soler sees opportunities to build on our successes at home and around the world. He introduces himself and lays out his vision in this new leadership message.

Curious about Alaska research surveys? Dive into our photo gallery showcasing snapshots taken by field scientists during their 2025 research expeditions, including bottom trawl surveys of groundfish and shellfish stocks and the midwater acoustic-trawl integration surveys for Alaska pollock.

The eastern North Pacific population of gray whales that migrates along the West Coast has continued to decline, with reproduction remaining very low, according to two new Technical Memorandums from NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Scientists point to ecosystem changes in the Arctic feeding areas that the whales depend on as a likely cause.

On June 11, Teacher at Sea Jenna Cloninger from Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, set sail from San Diego aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. She joined scientists from the Northwest and Southwest fisheries science centers for the first leg of the new Integrated West Coast Pelagic Fisheries Survey.

NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is conducting patrols during the West Coast - Area 2A directed commercial halibut fishing season. The first opener was this week, and the second is scheduled for July 8 to 10.

Since 2021, NOAA and partners have embarked on expeditions to implement restoration projects that aim to restore deep sea habitats injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A new StoryMap allows you to explore these Mesophotic and Benthic Communities restoration projects across the northern Gulf.

By July 10, please submit your comments on proposed new 2025 and projected 2026-2027 specifications for the Atlantic herring fishery, consistent with recommendations by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action also revises the target rebuilding date for Atlantic herring from 2028 to 2031. The proposed action responds to updated scientific information from a 2024 management track assessment.

In February, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s aerial survey team conducted a routine survey for North Atlantic right whales off the coast of New York City. Marine mammal observer Alison Ogilvie shares the team’s joy and excitement when they spotted a female North Atlantic right whale named Accordion and her first-ever calf.

Fish biologist and gear researcher Megan Amico helped a middle school robotics team test out their acoustically triggered underwater camera ahead of a national competition. The students shipped their project to Woods Hole, and Megan worked with lobsterman Rob Martin to field test the device on his vessel. The students went on to win their competition!