Staff from our science center and NOAA Fisheries will attend the upcoming Maine Fishermen's Forum March 5–7, in Rockport, Maine. We’ll join our partners and many others to lead seminars and panel discussions about fisheries, co-developing strategies for a changing Gulf of Maine scallop fishery, and more. There will also be a federal fisheries leadership panel for participants to ask questions. Be sure to visit our fisheries observer program booth in the Bay Point Ballroom to learn more about the northeast fisheries observer program, at-sea monitoring, industry-funded scallop program, electronic monitoring, biological port sampling, and more.

Through a collaborative research project, our scientists, the captain and crew of the commercial fishing vessel FV Dyrsten, and academic researchers from multiple universities recently took a significant step toward understanding the genome of longfin squid. Opportunistic fieldwork during regular fishing operations secured high-quality squid tissue samples for genome sequencing that contributed to the development of a new, non-lethal sex-determination swab test. This was possible because of NOAA's cooperative research programs, including the Study Fleet Program where relationships are built that connect industry expertise with scientific advancement. It also builds upon our science center’s collaborative squid research.

We’re currently working with commercial lobster vessels to test on-demand fishing gear in state and federal waters off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in areas closed to lobster and Jonah crab fishing with static vertical lines. Because on-demand gear has no surface buoys, it won’t be visible at the surface. You can “see” the gear positions and orientations on a smartphone or tablet using the free EarthRanger Buoy app or select chartplotters when you’re within 5 nautical miles of experimental on-demand trawls. Download the EarthRanger Buoy app from Google Play or Apple App stores. TimeZero users can also view the gear positions on their charts with an experimental feature in version 5. Olex users can purchase an update to add this functionality. On-demand research gear will be moved ahead of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area opening on April 1 to avoid areas of typical scalloping activity. If on-demand fishing gear is accidentally towed up, please mark the location and contact our gear research team or call (508) 495-2000.

Nearly 700 aquaculture business owners, growers, scientists, and students gathered to discuss the future of sustainable seafood at the joint 26th Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Expo and 45th Milford Aquaculture Seminar. The meeting was held in Portland, Maine, January 7–9 and was co-hosted by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center and NOAA Fisheries Milford Lab. There were more than 100 presenters during 45 sessions over 3 days. Science presentations covered the latest industry-relevant applied research on shellfish, seaweed, sea urchin, and finfish aquaculture. A record 38 aquaculture vendors demonstrated the latest in aquaculture gear technology. The next Milford Aquaculture Seminar will be held in January 2027, while the next joint Northeast Aquaculture Conference will be held in January 2028.

Each year, we get a number of amazing photos from our bloggers. Their blogs and photos give a behind-the-scenes view of their work and experience. Here are some of our favorite photos from their blogs last year. Want to see more? Check out our Field Fresh blog to see all our bloggers’ photos or our faves from 2024, 2023 and 2022.

New blog from field scientist Hannah Ciarametaro shares some of the weird and wonderful things she and others involved in our Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey have seen from 10 years of video footage of the ocean floor. They’ve seen some pretty interesting things like a boat propeller, hagfish, an octopus—Hannah’s personal favorite—a thorny skate, and a very curious porbeagle shark as seen in the video!

Our region was rocked by the news of the F/V Lily Jean tragedy. We mourn the loss of seven of our fishing community members:

• Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo, captain
• Paul Beal Sr., crew
• Paul Beal Jr., crew
• John Rousanidis, crew
• Freeman Short, crew
• Sean Therrien, crew
• Jada Samitt, NOAA fisheries observer

Deputy Director, Nicole Cabana, and I spoke to Jada’s training class as we have with every Northeast observer training class since January 2022. One of the things we emphasize during our sessions is that successful observing results from a strong partnership between an observer and the fishing captain and crew. This requires recognizing that the jobs are different—observing and fishing—and that shared goals and mutual respect strengthen and increase the ability of both jobs to be a success. Jada epitomized the spirit of partnership. Her parent’s public statement said that Jada was “…not only an observer, but someone who knew her important role as a crew member.” 

We also recently lost Captain Thomas “Tommy” Williams of the F/V Heritage. Captain Williams was an active member of our Study Fleet Program, where captains and crews collect detailed data on fishing effort, catch, and environmental conditions that are used in multiple science products. Working together strengthens our science and our understanding of fisheries. 

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with all the families of those lost. The grief from these events has spread far and wide.

For me, these events have strengthened my belief that to ensure the long-term economic and biological sustainability of our region's fisheries, we need to respect each other and work together in partnership. I plan to emphasize this at every opportunity and encourage others to do the same.