At a recent meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organisation in Panama, the United States took action to protect American consumers and the U.S. fishing industry—advancing sustainable fisheries management and strengthening compliance for fish exported to the United States.

In March, while players duel it out on the court, we’re keeping score of all the ways marsh habitat plays an important role in the protection and restoration work we do for communities, fish, and wildlife. Take a look at our marsh habitat features, follow along with #MarshMadness on social media, and learn more about the latest projects from Florida to Massachusetts.

Many oyster farmers choose to raise triploid oysters, whose extra set of chromosomes render them functionally sterile. Sterile oysters grow faster and meatier and pose less of a risk to native habitats and oyster populations. However, they are also more vulnerable to stressful conditions. A new study sheds light on early oyster development and could pave the way for new oyster sterility induction techniques.

Atlantic bluefin tuna migrate over long distances and spend much of their lives in the open ocean, making them notoriously challenging to study. A new study analyzing larval and reproductive sampling from 1955 through 2021 reveals that bluefin tuna may have a nearly continuous spawning area from the Northwest Caribbean to the Slope Sea.

NOAA Fisheries’ new snapshot report outlines the economic decline of the Gulf of America shrimp industry. In recent years, foreign farmed shrimp have driven shrimp prices lower and operating costs have increased. From 2021 to 2023, total Gulf shrimp revenue dropped by more than half, from $489 million to just $221 million. This report is a first step in addressing barriers to restoring the industry’s competitiveness.

Meet NOAA Corps pilot Commander Megan Gaston, who recently rotated into a land-based assignment at NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida. CDR Gatson is a Navy veteran, a former test pilot, and a NOAA hurricane hunter.

A massive marine heatwave warmed the eastern Pacific Ocean through much of 2025, but the wind-driven upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that drives the rich marine productivity of the West Coast kept the ecosystem healthy. These findings are described in the California Current Ecosystem Status Report, NOAA’s annual assessment of the West Coast marine ecosystem.

Scientists found that whale entanglements increase when the nutrient-rich cool water corridor along the West Coast shrinks, in what they call “habitat compression.” As both fishermen and whales chase the plentiful marine life concentrated in this habitat, whales are more likely to encounter fishing gear with lines to the surface. Scientists hope that tracking this habitat compression can provide an early warning system to reduce risks.

The California salmon fishery has been closed for 3 years. Now the Pacific Fishery Management Council has released three alternatives for possible West Coast salmon seasons. In this interview, Regional Administrator Jennifer Quan discusses NOAA’s outlook on this year’s salmon seasons.

NOAA’s Tide to Table series profiles members of the aquaculture community who provide valuable jobs and access to fresh, sustainably sourced American seafood. In this feature, meet the owners of OoNee Sea Urchin Ranch, which is harvesting and ranching purple sea urchins to produce sushi-grade uni. The operation simultaneously helps protect Oregon coast kelp forests by removing the urchins that, unchecked by predators, overeat the kelp.