This week on Talking Fish, NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer brings incredible live footage of New England’s ocean floor to your computer; in Fish Talk in the News, lobster shell disease and southern species move north in response to warmer waters.

This week on Talking Fish, Peter Shelley attempts to kick off Shark Week by trying dogfish; bad management, not scientific uncertainty, is to blame for the groundfish crisis; the Island Institute hosts a symposium on fisheries and climate change; in Fish Talk in the News, President Obama nominates Kathryn Sullivan to lead NOAA, and the agency refuses to list river herring under the Endangered Species Act.

July 29 - Overfishing Threatens Genetic Diversity of Winter Flounder - New research by scientists in six bays of Long Island, New York, shows that overfishing of winter flounder living in these bays has led to severe inbreeding, a factor that is not typically considered in marine fisheries management. August 2 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 2 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, fishermen and environmentalists are disappointed with NMFS’ rejection of observer requirements for the herring fleet; industry members say that uncertainty in stock assessments means catch limits should be eased; the NEFMC chairman tells NOAA that observer requirements for closed areas access are excessive; the Island Institute hosts a symposium on fisheries and climate change; oyster thieves hit another Cape Cod farm; three fishery management councils agree to protect deep-sea corals; NOAA announces a read more…

This week on Talking Fish, CLF’s Sean Mahoney and the State of Maine celebrate the return of alewives to the St. Croix River; Gloucester Daily Times reporter Richard Gaines has died; 20 years after New England’s cod stocks collapsed, the sense of deja vu is unshakeable; in Fish Talk in the News, the first great white of the season is spotted off Cape Cod and Connecticut scales back its salmon restocking efforts.

Shark! OK – not until the third paragraph, but I want you to stay with me[i]. The second meeting of our first-in-the-nation coastal and ocean Regional Planning Body is happening in a couple of weeks, and the goal is to set some goals for regional ocean planning. This may sound like a wonky, best-left-to-professionals sort of affair, but we beg to differ. Bear with me, and maybe I can convince you that this is worth paying attention to. As established by the National Ocean Policy, the Regional Planning Body (RPB) consists of representatives from federal and state agencies, regional tribes, the New England Fishery Management Council, and an ex officio member from Canada. The RPB was brought together to design the process for the first regional ocean plan to be read more…

This week on Talking Fish, Sean Cosgrove responds to Saving Seafood’s argument that trawling benefits ocean ecosystems; Fish Talk in the News checks in on the Maine shrimp fishery, Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization hearings, and committee discussion of anti-consolidation measures for the New England groundfish fleet.

I’ll be honest with you – I tend to stay on top of the water when I’m in the ocean. Or, I try, anyway. As a surfer the goal is to spend as little time underwater as possible. Especially in the winter. But I’m starting to think I’m missing out on something by avoiding the chilly depths of our Gulf of Maine. The Boston Sea Rovers, one of the oldest underwater clubs in the nation, hosted its 59th annual show this past weekend, and I was lucky enough to be there with some fellow CLFers. We went to talk about the importance of preserving valuable habitat, like Cashes Ledge, for protecting our fragile ocean ecosystems and helping our dwindling groundfish stocks recover. We hoped that by showing people Brian Skerry’s read more…

It’s been a great year for CLF — and a great year on CLF Scoop. We’ve had lots of great posts by our advocates, staff and volunteers. See below for the most read 10 blog posts published in 2012. Counting Down to Shark Week 2012 Nov 11, 2011 by Robin Just The Promise of Urban Agriculture: New Growing Green Report Jul 12, 2012 by Jo Anne Shatkin and Melissa Hoffer Latest Research: Northern Pass Worse for the Climate than Advertised Feb 14, 2012 by Christophe Courchesne The “New Route” for Northern Pass Won’t Cure Its Failings May 24, 2012 by Christophe Courchesne Salem Harbor Enforced Shutdown: The Beginning of the End for Old Coal in New England Feb 10, 2012 by N. Jonathan Peress Risky Business: Leaking Natural Gas Infrastructure and How to Fix It Nov 28, read more…

  For the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home. “Home” means something different for each wildlife species in their ocean habitat of the Gulf of Maine. For example, animals like the Atlantic wolffish  tend to live in rocky areas where they can hide out, guard their eggs and ambush prey. Wolffish depend on this particular type of habitat to live, and other species are just as dependent on other types of habitat. Places such as Cashes Ledge, Jeffreys Ledge and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary provide rich habitat for highly depleted cod and haddock, sea turtles and four species of whales. Most of these three areas in the Gulf of Maine currently benefit from fishing regulations which prohibit harmful bottom trawling, but these protections are temporary. With groundfish populations at their lowest recorded levels, some members read more…