October 23 – All About Aquaculture: Current Status in New England - In the fourth and final post in the All About Aquaculture series, we take a look at current aquaculture research and production in New England and the government agencies involved in the regulation of aquaculture operations.

October 26 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, October 26 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, scientists and environmental groups speak out against a proposed fisheries data confidentiality rule; Carl Safina and Andrew Read argue against a delay for a gillnetting closure; The New York Times discusses the damaging effects of trawling; fishing communities prepare for Hurricane Sandy, a coalition celebrates the removal of a dam in Taunton; a new bill would allow spearfishing for stripers in MA; NMFS proposes more relaxed regulations for dogfish; Ellen Pikitch argues for precautionary, ecosystem-based fisheries management.

August 24 – Court Order Sets Clock Ticking for Action on River Herring – In a few weeks the New England Fishery Management Council will get a letter, probably a long one, explaining why the coming year will bring big changes to the way the council handles severely depleted river herring and shad.

August 24 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, August 24 – In this week’s Fish Talk in the News: NOAA asks Congress to keep NERO in Gloucester; the Boston Globe supports John Bullard; New England fishing is the deadliest profession in the country; the South Shore Seafood Exchange grows; rising seal numbers cause concern; a gold rush for New England conch; river herring return to Upper Mystic Lake; and a cooking competition raises awareness of local, sustainable seafood.

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  TalkingFish.org interviewed Mike Palmer, Northeast Fisheries Science Center fisheries biologist, about stock assessments.

  June 12 – Taking Stock of New England Fish: Part 4 – TalkingFish.org interviews Mike Palmer, Research Fisheries Biologist in the Population Dynamics Branch of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. In this post, Mike Palmer answers our questions about best available science and the challenges of conducting fish stock assessments.

• June 15 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, June 15 – Stories of interest this week: Discussion of a new marketing campaign for Maine lobster; NEFMC looking for a new executive director; GMRI raises awareness of underutilized local species; work begins to remove the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River in Maine; record numbers of river herring and shad are returning to spawn in the Connecticut River; and a new study shows the Gulf of Maine’s productivity is decreasing due to climate change.

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  The NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester (photo credit: NERO website).

  Monday, April 30: “Penny wise and politically foolish” – Two weeks ago, a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee determined that federal dollars would be better spent by closing down the Northeast Regional Office of NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester, MA and moving almost all operations to the NMFS headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. This move was proposed as a cost-saving measure, but we believe it is a short-sighted proposal.

• Friday, May 4: “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 4” – Interesting stories this week: a New York chef takes a trip to the Boston fish market; the Boston Globe supports NERO staying in MA; more confusion over which sustainable seafood guides to trust; a new stock assessment confirms that river herring populations are depleted; and upcoming trips to take a look at herring runs.

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  TalkingFish.org interviews Chef Jeremy Sewall, shown here plating a delicious dish (Photo credit: Jeremy Sewall).

  Wednesday, March 28 – “Chef Jeremy Sewall seeks high-quality local seafood for his daily menus” – TalkingFish.org interviews well-known Boston chef Jeremy Sewall, the Chef/Owner of Lineage and Island Creek Oyster Bar and the Executive Chef at Eastern Standard.

• Thursday, March 29 – “Little Fish, Big Fishery” – The latest post in the “Bottom Line” series by Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group. Within the next few weeks, alewife and blueback herring, collectively known as river herring, will begin their annual migration from coastal waters to their native rivers.
• Friday, March 30 – “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, March 30″ – A roundup of fish stories in the news: the commercial striped bass fishery in Massachusetts will be allowed to continue; some rivers are reporting higher-than-average herring runs this year, and consumers are becoming more interested in eating the fish; warming Gulf of Maine waters may be bad news for ocean ecosystems; Whole Foods commits to keeping overfished seafood out of stores; and a lucrative elver season is underway in Maine.

• Monday, March 19 – “Eating with the Ecosystem” – A new venture in Rhode Island takes a holistic view of local seafood and aims to encourage us to eat a diverse array of species, rather than depleting our marine resources by consuming the same few fish. Read this blog post to learn more about Eating with the Ecosystem and how you can enjoy it at a participating restaurant.
• Wednesday, March 21 – “Recap and Roundup of News on Today’s Fishermen Rally” – This week, fishing groups held a rally in Washington, D.C. to voice to lawmakers their support for bills that would eliminate significant conservation measures from the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 36-year old law that governs the management of our nation’s fisheries and has helped bring severely depleted fish populations back from the brink of collapse. TalkingFish.org compiled a list of interesting opinion-based coverage of the rally and the forces behind it.
• Friday, March 23 – “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, March 23″ – Interesting stories from around the web this week: what river herring are and why they’re important; what to expect from the show “Wicked Tuna”; and a video and recipes to help you make sushi at home.

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  The International Boston Seafood Show

  March 14: “How Investing in Our Fisheries Pays Off” – Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group explains how the Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (FIRRA) of 2012 would provide financial support to fishermen and improve management of our oceans.

• March 15: “Some Thoughts from the Boston Seafood Show” - CLF Program Assistant Samantha Caravello writes about the Boston Seafood Show, U.S. reliance on seafood imports, and how important it is to try to support local fishermen instead.
• March 16: “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, March 16″ – This week’s roundup of interesting fish stories: a stop-motion video of where your sushi is coming from; fish is high on the list of disease-causing imported foods; a federal district court judge rules to protect river herring; and groundfish populations may have been overestimated in the 2008 stock assessments.

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  This week, TalkingFish.org interviews Mark Usewicz, chef and Co-Owner of Mermaid’s Garden, a Brooklyn-based sustainable seafood consultancy (Photo credit: Mark Usewicz).

  “Mark Usewicz helps chefs bring sustainable and adventurous seafood to your plate” – Brooklyn-based sustainable seafood consultant Mark Usewicz talks with TalkingFish.org about how he helps chefs make the right decisions about what seafood to serve their customers. Plus, he shares a great shell bean and clam stew recipe.

• “Ready to hear about herring?” – A rundown of the main concerns with the industrial Atlantic herring trawl fleet and the solutions available in the upcoming amendment to the herring fishery management plan, as well as a schedule of public hearings where you can voice your opinions on the new plan.
• “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, March 9” – Some interesting news we’ve been reading this week: Senator Kerry introduces a bill to fund fishery research, the government and CLF support Amendment 16 in the Court of Appeals, author Paul Greenberg shares his current fish choices, and a roundup of this weekend’s ocean and fish-related events.

River herring. Photo credit: Chris Bowser, NY State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Alewife and blueback herring, collectively known as “river herring,” are a linchpin of the Atlantic ecosystem and key prey species for countless marine and freshwater animals. But today, where millions of these fish once swam, they now number in the thousands, or even mere hundreds. In August, because of the perilous status of this important species, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to have alewife and blueback herring listed as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This would mean that without substantial intervention, river herring are likely to become endangered and eventually extinct throughout all or significant portions of their ranges.

In response to the petition, NMFS agreed that a “threatened” listing may be warranted, and it will now take the next twelve months to conduct a scientific review that will determine the next course of action. If river herring are listed under the ESA, they will be better protected against bycatch in ocean fisheries, which studies estimate kills roughly 12 million fish annually, and they will also be better protected against water pollution, dams and other harms.

In order to ensure that NMFS undertakes a comprehensive and fully-independent scientific review and does not cut corners or cave to outside pressures, we need you to reach out to NMFS and ask that its review of the status of river herring be based on the best available science.

Click here to send your comments to NMFS and help protect river herring!