Why Your Seafood Depends on NOAA More Than You Think

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What if the seafood on your plate depended
on the science you never see, rules

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you've never heard about and an agency
that many people barely know exists?

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That is exactly what
happens each and every day.

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This is the How to
Protect the Ocean Podcast,

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your weekly Ocean Conservation Podcast.

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Follow the show right now if you
want clear stories about what

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really keeps the Ocean healthy.

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Today we're gonna be talking about
seafood, jobs and the hidden NOAA

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system, the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration

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system behind sustainable fisheries.

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Listen.

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NOAA is under attack by
the Trump administration.

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We've saw cuts over the last year
that have devastated a lot of the

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programs and weakened a lot of the
programs, and we're gonna talk about

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some of the services this week.

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If you didn't get yesterday's
episode on weather patterns and

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how it provides information
that helps save people's lives,

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you can go check that out after this
episode, but today we're talking about

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sustainable fisheries and the NOAA system
that will be behind that, and it helps

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manage those sustainable fisheries.

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So here we go.

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Millions of people eat
seafood each and every day.

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Millions more depend on fishing for their
livelihoods, but fish are not unlimited.

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Without the proper management,
fisheries can collapse.

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We have seen that happen in many
parts of the world, including

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my home country in Canada.

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This is where NOAA comes in,
not just in Canada, but it comes

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in in other places, of course.

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NOAA scientists assess fish
populations, estimate abundance,

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study reproduction, monitor catches
and help set harvest limits designed

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to keep stocks healthy over time.

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That means the goal is
not just fish today.

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It is fish next year
and 10 years from now.

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Now look, responsible fishing and
sustainable fisheries management is

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something that we need to talk about
each and every day because there

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are a lot of times where that fails.

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And a lot of times it's the
system that we put together.

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The science is usually on par.

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And it's just a matter of whether the
funding and whether the politicians will

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allow that to happen on a regular basis.

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In Canada, we've seen Oceana Canada come
on this podcast and talk about how a

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lot of the fishery stock assessments that
are supposed to be done each and every

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year are not done each and every year.

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We only see some of the popular ones
that we see and eat every day, but

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there are a lot of other fisheries
that are supposed to be done.

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The stock concession are supposed
to be done and they're not done

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every, even though it's part of law.

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That's what we have nGOs and
nonprofit organizations like Oceana

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Canada to make sure that their report
that comes out every year holds the

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government of Canada accountable.

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And Oceana does that all over
the world, including the US.

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And the US has seen major recoveries
in fisheries, under a science-based

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management frameworks like the
Magnuson Stevens Act, which this year

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celebrated its 50 years in existence.

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A huge, huge thing that has happened.

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The stocks that were once under
pressure have been rebuilt in

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multiple regions through catch limits,
monitoring, and adaptive management.

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A well-known example is Alaska
Pollock, one of the largest

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managed fisheries in the world.

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Strong oversight has helped keep the
stock productive while avoiding the chaos

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seen in poorly managed systems elsewhere.

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So along the Gulf Coast, Red Snapper
Management has been controversial,

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but the larger point remains.

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Management matters because people
care deeply when a fishery supports

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jobs, recreation, and culture.

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On all West Coast, salmon seasons are
adjusted based on changing environmental

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conditions and population trends.

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These decisions are difficult, but they
exist to prevent deeper long-term damage.

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And look, we are in a system.

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We are in a planet that
changes each and every day.

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And every year stocks will change based
on what happens, not just the weather

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fishing pressure has increased or
decreased, but it's also climate change,

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Ocean patterns, below the sea surface
temperature, that's increasing as well.

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We've seen differences in an Ocean
chemistry that is causing the pH to

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lower, which is changing systems as well.

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Looking at, I think I mentioned, but
currents, which is changing where animals

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end up settling, looking managed on Marine
protected areas or Marine sanctuaries.

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Making sure that spawning sites and
nursery areas are also protected.

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All these things change each and
every year 'cause the world is

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changing, the Ocean is changing.

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Whether you think climate change is real
or not, things change all the time.

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It's a fluid area.

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The Ocean is fluid.

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It is a water system that changes

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all the time and scientists there are
there to detect those changes and they're

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there to say, Hey, you know what, this
salmon population that came back this

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year is not as high as it was last year.

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So we're gonna implement catch limits
that were lower than they were last year

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because the population has just lowered.

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And sometimes we know, and
sometimes we don't know.

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We may not know right away.

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We may find out later that has to do
with something that happened out at sea

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or when they came back there was new dam
that really affected more than we thought

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the population of salmon coming back.

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'cause they come back in rivers to spawn.

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So there's a lot of
things that go on in that.

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Making sure that these catch limits,
making sure that everything is being

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assessed properly and is a representative
of what is happening out there, that's

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an important aspect that NOAA provides.

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And a lot of times, unfortunately,
stock assessments and that type of

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science, fishery science is cut.

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And people think we don't use
it, but we're gonna be talking

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about jobs, we're gonna be talking
about the work that it provides.

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It helps sustain for a lot of people.

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We're not talking about just the
fishermen that go and catch the boat.

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We're talking about the fish processors,
the delivery trucks that bring the

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fish to from one place to another.

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The restaurants that depend on seafood,
the grocery stores that depend on seafood.

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All this helps maintain jobs,
maintains a part of the economy that

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is big, especially in coastal areas
on fisheries, and that is something

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that we need to continue to support.

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NOAA also works on bycatch reduction,
which is another part of fisheries

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that we have to be careful.

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Bycatch is anything that is caught,
basically that is accidental

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capture of like sea turtles, Marine
mammals, sharks, seabirds, and of

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course the non-target fish species.

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So if you're going after Alaskan Pollock,
but you're catching a lot of arctic char,

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that's not what you wanna be catching,

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you wanna make sure that you're
reducing that bycatch because

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one people may not buy it.

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Or you're decreasing a population that you
do not want to decrease because it could

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be sensitive to, as I mentioned, a lot of
changes that are happening in the Ocean.

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Okay?

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Gear improvements, closures, observer
programs, and better data can

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reduce waste and ecological harm.

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So you're probably wondering,
well, Andrew, why is this

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actually mattering to people?

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How does this affect people?

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As I mentioned before, we're
gonna be talking about seafood

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markets need predictability.

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Fish communities need stability.

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These fishing communities have been
fishing for generations and generations.

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And we're not talking about the
industrial complex of fisheries.

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We're talking about the artisanal
fishers that depend on this to get

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their kids to school, making sure that
their families are stable and living

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a life that you and I live as well.

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And of course, like consumers
want confidence that seafood

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was harvested responsibly.

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We don't wanna have to know that we're
buying something that isn't great.

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We may not ask the right questions
at times, but we just trust that

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the system is proper and that
it's being managed properly.

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NOAA helps create that confidence.

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Without management, you often get
a boom and bust type of cycle.

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So overfishing collapses, job
losses, conflict, and long recoveries

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for a lot of these fisheries.

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And so that's what it
matters to the people.

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Now, why this all matters to the
oceans essentially is healthy

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fisheries are conservation.

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When fish populations remain
abundant, ecosystems function better,

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predators have food and habitats face less
pressure from desperate over exploitation.

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And so when we have a diverse area, we
have more stability within the system.

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And so that diversity stays,
everything stays the same.

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We get a better economy, we get better
fisheries, we get better seafood.

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And so if you enjoy seafood,
there is a chance that science

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and management help put it there.

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And that's why we need to continue to
help NOAA stay with the programs it does

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and get funded with the programs it does.

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And not just taking a cut across
the board like we saw last year.

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It may not be perfect, it never will
be, but unmanaged decline is worse

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in fisheries than anytime we think.

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So, when you talk about taking cuts
or making cuts with NOAA, obviously

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there are some programs that could run
a little bit more efficient, for sure.

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I'm not saying that it's
not, but cutting programs that

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affect the economy is not great.

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We don't talk a lot about
the seafood economy.

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It provides a lot of money to the economy,
and it may not be as big as tech or

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as big as fossil fuel or anything like
that, but properly managed fisheries

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not only stabilize the country and
the economy, but also stabilizes the

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ecosystems and the waters that surround
the US, North America and elsewhere.

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When we look at seafood, it's not just
along the coastal lines of the US.

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It's also worldwide too.

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NOAA helps a lot of worldwide
because those populations

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don't always see borders.

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And having reports on shark species,
Marine mammals, fisheries, all

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these things to make sure that the
Ocean is in good shape and stable,

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that is something that is extremely
important for us here in Canada,

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in the US, around the world,
for every country to look at.

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And NOAA has been a leader in a
lot of the research that people

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have taken and moved around.

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So, having them in the right frame
of mind, in the right funding

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agency, with the right amount of
funds to do these studies and to

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continue to lead is really important.

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The US has been a leader in
fisheries management for a long time.

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I'd like to keep it that way.

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To be honest, because we all benefit
from it, the world benefit from it,

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from the methods, from the sharing.

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The scientists are fantastic and
I'd love to see that continue.

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So, that's it for today's episode.

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If you have any questions or
comments, you can hit me up online.

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You can go to our socials.

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There'll be in the show notes.

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You can also hit me up at
speak up for blue.com/feedback.

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Let me know if you wanna
leave a voicemail or text.

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You can do that anytime you want.

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DM me on Instagram at
How to Protect the Ocean.

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And, yeah, that's it for today's episode.

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Follow How to Protect the Ocean
for more real stories behind

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Ocean Policy and Conservation.

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And thank you so much for joining
me on today's episode of the How

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to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.

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Have a great day.

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We'll talk to you tomorrow
and happy conservation.