Fish & Fisheries

A federal judge in Oregon told the National Marine Fisheries Service on Sept. 10, 2001, to either define a genetic difference between wild and hatchery fish or reconsider protecting the wild fish under the Endangered Species Act.

As of Sept. 21, reporters and citizens have access to substantial US Fish and Wildlife Service data on fish diseases in US waters.

As populations of wild salmon decline and cans and slabs of farmed salmon proliferate on supermarket shelves aquaculture practices that help feed the demand for the fish are gaining attention.

Consumers looking for information on which fish may be better to eat, considering factors such as sustainability, health, or source identification, have a range of potential sources.

More fish in US federal marine waters have become overfished, according to NOAA's annual assessment for 2006, released June 22, 2007

Hideous, insidious rock snot smothers US waterways.

Reporters trying to cover fisheries issues may soon find decisions happening faster than they can cover them.

The last vestiges of the dam-building era continue. But the era of the dam removers is well under way, as communities try to improve river habitat, restore fish migrations, or remove hazardous dams that are crumbling or no longer serve a useful purpose (though dam removal can also have potentially adverse consequences, such as the release of toxic sediments, or reductions in species that had adapted to the dam environment). In 2008, about 60 dams were removed, according to the advocacy group American Rivers. That adds substantially to the more than 300 dams that have been removed since 1999, and about 790 dams removed in the last 100 years, according to the group's tally.

The U.S. National Organic Standards Board is set to propose standards for aquaculture.