National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for the management, conservation and protection of living marine resources within the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone (water three to 200 mile offshore).Resources include news stories, podcassts, video, photos, etc.
Up-to-date information on popular seafood harvested - or farmed - in the United States. It is not a buyer's guide designed to discriminate against one fishery or advocate for another, nor is it an ecolabel or certification. Rather, FishWatch helps you understand the complex science, laws, and management process actively sustaining our seafood supply.
Commercial Fisheries Statistics
The NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries Statistics Division has automated data summary programs that anyone can use to rapidly and easily summarize U.S. commercial fisheries landings. Also includes foreign trade data.
Saltwater Recreational Data and Statistics query page
Searchable database of recreational saltwater fishing catch, effort, and participation data and statistics. Different types of queries are available to best meet your needs.
Stock assessments are key to marine resource management. They provide high-quality science information to managers and help managers make the best decisions to ensure sustainable fisheries, healthy ecosystems, and productive coastal communities.
Marine Mammal Stock Assessments
Marine mammal stock assessment reports for marine mammal stocks that occur in waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
One-stop tool for viewing the spatial representations of fish species, their life-stages and important habitats.
Coastal and marine habitat includes seagrass beds, shellfish beds, coral reefs, coastal marshes, mangroves, kelp forests, mudflats, and rivers. Use the interactive map to highlight habitat areas where NOAA has ongoing research efforts.
A network of 14 marine protected areas encompassing more than 170,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Washington state to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron to American Samoa. The network includes a system of 13 national marine sanctuaries and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Helps educators bring the beauty and the importance of estuaries into classrooms and educational programs. This site provides, primarily, an avenue for elementary, middle and high school students, and their teachers, to learn more about estuaries, research, and explore NOAA’s “living laboratories” - the National Estuarine Research Reserves.
Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Due to over-hunting, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a whaling moratorium was introduced in 1966. Stocks have since partially recovered; however, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution also remain concerns. There are at least 80,000 humpback whales worldwide. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpbacks are now sought by whale-watchers, particularly off parts of Australia, New Zealand, South America, Canada, and the United States. This photo was taken under a NOAA Fisheries scientific research permit. Admire wildlife from a distance, for your safety and their protection.
From http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/gallery/images/category/whales_and_dolphins.html