Vetle Berntsen and the others on the trawler understood little when the black fish ended up on board. No wonder – the fish actually live in deep water around the equator. It turned out to be Diretmichthys parini, also known as ducat fish, one of three documented in Norway.

The oil likely will continue to encroach on Orange County beaches for the next few days, officials said.

Karen Dunmall, a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said pink salmon normally prefer warmer waters than the Arctic has been able to provide. But with the Arctic warming at up to three times the rate of the rest of the world, its waters are becoming more approachable for newcomers like this species.

It happened Thursday night and into Friday morning, when the Crown corporation reduced the spill release from the Daisy Lake Reservoir into the river, stranding fish who had moved closer to the banks.

In 2009, the numbers dropped down to just 500 pairs of Chinook returning. Yet, as of Tuesday, more than 8,000 Chinook had returned to their Cowichan River spawning grounds. The improvement is the result of years of conservation efforts by Cowichan Tribes, who have worked to restore the river to its course before logging operations changed the river.

King and snow crab populations in the Bering Sea have plummeted ahead of the harvest season, some by 99% compared to previous years.

The commercial Silver harvest in the Norton Sound yielded the lowest numbers since 2002.This trend follows suit from last year as well, which yielded far less than projected. The run was “very poor,” Menard said. The preliminary catch was 7,100 Silvers. That’s less than half caught in the commercial fishery last year.

Swarms of giant jellyfish are floating along the coastline of the Sea of Japan, and the damage they may cause to fisheries is feared to be the worst in more than a decade.

The sunken scallop boat, Saint Patrick, remains a pollution hazard off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, decades after sinking in 1989, bringing up memories of a devastating fishing disaster in 1981 that claimed nine lives.

When Kathleen Reed descended for her usual weekly dive off the coast of Nanaimo, B.C., last Saturday she was shocked by how many dead sea cucumbers she saw. Experts and harvesters fear that sea cucumbers are being hit by an illness similar to sea star wasting disease.

About 10% of our catch during dip net fishing at mouth of Kenai River was harboring these worms.

Tim Sands, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game area management biologist, said he is hopeful the strong run throughout Bristol Bay will continue next year.

Caulerpa brachypus, which can spread rapidly and create dense mats, was found in July in Blind Bay and Tryphena Harbour. This was the first time the pest species had been detected in New Zealand.

The prospects are dim for this summer’s Norton Sound commercial fishing and crabbing seasons.

Westfall thanked his training with the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association to help him maximize his odds for survival.

The Kuskokwim River king salmon run does not look particularly strong this year, but chum numbers look even worse. Historically, around 60% of the salmon in the river at this point in the season would be chum or sockeye, but right now Bethel Test Fishery numbers show that just over 20% of the salmon are.

“The midpoint of the Anchor River king salmon run was extremely late. These fish are really having some odd, unprecedented run timing and behavior."

Increasing blanket of mucus-like substance in water threatens coral and fishing industry

A tumor is present on the lower jaw of the sheefish (Stenodus leucichthys).

State officials estimate that 16.8 million fish will have to be trucked from the four state-run hatcheries through the beginning of June, about 20% more than in a normal year. Hatchery managers were able to release the majority of their juveniles upriver before they deemed river conditions too dicey to proceed.