Investigation shows research vessel crew acted responsibly before and after whale collision

A NOAA investigation has found the crew of the NOAA Research Ship Auk, captained by a NOAA contractor, exercised due care before and after it struck a North Atlantic Right Whale in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the Massachusetts coast in April 2009....

NOAA, the U.S. Department of Energy and private partners launch project to reduce the cost of energy, including wind energy

There has not always been a need to know precisely how hard the wind blows 350 feet above Earth’s surface. Today, wind turbines occupy that zone of the atmosphere, generating electricity. So NOAA and several partners have launched a year-long effort to improve forecasts of the winds there, which ultimately will help to reach the nation’s renewable...

Strong El Niño could bring increased sea levels, storm surges to U.S. East Coast

Coastal communities along the U.S. East Coast may be at risk to higher sea levels accompanied by more destructive storm surges in future El Niño years, according to a new study by NOAA....

U.S. joins more than 50 nations in adopting recommendation to list vessels engaged in illegal fishing around the world

The United States joined more than 50 countries Thursday signing a recommendation to regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) to better track vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for tunas, swordfish, sharks and other highly migratory species....

NOAA is taking steps to protect sea turtles in the Gulf

With additional areas in the Gulf opening to shrimping on Friday, NOAA is continuing to help fishermen comply with Turtle Excluder Device (TED) regulations designed to prevent turtles from being caught in shrimp trawl nets....