The permitting processes for oyster restoration projects can be challenging to navigate, as a maze of state and federal programs may apply. A new legal research report, released by the National Sea Grant Law Center and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program, hopes to make these processes a little more easy to navigate by providing an overview of the permitting programs in 21 states.

Two years in the making, Rhode Island’s first comprehensive shellfish management plan was celebrated recently at the University of Rhode Island by the state agencies, project managers, researchers, stakeholders, and funders who made it happen.

Texas Sea Grant, with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), has launched a pilot program to help shrimpers correctly install and operate turtle excluder devices, known as TEDs, and to develop a process to certify those that do. This vessel certification will help consumers choose “turtle-safe” wild-caught Gulf shrimp at their local supermarkets.

New Hampshire Sea Grant is heavily involved in research and extension efforts to address the best way to market seafood and keep fishermen financially afloat, including providing resources for direct market seafood sales and research into retailer and consumer preferences on seafood.

The Chesapeake Bay’s renowned blue crab fishery could support a larger harvest and higher revenues for fishermen if regulators extended protections for mature female crabs, a new study funded by Maryland Sea Grant says.