Area M

Facing potential endangered species status for Gulf of Alaska king salmon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is rolling out fishing restrictions across western Alaska.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced a pair of bills last month that would allow electronic monitoring aboard commercial fishing vessels in state fisheries. That electronic monitoring could be used in place of mandatory observers aboard fishing vessels. But some in the fishing industry are wondering why it’s necessary, since only a small number of state-managed fisheries require onboard observation.

Western Alaska chum versus Eastern Aleutian sockeye: that’s how many people are framing an Alaska Senate bill that aims to temporarily close Area M, a fishery off the Alaska Peninsula and eastern Aleutian Islands.

One proposal aimed to limit the amount of chum caught in Area M’s South Peninsula fishery to allow more chum to return to Western Alaska rivers. The board ended up passing some restrictions, but it’s far short of what Western Alaska residents were hoping for. And communities near the Area M fishery say they aren’t satisfied either.