Trawlers

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages federal fisheries off Alaska’s coast, wrapped up its February meeting Tuesday, with one issue dominating discussions: salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea. The 15-member council unanimously approved a motion that inches forward a decision that will finally put to bed the issue of pollock trawlers’ chum salmon bycatch, which has become the biggest fisheries issue in over a decade.

The issue pits a multibillion-dollar industry against Western Alaska subsistence communities struggling with record-low salmon returns — with climate change in the background.

The National Marine Fisheries Service developed the regulations after a 2021 recommendation by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to limit bycatch from the groundfish fleet. Proponents say the limits protect halibut populations from the trawl group, which accounts for more than half of the halibut bycatch in the area. Groundfish Forum, which represents a group of large trawl catcher-processors, said this puts an unfair burden on their sector, while other fisheries in the region aren’t facing the same constraints. They also said the proposed cap is unrealistic because it’s too strict to implement, which they claim violates conservation laws.

The At-Sea Processors Association, representing Alaska's pollock industry, has announced that its long-time leader, Stephanie Madsen, will retire at the end of the year. Madsen has been with the association since 2007, following a career in fisheries that spanned nearly five decades. She was also the first woman to chair the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Congresswoman Mary Peltola has served as the State of Alaska’s only representative in the U.S. House since 2022. She was previously a tribal judge and is the first Alaska Native person in Congress. She’s running for reelection in November and stopped by Unalaska to hear more about the community’s unique concerns.

Communities in the Aleutians are pushing back against proposed legislation that would bring stricter regulations to the Bering Sea trawl fishery. Trade organizations and some coastal communities whose economies rely on trawl fisheries have pushed back against the bill, asking the congresswoman to repeal it.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will not move forward with a request to close the Bristol Bay red king crab savings area to all commercial fishing. At its February meeting, the regulatory council looked at the effectiveness of closing the 4,000-square-nautical-mile section of the eastern Bering Sea to commercial trawl, pot and longline fishing, but decided not to tighten regulations in the area.

Three tribal governments and the Center for Biological Diversity plan to sue to stop the project, which they say could lead to more commercial bottom trawling.

The Center for Biological Diversity said in a Monday statement that NOAA Fisheries needs to uphold its duty to protect the killer whales, which are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Federal officials are looking into the deaths of nine orcas that were hauled up by groundfish trawlers in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fisheries this year.