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Fishery council seeks more information before deciding on chum bycatch in Bering Sea pollock fisheryThe North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages federal fisheries in Alaska, will continue to explore options for how to manage chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. The council, facing rising pressure from western Alaska communities who depend on chum as a cornerstone of subsistence, released a statement Wednesday summarizing their decision from their April meeting.
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The Alaska Salmon Research Task Force is seeking public input on its report about Alaska salmon and their life cycles. Members of the federal group — which formed in June — are tasked with building a report on data gaps in Pacific salmon research and supporting sustainable management of declining salmon stocks, especially in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.
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The Center for Biological Diversity intends to sue the federal government over a new marine highway in Alaska. The environmental group sent a notice letter on Sept. 21 to the U.S. Maritime Administration, which designated the new highway. The letter contends that the federal agency is violating the Endangered Species Act for failing to consider possible harm to endangered wildlife along Alaska’s coast.
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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.
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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.