December 12, 2025 — Last week, members of the body that oversees federal fisheries off Alaska’s coast recommended keeping next year’s catch limits for the sprawling Bering Sea pollock fishery about the same as this year.
Managing the nation’s largest commercial fishery is never simple, but North Pacific Fishery Management Council member Anne Vanderhoeven said during the meeting that this year had unprecedented challenges.
“Because of the lapse in federal funding and the subsequent government shutdown, updated stock assessments are not available,” she said.
Without those assessments, the council had to rely on older data and partial updates.