Saving Seafood

Federal judge hears oral arguments in Pebble mine case, decision pending

June 30, 2026 —  A federal court in Anchorage held arguments yesterday over the proposed Pebble mine. The US District Judge Sharon Gleason presiding over the hearing stated she will try to make a final determination in the near term. Litigants are hopeful that this ruling will be the final say in a 16 year long process over the proposed mine’s future.

Plaintiffs of the case, including Pebble Limited Partnership and Northern Dynasty Minerals, argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has limited authority to prevent the development of the mine. Pebble’s attorney argued alongside the State of Alaska, Iliamna Native Limited, and Alaska Peninsula Corporation. Defendants of the case were the Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA, as well as a representative for 23 intervener defendant groups. These groups include several entities from Bristol Bay like Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, and Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay.

Hearings from both the plaintiffs and defendants dove deep into administrative law, presenting arguments over salmon genetics, US waterways, the definition of a fishery, and the difference between the words “likely” and “will” when it comes to having adverse effects.

Daniel Cheyette was present in the courtroom yesterday. He’s the Senior Vice President for legal and land at the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, one of the 23 intervenor defendants. KDLG spoke with Cheyette to learn what occurred in the courtroom, and what a ruling might mean for the Bristol Bay Fishery.

Read the full transcript at KNBA

ALASKA: Halibut stamp required for charter boats in Alaska waters this year

June 30, 2026 — Federal fisheries managers have instituted new regulations for charter halibut fishing in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska this year. Anglers charter fishing in these regions must have a charter halibut stamp in order to keep their catch.

The stamp costs $20 per day and the money will go to a nonprofit called the Recreational Quota Entity.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, charter boat operators are the ones in charge of buying the stamps. David Ardinger, who asked to be referred to as Captain Dave, is the owner and operator of Fish ‘N Chips Charters in Kodiak. He said he wishes it was on the angler to buy the halibut stamp, which is the case for the king salmon stamp. But he’s not against the stamp in general.

“It’s a good idea, the idea of a halibut stamp, because they’re going to use the money to buy commercial IFQs,” he said.

By buying individual fishing quotas or IFQs from the commercial fishing industry, the Recreational Quota Entity will ultimately up the number of halibut that charter boats can harvest. But Captain Dave said it’s a small fix for a larger problem.

Read the full article at KMXT

Environmental group sues federal government to boost protections for Pacific coast sunflower sea stars

June 29, 2026 — The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, pushing to finalize long‑delayed protections for the imperiled sunflower sea star.

Sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are enormous compared to their counterparts, about 3 feet wide with up to 24 arms. They display a wide range of colors, often in combinations including bright orange, yellow-red, brown, purple, pink and occasionally blue. They occur throughout intertidal and subtidal coastal waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to at least northern Baja California, Mexico.

The animals used to be abundant along Oregon’s coast — but nearly 90% of the entire population has been lost due to a gruesome disease known as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. It causes their arms to twist, melt away and fall off, ultimately resulting in death.

Read the full article at KLCC

ALASKA: Group criticizes proposed Alaska water reservation changes

June 29, 2026 — SalmonState is raising concerns over proposed changes to Alaska’s water reservation regulations, arguing the measures would make it more difficult for Alaskans to secure water reservations intended to protect salmon habitat and other public uses.

According to SalmonState, the proposed regulations from the Dunleavy Administration would require applicants seeking water reservations to pay for additional studies, data collection, and analyses. The organization said water reservations are one of the primary tools available to help ensure rivers and streams retain enough water to support fish habitat, wildlife, recreation, and other public uses when water is being appropriated for industrial purposes.

Former Alaska Senate President Rick Halford criticized the proposal, saying it could weaken protections for salmon streams.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Alaska golden king crab TAC rises 13 percent for 2026-27 season

June 26, 2026 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced a 2026-27 total allowable catch (TAC) of approximately 4.74 million pounds for Alaska golden king crab, a 13 percent increase from last season’s 4.19 million-pound harvest limit, according to a June 24 release from seafood supplier Keyport LLC.

The increase comes through adjustments across the fishery’s two Aleutian Islands management regions. The TAC east of 174° W longitude, which represents the core of the fishery, will decrease slightly from 3.32 million pounds to 3.184 million pounds. West of 174° W longitude, however, the TAC will increase from 870,000 pounds to 1.558 million pounds.

Golden king crab is managed across the eastern and western Aleutian Islands, with harvest limits allocated among Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ), Community Development Quota (CDQ), and the Adak Community Allocation (ACA) program.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Subsistence battle leaves Alaska with $1.8 million legal bill

June 25, 2026 — A federal judge has ordered the State of Alaska to pay nearly $ 1.8 million dollars in attorney fees to four Native groups, following a long-running fight over subsistence fishing rights in Southwest Alaska.

The case began four years ago when federal managers sued the state for failing to uphold a rural subsistence priority required under federal law. The Native groups joined the lawsuit. And the state ultimately lost a series of court battles, which culminated when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear the case.

For now, this long-standing legal battle over subsistence management is at a standstill. But the legal bill is due — and the cost of that fight has raised new questions.

A clash of state and federal law

The litigation stems from a long-standing conflict between the Alaska Constitution and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA, a law Congress passed in 1980. It gives priority to rural Alaskans to hunt and fish in times of scarcity.

But this kind of geographic preference runs up against the Alaska Constitution, which says all Alaskans have an equal right to natural resources. Under Article VIII, courts have ruled that giving preference based on where someone lives is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The battle over rural priority led the federal government to take over management of subsistence in waters that flow through federal land. On the Kuskokwim River, dual management was especially problematic, because the 700-mile river runs through both state and federal lands.

For many years, state and federal managers shared responsibility for the fishery, with the state usually taking the lead in most of the decisions. But it was never an easy partnership, one that grew more difficult after salmon runs began to fail. In 2020, tensions reached a breaking point, when managers issued conflicting orders for subsistence fishing.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

Commerce Department releases $123.6 million in fishery disaster aid

June 24, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Commerce announced June 17 the allocation of $123.6 million in fishery disaster relief funding to address a series of commercial fishery collapses that struck Alaska, Oregon, California, and Washington’s Squaxin Island Tribe between 2019 and 2023. The money was appropriated by Congress through the American Relief Act, 2025.

The funding covers six previously declared fishery resource disasters: the 2023–2024 Bering Sea snow crab fishery in Alaska; the 2023 Oregon ocean commercial salmon fishery; the 2022 Chignik salmon fishery in Alaska; the 2023 Upper Cook Inlet East Side Setnet salmon fishery in Alaska; the 2024 California Sacramento River Fall Chinook and Klamath River Fall Chinook ocean and inland salmon fisheries; and the 2023 Squaxin Island Tribe Puget Sound Fall Chum salmon fishery in Washington.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA announces USD 124 million in fisheries disaster assistance

June 23, 2025 — NOAA has announced USD 124 million (EUR 109 million) in fisheries disaster aid to the states of Alaska, Oregon, and California, as well as the Squaxin Island Tribe.

“Fishery resource disasters have devastating effects on local communities and our economy,” NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs said in a release. “This disaster funding provides much needed assistance to our fishing industry, and we will work with the affected communities to help them recover. This action demonstrates our continued commitment to hardworking American fishermen and to the president’s vision to uphold the United States as the world’s dominant seafood leader.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Bristol Bay sockeye run gaining momentum

June 23, 2026 — The 2026 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season is beginning to take shape, with early catches concentrated in the Ugashik District and fishery managers reporting that run timing remains on track with preseason expectations.

According to the June 19 KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report, fishermen across the bay have harvested 151,668 sockeye salmon so far this season, including 31,167 fish landed on Thursday. Total run strength has reached 199,369 fish, while cumulative escapement stands at 47,701 fish.

This year’s forecast calls for an inshore run of 44.1 million sockeye salmon. While that projection is 26 percent below the recent 10-year average, it remains 21 percent above the long-term average run of 37.4 million fish.

Ugashik has accounted for the bulk of the early harvest. Fishermen there landed 27,813 sockeye on Thursday, bringing the district’s cumulative catch to 107,281 fish. The district’s inshore run is forecast at 5.2 million fish, with a projected harvestable surplus of approximately 4.3 million fish after escapement needs are met.

Egegik’s cumulative catch has reached 38,784 fish. Escapement counts there climbed to 2,658 sockeye after 2,340 fish passed the counting towers Thursday. The district is forecast to receive an 8.9 million fish run, with a potential harvestable surplus of 7.5 million fish.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman