Saving Seafood

Federal judge denies tribal claims in suit against federal fisheries managers

March 19, 2025 — A federal district court judge has denied a claim made by two regional tribal consortiums in Western Alaska that fisheries management in the Bering Sea violated environmental law.

United States District Court Judge Sharon Gleason denied the claims made by the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) in a judgement on March 11.

The Association of Village Council Presidents – the regional tribal consortium for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta – and the Tanana Chiefs Conference – the regional tribal consortium for much of western Interior Alaska – had sued the National Marine Fisheries Service, which manages fisheries in the federal waters outside of Alaska. Two fisheries trade organizations with ties to the pollock industry – the At-Sea Processors Association and United Catcher Boats – joined in defense of federal fisheries managers.

The tribal organizations, along with the City of Bethel, claimed that recent groundfish harvest management in the Bering Sea wasn’t properly taking into account major changes to the ocean ecosystem, including fisheries collapses on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, and thus violated federal law under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Read the full article at KYUK

ALASKA: Native fleets diminished by fishing limits- is change possible?

March 19, 2025 — For generations, Alaska’s Indigenous communities have relied on commercial fishing as both a livelihood and a cultural cornerstone. But decades-old federal policies restricting access to fisheries have left Native-owned fleets struggling to stay afloat.

Now, Indigenous advocates and tribal leaders are calling for changes that would restore opportunities for Native fishermen. According to a recent report from KTOO, the federal Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system and other limited-entry programs implemented in the 1990s had devastating effects on many Indigenous fishing communities. While designed to stabilize the industry, these systems made it increasingly difficult for younger Native fishermen to enter the trade, ultimately diminishing the presence of Native-owned vessels in Alaska’s commercial fisheries.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Decades after commercial fishing limits gutted Native fishing fleets, advocates call for change

March 18, 2025 — A half-century ago, Angoon’s harbor was packed with small, family-operated fishing vessels. Salmon and halibut fed mouths and bank accounts.

Peter Duncan, Mayor of Angoon, remembers those days. But it’s not the same anymore. Fisheries limitation regulations have caused “devastating changes,” he said. “You just don’t find a troller in our harbors anymore.” That’s caused his village to depend more on government assistance programs, including food stamps, he said.

Duncan grew up fishing on his father’s seiner in the small Lingít village on Admiralty Island. He graduated to his own troll boat and commercially fished until the early 1990s, when he said he couldn’t make a living that way anymore.

He said the opening date for the king salmon fishery was pushed later in the season, when most fish had already gone further into the inside waters and up rivers to spawn. Folks weren’t catching enough salmon to make money, so permits became more valuable to sell.

“A lot of boats, you know, they just sold out, and they, they couldn’t do it anymore, and they’ve tried,” he said.

Many of those fishing permits left the island, and with them went the means for the village to sustain itself.

“It’s sad to know that at one time, we used to be a strong fishing fleet that took pride in going out and going fishing and making something for ourselves,” Duncan said.

Read the full article at KTOO

US judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Bering Sea pollock fishery

March 18, 2025 — A U.S. district court judge has rejected a lawsuit seeking a new environmental impact study of the Bering Sea commercial pollock fishery, allowing NOAA Fisheries to continue relying on studies from 2004 and 2007 to regulate the fishery.

“We are deeply disappointed by this decision, which allows the National Marine Fisheries Service to continue relying on outdated studies while our salmon populations collapse,” TCC Chief and Chairman Brian Ridley said in a statement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Judge upholds decisions of federal trawl fishery managers amid Bering Sea salmon crisis

March 17, 2025 — Federal fisheries managers did not mishandle trawl fishing rules amid Alaska’s ongoing salmon subsistence crisis, a federal judge in Anchorage has ruled.

In a 45-page order published Tuesday, Judge Sharon Gleason ruled against the Association of Village Council Presidents and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, which sued the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2023 over its management of Bering Sea trawl fisheries in the years since a marine heat wave.

“This suit arises from the apparent tension between federal defendants’ management of the fishery and the needs of Alaskan communities in times of significant change in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands region,” Gleason wrote.

Read the full article at the Anchorage Daily News

Federal shakeup sparks uncertainty for Pacific fisheries

March 13 2025 — Federal actions are causing uncertainty in the scheduled openings of Alaska’s Pacific fisheries, raising concerns among fishermen and owner/operators about potential disruptions to the fishing season.

Recent personnel changes within the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have cast doubt on the scientific assessments crucial for managing fish stocks in the region. According to the Alaska Beacon, three NMFS employees in Alaska were recently dismissed, creating unease about the continuity of scientific research that informs fisheries management. These individuals collected and analyzed stock assessment data, a key factor in determining sustainable catch limits. Their sudden removal has led to concerns that vital scientific work may be delayed or compromised just as fisheries prepare to open.

The potential gaps in research have alarmed commercial fishermen, who rely on accurate stock assessments to guide their operations. Without up-to-date data, fishery managers face challenges setting quotas, which could result in either overly restrictive or overly lenient catch limits, both of which carry economic and ecological risks.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Science supporting Alaska seafood industry threatened by federal firings, biologists and fishermen say

March 11, 2025 — Rebecca Howard is a marine biologist who spent six years in graduate school — largely funded by federal scholarship dollars — to earn a doctorate at Oregon State University. Last April, she was hired by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries branch to join in annual surveys off Alaska that gather data vital to the management of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests.

This year, the Seattle-based Howard was scheduled to spend three weeks aboard a chartered fishing boat sampling Gulf of Alaska marine life, and another three weeks on a Bering Sea survey. But on Feb. 27, more than 10 months into a yearlong probation, she received an email from a NOAA vice admiral informing her that she was being terminated. Her ability, knowledge “and/or skills” no longer fit the agency’s needs.

“This is what I wanted to do. I wanted to stay at this job,” Howard said in an interview from Seattle, where she worked at the main branch of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “It was a huge disappointment.”

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: State seeks fishery resource disaster determination for Prince William Sound salmon

March 6, 2025 — State officials are seeking millions of dollars in financial relief funds for six salmon fisheries disasters in 2024, including one in Prince William Sound.

In his letter of Jan. 28 to Acting Commerce Secretary Jeremy Pelter, Gov. Mike Dunleavy noted that there was an unexpectedly large decrease in the harvest of pink and chum salmon in 2024 in the Prince William Sound salmon fisheries.

The harvests of 9.95 million pink salmon and 1.70 million chum salmon were below the recent five-year averages by 75% and 57% respectively.

Preliminary data estimates the financial value of the 2024 Prince William Sound pink and chum salmon fisheries were also below the recent five-year average – 78% to 88% respectively – and that estimated losses totaled more than $85 million.

The federal government has already acknowledged the request for funding for the Kotzebue area and more acknowledgements are anticipated for requests for Prince William Sound pink and chum fisheries, Lower Cook Inlet pink salmon, Kodiak pink salmon, and Alaska Peninsula sockeye and South Peninsula pinks.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

ALASKA: NOAA workers fired in Juneau as part of national purge

March 4, 2025 — More federal workers were fired in Alaska Thursday, this time at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

Agency staff could not confirm how many people were fired from NOAA offices in the Juneau area.

Aaron Lambert, a fisheries management specialist, says he was one of at least four people who cleared out their desks at NOAA’s Alaska Regional Office in the Federal Building downtown.

Lambert says he saw it coming – he was a ‘probationary employee’ who was with the agency for six months. But that didn’t buoy the “sinking feeling” when he received the email at 11:35 a.m. Thursday officially firing him because his “ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs,” according to the email.

Read the full article at KTOO

New study shows impact of ocean acidification on Bering Sea red king crab

February 27, 2025 — Ocean acidification appears to be a driver in the decline of Bristol Bay red king crab, a highly value wild Alaska seafood that has for years been threatened by climate change.

“There’s always been a high demand for Alaska crab,” said Jamie Goen, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, in October 2024. “It’s a matter of having the crab to harvest.”

The red king crab fishery was closed in 2021 and 2022, then reopened in 2023 with 31 vessels fishing down from 47 vessels, she said.

The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery experienced record landings every year from 1977 to 1980, peaking in 1980 with a record total harvest of 130 million pounds. Then the fishery collapsed in 1981 and 1982, leading to closure in 1983.

A new report published on Feb. 7 in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science said that negative effects of acidification explained 21% of recruitment variability of Bristol Bay red king crab between 1980 and 2023, and 45% since 2000.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times