Saving Seafood

ALASKA: As glaciers melt, salmon and mining companies are vying for the new territory

May 22, 2025 — The Tulsequah Glacier meanders down a broad valley in northwest British Columbia, 7 miles from the Alaska border. At the foot of the glacier sits a silty, gray lake, a reservoir of glacial runoff. The lake is vast, deeper than Seattle’s Space Needle is tall. But it didn’t exist a few decades ago, before 2 miles of ice had melted.

On an overcast day, a helicopter carrying three salmon scientists zoomed up the valley. As it neared the lake, the pilot banked to the right and flew over the south side of the basin, whirring over a narrow outlet where it drains into the Tulsequah River. He landed on a beach of small boulders and the researchers clambered out one by one.

“We don’t think there are fish here yet,” said one of them, Jon Moore, an aquatic ecologist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. “But there will be soon.”

The lake, so new to the landscape that it doesn’t have an official name, is still too cold and murky for salmon. But that’s likely to change soon: As the Tulsequah Glacier above it retreats, the lake is getting warmer and clearer, becoming a more attractive environment for migrating fish. “It’s going to be popping off,” Moore said.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

Greens sue NOAA over delayed ESA decision on Alaska chinook salmon

May 21, 2025 — Environmentalists are suing NOAA for failing to issue an Endangered Species Act listing decision for Gulf of Alaska chinook salmon within one year of receiving a petition to protect the species.

In a filing before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Wild Fish Conservancy says NOAA’s listing decision delay means Alaskan chinook salmon “are more likely to continue to decline toward extinction.”

“The Endangered Species Act sets clear deadlines … to evaluate the risk of extinction and trigger action while recovery is still possible,” Emma Helverson, executive director of Wild Fish Conservancy, said in a statement. “By ignoring those deadlines, NOAA isn’t just breaking the law — it’s perpetuating the collapse of Alaskan chinook and threatening the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.”

Read the full article at E&E News

ALASKA: ASMI responds to trade pressures with focus on domestic growth

May 21, 2025 — The Juneau, Alaska-based Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has released its 2024 annual report, highlighting the successes and challenges of a sector under pressure from both the setbacks of recent Alaskan history and the pressures of retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. President Trump’s trade war. 

“Commercial fishing is woven into the fabric of our economy, culture, and way of life,” said ASMI Executive Director Jeremy Woodrow, who called the sector an “industry worth fighting for” in his annual report message.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska House passes bill mandating representation on Board of Fisheries

May 21, 2025 — The Alaska House has narrowly passed a piece of legislation that will change the makeup of the state’s Board of Fisheries, requiring the governor to select members who represent a wider swath of the Alaska fishing community.

If it becomes law, the bill would require two seats for representatives from the subsistence fishing sector, two representing the commercial fishing sector, two representing the sportfishing sector, and a fisheries scientist.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alaska officials forecast improvements for the state’s commercial salmon harvest

May 19, 2025 — After a poor showing last year, Alaska’s statewide commercial salmon harvest appears poised for a rebound, according to projections by state biologists.

This year’s total salmon harvest is expected to be more than twice as big as last year’s total, thanks primarily to stronger returns of pink salmon, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s annual statewide run forecast and commercial harvest projection. The report was released this week.

The department’s projected 2025 total harvest is 214.6 million fish, above the 2000-2023 average of 175 million fish, though well below the record 280 million salmon harvested commercially in 2013. This year’s projected total is much higher than the 103.5 million salmon harvested commercially last year.

If the harvest occurs as projected, it would be the 10th-largest on record, said Forrest Bowers, director of the department’s Division of Commercial Fisheries.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

A ‘worthwhile effort’ to address trawl bottom contact

May 19, 2025 — Jon Kurland, Alaska regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, agreed to take questions on the issue of trawl gear touching bottom and the pollock industry’s Gear Innovation Initiative. Here are his responses.

NF: It seems the issue of pollock trawl gear contacting the seafloor has taken on a higher profile lately. Is this true, and if so, why?
Jon Kurland: It’s been gaining attention for a while. A number of stakeholders have raised concerns about unobserved mortality of crabs from pelagic trawls contacting the seafloor as well as impacts to bottom habitats. It was a big topic during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s review of potential new management measures for the Red King Crab Savings Area in the Bering Sea – an area that is closed to bottom trawling but open to pelagic trawling.

NF: What role have you and Alaska’s fish and game commissioner, Doug Vincent-Lang, played in elevating this issue?
JK: Commissioner Vincent-Lang and I have met with members of the pollock industry about this a number of times. We told them this is an important issue and that we’d like to see the industry take a leadership role in exploring and devising viable solutions to reduce bottom contact in areas where that’s a concern due to potential consequences for unobserved mortality of crabs or impacts to bottom habitats.

NF: Do we know enough now about the actual impact of trawl gear on the bottom and benthic habitat?
JK: It’s important to distinguish between bottom trawls and pelagic trawls. We know that bottom trawls are designed to fish on the bottom, and managers have closed some areas to bottom trawling specifically to avoid those impacts. Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about how much pelagic trawls contact the bottom. We know that fishermen sometimes fish these nets very close to the bottom and make contact with the seafloor, but we don’t have much quantitative data about that.

Read the full article at The National Fisherman

ALASKA: Alaska fishing groups denounce ongoing effort to list Chinook salmon under ESA

May 19, 2025 — Alaska’s commercial fishing sector is up in arms again over ongoing efforts to have the state’s Chinook salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a determination that could have massive impacts for the state’s fisheries.

Last year, Wild Fish Conservancy, a conservation group based out of Duvall, Washington, U.S.A., petitioned NOAA to list Alaskan Chinook salmon under the ESA, arguing that the once-abundant species had suffered chronic declines. An initial review by the agency found that ESA protections may be warranted; however, the government has yet to complete its review, completely missing its 12-month deadline for issuing a determination.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska pollock season closes with strong catches

May 16, 2025 — Alaska’s 2025 A season for wild pollock has wrapped up with robust catches, low bycatch rates, and a broad economic boost to local communities, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance. The results have been praised by industry leaders and fisheries managers as an example of successful, science-driven stewardship.

With more than 90% of quotas achieved in both the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, the season has been hailed as a benchmark for responsible management. Fishermen, scientists, and regulators alike pointed to the collaborative approach — from real-time information sharing to rigorous conservation efforts — as key to the season’s success.

“The sheer amount of communication that occurred throughout the pollock sector, all in an effort to mitigate salmon encounters, was truly amazing,” said Capt. Dan Martin, a seasoned pollock fisherman from Dutch Harbor. “This, coupled with rigorous science, proactive management, and a strong stewardship ethic led to the success of this A season.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Fishery advocates criticize WFC’s Alaskan salmon lawsuit

May 16, 2025 — Alaska fishery advocates are speaking out against a lawsuit filed last week by the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC), arguing that the legal action will hinder — not help — efforts to protect the state’s salmon populations.

The lawsuit, filed on May 8 against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, seeks to compel faster action on a petition to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook — also known as king salmon — under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

On January 11, 2024, WFC petitioned NOAA to grant ESA protections to Chinook salmon from rivers flowing into the Gulf of Alaska. NOAA issued a positive 90-day finding on May 24, confirming the petition presented substantial information that protections may be warranted, triggering a year-long review and public input process. Under the ESA, NOAA had until January 11, 2025, to decide whether Gulf of Alaska Chinook should be listed as threatened or endangered. Now, WFS is suing NOAA for missing this deadline, citing further delays in protections for declining Chinook populations at risk of extinction.

“It should not take a lawsuit to make the federal government uphold its legal responsibility, but with the crisis facing Alaskan Chinook, we are out of time and options,” said Emma Helverson, WFC’s executive director. “The Endangered Species Act sets clear deadlines for a reason, to evaluate the risk of extinction and trigger action while recovery is still possible. By ignoring those deadlines, NOAA isn’t just breaking the law — it’s perpetuating the collapse of Alaskan Chinook and threatening the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman