Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska salmon harvests near 185 million fish

September 11, 2025 — Commercial harvesters delivered nearly 185 million salmon to processors through Sept. 9, with all five species exceeding 80% of the annual projects as the season nears its end.

Coho harvests stood at over 2 million fish, up from 1.7 million a week earlier and were expected to continue for a few more weeks, although weekly harvest of all other species has declined in line with past harvest timing, said Simon Marks, who compiles weekly in-season harvest reports for McKinley Research Group on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.  Marks’ in-season reports for the year concluded on Sept. 9.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Diesel spill near Kodiak-area hatchery disrupts salmon fishery

September 4, 2025 — State officials say a grounded fishing vessel leaking diesel from a beach near Kodiak has prompted a commercial fishing closure as well as precautions at a salmon hatchery.

The Sea Ern ran hard aground in Izhut Bay off Afognak Island with a 12-foot gash in its bow, damaging two fuel tanks, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The U.S. Coast Guard said watchstanders received a distress call on VHF radio at approximately 6:30 a.m. Monday reporting the vessel hit a rock and was taking on water. There were three people aboard.

The good Samaritan vessel MS Kennedy responded to the distress call and recovered all three people from the vessel, the Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

Exploring the Upsides and Obstacles of Growing Pacific Oysters in Alaska’s Cold Waters

September 3, 2025 — Alaska may be known for its wild salmon, but another coastal delicacy is making waves: Pacific oysters. These shellfish make up the bulk of Alaska’s mariculture production. New research is shining a light on what makes them unique—and how they could play a growing role in the region’s seafood industry.

A team of NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners conducted a 3-year study at an oyster farm near Juneau, Alaska. They explored how the cold, nutrient-rich waters of Southeast Alaska influence oyster growth and quality. The findings suggest that Alaska’s subarctic environment offers both surprising benefits and potential challenges for oyster farmers.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

ALASKA: Pebble mine project sticks to proposal in battle to lift veto

August 27, 2025 — Despite encouragement from Trump administration officials, the company behind the controversial Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska hasn’t yet submitted a revised proposal that could unblock the stalled copper-gold project.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. hasn’t advanced an “updated submission” for its proposed Pebble mine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a status update posted online Monday, adding that “there is nothing currently before the agency to that effect.”

The EPA update follows last month’s decision by the U.S. Justice Department to effectively uphold a veto on the project, dashing hopes that the Trump administration would roll back regulatory hurdles. The absence of a revamped proposal comes despite government officials advising Northern Dynasty that project changes could prompt the government to reconsider. An EPA spokesperson said there were discussions with agency leadership about a potential further submission that would inform any reconsideration.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Raising the idea of salmon farms in Alaska, Gov. Dunleavy swims against a tide of skeptics

August 25, 2025 — Amid the hubbub of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit last week, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, posting on social media, posed a provocative question.

“Alaska is a leader in fresh caught wild salmon. We could also be a leader in the farmed salmon industry. Why not do both instead of importing farmed salmon from Scotland?,” he wrote, sharing an article about the value of fish farming in Scotland, where Atlantic salmon are raised in net pens in the ocean. “This would be a great opportunity for Alaska.”

The answer from scientists, wild salmon advocates, restaurant people and regular salmon-eating Alaskans has come swiftly, full of alarm and often along the lines of one of the early commenters on his post, who wrote, “Are you insane?”

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

Improved eDNA Primer Enhances Rockfish Species Identification in Alaska

August 22, 2025 — A groundbreaking new environmental DNA (eDNA) tool is set to transform how scientists monitor rockfish populations. Rockfish are important to both commercial and recreational fisheries in Alaska. By analyzing DNA collected from water samples, this tool provides unprecedented accuracy in identifying a wide range of rockfish species. This- includes those that are closely related and hard to tell apart using previously available genetic methods.

Finding and identifying different species of rockfish in the ocean can be surprisingly tricky. Many of them have patchy distributions and live in rocky habitats making them difficult to survey using nets. While eDNA has become a popular method to sample fish biodiversity, previous methods were unable to tell apart many of the most abundant rockfish species in Alaska waters. But a new genetic tool, the Sebastes D-loop primer set, is changing that.

DNA primers match a target sequence in the eDNA and allow researchers to amplify species of interest. Primers are designed to identify multiple species of fishes, marine mammals, invertebrates, sharks, or any other organisms that might be in a water sample. In a recent study, NOAA Fisheries scientists demonstrate that the primer set can successfully identify nearly all rockfish species in Alaska waters. It offers a more accurate and efficient way to monitor these commercially important fish. A few closely related species still require extra effort to distinguish. But, this new approach marks a big step forward in monitoring rockfish populations and protecting their habitats.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Federal appeals court preserves Alaska’s two-tier system for subsistence fishing management

August 22, 2025 — Alaska’s current subsistence fishing program can continue without changes, according to a Wednesday opinion by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling allows the federal government to continue offering preferential fishing rights to rural Alaskans — mostly Alaska Natives — who live a subsistence lifestyle.

That preference exists only in public waters under federal control, not in state waters, because federal law requires the preference but the Alaska Constitution forbids state officials from implementing it.

In their 40-page opinion, the judges said that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings do not mandate a change in the way the state and federal governments split management of fish and game in Alaska.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: New rule could clear path to harm Cook Inlet’s endangered whales

August 19, 2025 — A new rule proposed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would allow companies working on the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the Cook Inlet to “take” marine mammals.

The rule was proposed on July 29 by 8 Star Alaska, LLC, a subsidiary of Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC).

The proposed rule falls under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMAP) and would allow the company, over the next 5 years, to harass, hunt, capture or kill mammals by carving out acceptable ways of taking.

Currently, the taking of mammals is prohibited, unless a rule is proposed and directed in a specified area while engaged in a specific activity.

Read the full article at Alaska News Source

MRA regulations face final vote at NPMFC’s October meeting

August 19, 2025 — Final action is slated for maximum retainable amount (MRA) regulations related to bycatch in groundfish fisheries at the Sept. 29-Oct. 9 meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage, Alaska.

Current MRA regulations, designed to limit the catch of species closed to directed fishing while allowing for the retention of unavoidable incidental catch, have been identified as potentially complex and leading to difficulties in prosecuting fisheries, as well as contributing to regulatory discards, council staff noted.

The action under consideration was initiated by a council motion at their April 2024 meeting, following a review of a discussion paper developed and presented by National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Alaskan research outlines methods to deter Pacific herring from spawning on kelp farms

August 19, 2025 — Kelp aquaculture operations are rapidly expanding in Alaska and coming into increasingly greater contact with wild marine species.

In an attempt to limit some of the interactions between Alaska’s aquaculture operations and wild species, researchers have outlined strategies to prevent Pacific herring from spawning and laying eggs on kelp farmed at aquaculture farms along the state’s coast.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource