Saving Seafood

Unalaska’s pollock industry anticipates upcoming chum bycatch decision

February 2, 2026 — The Unalaska City Council took up the issue of salmon bycatch at its two January meetings, ultimately agreeing to support industry-run bycatch avoidance programs.

Salmon bycatch has been a flashpoint for years. And the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees federal fisheries in Alaska, including in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, will now weigh in on whether to impose stricter limits on chum salmon bycatch at its upcoming February meeting.

That’s got Unalaska leaders worried the decision could threaten the pollock industry that underpins the island’s economy.

“This is one of the most important items in the last few years,” said Frank Kelty, the city’s fisheries consultant at the city council’s Jan. 13 meeting.

Kelty warned council members that proposed limits could have major consequences for the community, whose economy revolves around the fishery.

Kelty told council members that the pollock B season — which accounts for about 60% of the annual pollock harvest — is particularly at risk.

He pointed to one proposal that would cap incidental catch of chum salmon at 100,000. Kelty said under that scenario, the pollock B season would have shut down early in eleven of the past twelve years.

That, he said, would ripple through Unalaska’s economy — affecting processors, harvesters, city revenues and support businesses, like refrigeration companies.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Newly proposed federal legislation aims to curb Alaska bycatch

January 15, 2026 — Alaska’s congressional delegation introduced legislation Wednesday that aims to reduce bycatch in parts of southwest Alaska using better marine data, technology and gear.

The Bycatch Reduction and Research Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan, Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Nick Begich, would address research gaps in environmental data and improve monitoring of fisheries in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska.

It would also establish a fund for fishermen to purchase updated technology and trawl gear to limit seafloor contact and bycatch. That’s when harvesters accidentally catch species they’re not targeting.

The proposed legislation builds on recommendations from the federal Alaska Salmon Research Task Force, which concluded in 2024 and aimed to better understand how humans cause declines in fish and crab species, including through factors like bycatch.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: New bycatch reduction, research act introduced in Congress

January 12, 2026 — Alaska’s congressional delegation has introduced new legislation aimed at improving data on bycatch reduction in the Gulf of Alaska Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

The delegation announced the Bycatch Reduction and Research Act on Jan. 7, saying the aim is to improve marine environmental data collection, prioritize technology that supports research, bycatch reduction, protect marine seafloor habitat, and enhance electronic monitoring and electronic reporting in United States fisheries.

The legislation is drawing support from commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries entities.

“As both a commercial fisherman and a salmon scientist, I see the consequences of changing ocean conditions and management uncertainty on the water and in our communities,” said Michelle Stratton, executive director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and a former member of the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force. “This legislation comes at a pivotal time. Our coastal communities and food systems need thriving fisheries, and for that we need thriving ecosystems.”

Read the full article at the The Cordova Times

ALASKA: Alaska troopers seize Kodiak trawl group’s electronics in bycatch probe

November 17, 2025 — Julie Bonney is a longtime, Kodiak Island-based representative of some of Alaska’s trawlers — a type of fishing boat that’s drawn increasing criticism over the years for accidental “bycatch” of salmon, halibut and other species.

Last week, Bonney was returning from a trip off the island when Alaska State Troopers seized her mobile phone and work laptop. The day before, investigators searched the offices of Bonney’s member-based business, the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, and seized all of its electronics.

Bonney was not arrested and no charges have been filed. But troopers, over the weekend, confirmed an active investigation into allegations that “multiple seafood processors” had been illegally profiting from salmon and halibut bycatch — further fueling scrutiny of an industry that’s already under attack.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

New turtle excluder device showing promising signs of protecting both juvenile turtles and maintaining shrimp catch

August 7, 2025 — A new turtle excluder device (TED) design being tested in the Gulf of Mexico, currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to save juvenile turtles from bycatch without diminishing shrimp catch. 

TEDs have long been used by shrimp trawlers to reduce sea turtle bycatch. The current industry standard, while successful at reducing bycatch of adult sea turtles, often fails to exclude juvenile turtles, which can fit between their 4 inch-spaced bars.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Latest ISSF report shows its members holding fast on commitment to sustainable tuna

July 23, 2025 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) recently released its annual compliance report, showing that during 2024, the 24 ISSF participating companies managed a 99.6 percent conformance rate.

The nonprofit organization tracks conformance across 33 different conservation measures, which range from submitting quarterly purchase data and only conducting transactions with purse-seine vessels that have received information on best practices for reducing bycatch from ISSF.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: Gulf menhaden fishery no threat to red drum, study finds

July 10, 2025 — A study of bycatch in the Louisiana menhaden purse seine fishery found that overall non-target fish species comprised 3.59 percent by weight – below the state’s restriction for no more than 5 percent, according to a July 8 report to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

Capture of red drum as menhaden bycatch was calculated to account for 3.4 percent of red drum mortality in the state. Menhaden industry advocates welcomed the findings at the commission’s July meeting, saying the detailed data showed 30,142 redfish were taken by the fishery during 2024, “while recreational fishing is responsible for 96.6 percent by number of fish.”

“The study reaffirms what decades of science have consistently shown: Louisiana’s Gulf menhaden fishery is sustainable, selective, and not a threat to red drum populations,” the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition said in a statement after the report’s release.

The study was funded with a $1 million appropriation from the Louisiana state Legislature, and administered by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. Conducted by researchers with LGL Ecological Research Associates Inc. on board menhaden vessels for seven months during the 2024 fishing season, the study “represents the most detailed assessment of bycatch in the history of the Gulf menhaden fishery,” according to the menhaden coalition.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

LOUISIANA: Louisiana commercial fishers welcome menhaden bycatch study

July 9, 2025 –A new study on bycatch in Louisiana’s commercial menhaden fishery is largely being welcomed by the state’s fishing industry, who claim it shows the fishery “is sustainable, selective, and not a threat to red drum populations.”

“This study should put to rest the misinformation that’s too often circulated about this fishery,” Menhaden Fisheries Coalition spokesperson Bob Vanasse said in a statement. “This independent science reaffirms what we’ve always said: The Gulf menhaden fishery is guided by data, not politics or guesswork.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alaska’s pollock industry looks to get to the bottom of a rising criticism

April 23, 2025 — Alaska pollock is one of the world’s most valuable fisheries, due to the enormous annual harvest volume and the versatility of the white, mild-flavored fish, federal economists say.

Fairly or unfairly, the pollock fishery’s prodigious size makes it an easy target on controversial issues such as salmon bycatch.

Lately, another criticism has taken on a higher profile – the charge that the pollock industry’s pelagic nets aren’t really “midwater” gear, but rather touch bottom much of the time, damaging seafloor habitat and mangling king and Tanner crab. These crab fisheries have seen total closures in recent years due to stock declines primarily attributed to changes in the marine environment.

To address the bottom contact issue, the pollock industry is embarking on an ambitious project to gain a better understanding of how its trawl gear works in the water and, possibly, to develop improved designs.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Global Extinction Risk for Sharks and Rays Is High, United States may Provide Haven

December 9, 2024 — Overfishing of sharks and rays has depleted many populations, causing widespread erosion of ecological function and exceptionally high extinction risk. NOAA Fisheries coauthored a study in the journal Science that quantifies the extinction risk for the world’s 1,199 sharks and ray species over 50 years. They found that while sharks and rays are at high risk of extinction and biodiversity loss globally, this risk differs by habitat and region. There are some “bright spots” that could help species survive.

Sharks Are In Rough Shape Globally

We found that sharks and rays globally are in a worse conservation state than all other vertebrate groups, apart from amphibians. We also demonstrated the “fishing down” of shark and ray biodiversity and ecosystem function. This shows that the largest species declined first and most rapidly.

Most sharks and rays have slow population growth rates, which makes them highly vulnerable to overfishing and subsequently takes populations longer to rebuild. Around the world, sharks and rays are targeted for their fins, meat, gill plates, and liver oil. They are also caught incidentally—as bycatch—in other fisheries.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries