Saving Seafood

US Senator Ed Markey blocks quick passage of Bycatch Reduction Act

September 25, 2026 — U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) blocked an attempt by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) to quickly pass his Bycatch Reduction Act in the Senate.

During remarks given on the Senate floor 23 September, Sullivan called on his fellow senators to pass his legislation, which calls for new trawling and bottom floor contact regulations and the implementation of salmon excluder devices for commercial fishing operations off the coast of Alaska in the Bering Sea. The legislation was first introduced at the beginning of the year, but Sullivan introduced an updated version with stronger provisions regarding bycatch and seafloor contact regulations in June. After the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced the legislation earlier in September, Sullivan pushed to quickly pass the bill by unanimous consent.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Sullivan’s trawl bycatch bill clears a U.S. Senate committee

September 17, 2026 — A bill that aims to reduce the pollock fleet’s bycatch of salmon, halibut and other species passed the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday.

Sen. Dan Sullivan is the sponsor of the Bycatch Reduction Act. He said it would tell the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to change how it treats the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska trawlers, to limit their impact on the marine environment.

“This sets out timelines. It sets out standards,” he said in a phone interview. “It sets out direct action to reduce bycatch, to limit — and, in many ways, do away with — trawl gear contact with the seafloor, and setting clearer standards.”

The bill also reconstitutes a group from a 2022 Sullivan bill, the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act. Sullivan said it will give Alaskans a direct say in what the federal government studies.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

US Senate committee advances Bycatch Reduction Act

September 17, 226 — The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has advanced U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) Bycatch Reduction Act, which is intended to limit contact between trawling gear and the seafloor.

“Today, my Bycatch Reduction Act passed out of committee and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. We’re one step closer to getting it across the finish line,” Sullivan said in a social media post. “I’ve been working with Alaskans to find ways to reduce bycatch, protect our fisheries, and strengthen our fishing communities. Together, we’re delivering results, and we’re one step closer to getting it done.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Sullivan, Peltola battle for Alaska fishing vote in Senate race

July 16, 2026 — Members of Congress routinely post news releases on legislation they introduce and cosponsor, including for Alaska’s delegation, a plethora of seafood legislation impacting the seafood industry.

Once in a while, one of these bills becomes law. The odds are 1-3 percent.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who are both running for his current Senate seat, have issued news releases stating their priorities for federal regulations related to the nation’s federal fisheries. Many of their campaigns are focused on convincing Alaskans engaged in the fisheries industry that they can do the most to protect and improve benefits for Alaskans working in that industry.

Purchases of Russian seafood were blocked from federal school lunch programs by an amendment introduced by Sullivan, which passed the Senate in November 2023.  That amendment closed a loophole that had allowed Russian seafood processed in China to bypass the National School Lunch Program “Buy American” requirements.

In 2022, the Alaska Salmon Task Force Act, sponsored by Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s all Republican delegation, was established as a federal task force. On July 12, 2024, the task force submitted its final science report on the complex biological, environmental and socioeconomic factors impacting Alaska salmon to the Secretary of Commerce, the Alaska Legislature and relevant congressional committees.

On June 25, Sullivan introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, an updated version of bycatch legislation introduced by the Alaska congressional delegation in January of 2026, which remains in the introduced stage in the Senate and the House.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Sullivan reintroduces sweeping bill targeting bycatch, seafloor impacts

July 8, 2026 — U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) has reintroduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, legislation that would expand federal efforts to reduce bycatch, limit seafloor impacts from trawl gear, improve fisheries monitoring and increase transparency in fishery management.

According to Sullivan’s office, the bill builds on recommendations from the Alaska Salmon Task Force, which was created through legislation he authored and signed into law in 2022.

The proposal would establish new standards and monitoring requirements designed to keep both midwater and bottom trawl nets off the seafloor, require proven salmon excluder devices on pollock vessels, invest in salmon tagging and genetic sampling, expand ecosystem research, and create a new flume tank testing facility to evaluate fishing gear under simulated ocean conditions. The bill also would reauthorize NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program and encourage fishermen to test new gear and technologies aimed at reducing bycatch and habitat impacts.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman