June 5, 2026 — As the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets this week, a renewed debate over pelagic trawl gear is drawing attention from conservation groups, fishermen and fisheries managers.
In a June 1 statement, Alaska-based nonprofit SalmonState urged the council to close what it describes as a loophole that allows pelagic, or “midwater,” trawl vessel to make contact with the seafloor while operating in areas closed to other forms of bottom-contact fishing.
“In the Bering Sea alone, 40 percent of all bottom contact by fishing operations comes from ‘mid-water’ trawlers,” SalmonState stated in its release.
“No one should be allowed to drag the ocean floor in protected, sensitive areas closed to that practice,” said SalmonState executive director Tim Bristol. “It’s far past time to close this colossal loophole.”
SalmonState operations director Ryan Astalos argued that if pelagic gear is contacting the seafloor, it should be managed differently.