Saving Seafood

Trawl tensions rise as NPFMC meets in Oregon

June 16, 2025 —A headline in Under Current News published June 9th read: “North Pacific Council Bucks Critics, Preserves Status Quo for Alaska Trawlers”.

This is not the news that Alaskan coastal communities and fishermen were hoping for.  The North Pacific Fishery Management Council at their June meeting, which ended Tuesday, decided once again to postpone meaningful action to update its definition of “pelagic trawl gear” and continue allowing midwater trawl gear to contact up to 100% of the area fished with the seafloor.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: NPFMC adjusts proposals to reduce chum salmon bycatch by Alaskan pollock trawlers

February 18, 2025 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has advanced a set of five alternatives for reducing chum salmon bycatch in the U.S. state of Alaska’s pollock fishery, setting up a vote on implementing new protections as soon as December 2025.

Chum salmon populations in Alaska have plummeted in recent years; in the Yukon River, for instance, the fall chum salmon run is 97 percent below its historical average. The low abundance levels have led to fishery closures and bans on subsistence fishing in parts of the state.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource