INVESTIGATIVE SERIES · FISHERIES
Deep dive into Alaska commercial salmon fisheries, trawl fleet restrictions, and Attorney General stays.
The jump in salmon numbers has also inflamed a debate about fishing bans amid reports of illegal harvests.
Subsistence fishermen are fighting the attorney general’s decision to overturn the board’s action.
Gubernatorial hopefuls are blasting Alaska's trawlers for catching salmon. Now industry allies have launched a radio ad campaign.
The trawl industry has scrambled to try to find a way to keep the whales out of their nets after nine were accidentally taken in 2023.
The bottom trawl fleet accidentally catches and kills millions of pounds of halibut each year, stoking a fierce, long-running debate.
An investigation appears to center on whether seafood companies violated federal rules by processing accidentally caught salmon and halibut into low-value fish meal.
Conservation and tribal advocates have lobbied for a crackdown for years on the unintentional harvests of salmon and other species by Bering Sea pollock trawlers. Now, they’re turning their attention to a smaller pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound.
The incident is sure to draw more scrutiny on the issue of bycatch — the industry term for the unintended harvest, typically of salmon or halibut, by boats targeting other species.
Washington’s Democratic governor had advanced an ally of tribes and conservation groups for appointment to the federal commission that manages lucrative fisheries off the Alaska coast. But the U.S. commerce secretary instead reappointed an official from a Seattle-based trawl company.
The years-long debate is taking on increasing urgency, as subsistence harvesting bans continue and the policy responses under consideration threaten to impose steep costs on industry.
Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee has advanced Becca Robbins Gisclair, an attorney and conservation advocate, for a seat currently held by Anne Vanderhoeven, who works in the trawling industry.
The plan could close fishing for 7 more years and open the door for hatcheries. In villages along the river, Tribal leaders say the state has cut them out of the process, and want federal oversight.
A federal agency says it's considering a rewrite to guidelines that shape management plans for Bering Sea and other fisheries. But it has not yet committed to taking action.
The Washington-based Wild Fish Conservancy plans to ask the federal government to list Southeast Alaska, Southwest Alaska and Cook Inlet king salmon under the Endangered Species Act.
First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations.
The lawsuit aims to defend endangered killer whales. But the science is complex, and Southeast Alaska fishermen could be put out of work.
Advocates say that seafood businesses, trade groups and fishermen need to take more action to advocate for lower carbon emissions, or risk continued catastrophic declines in their harvests.
Translating a pro-fish platform into policy reality won’t be easy for Peltola, who will serve in the House minority. But experts say Peltola can still find ways to advance her fish first agenda.
