NOAA will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every council meeting

NOAA Fisheries will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting, because it no longer has the staff.

The agency's Alaska Region said its capacity "dropped substantially in 2025" and that it is "unable to support a tribal engagement session before every NPFMC meeting." It announced the change in its tribal newsletter and described it as applying "for the time being."

Those virtual sessions had run ahead of each meeting in recent years, previewing what the council would take up and answering questions. Going forward NOAA says it will try to hold one only for issues "of high importance to Alaska Tribes," and it has asked tribes to help identify which those are.

Formal consultation is unaffected. The region will still invite it before each council meeting, and any tribe can request consultation in writing at any time on an issue that affects it.

What the council decides reaches these communities directly. Its October meeting takes up harvest limits for Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish, along with crab specifications. Alaska News has previously reported that no seat on the council is designated for a tribal representative.

Written public comment opens Sept. 11 and closes Oct. 2.