Pollock fleet's groundfish bycatch fell below 1% in 2025, but salmon bycatch rose as warm water pushed fish onto the shelf

The Bering Sea pollock fleet recorded a groundfish bycatch ratio below 1 percent in 2025, against a long-term average of 1.7 percent, yet caught more Chinook and chum salmon than the year before. Austin Esterbrooks, representing the At Sea Processors Association and the Pollock Conservation Cooperative, told the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Friday that there were no IPA violations. On salmon, he said: "In terms of the historical Chinook salmon bycatch, 2025 wasn't as good as 2024," attributing the increase to warm water pushing fish onto the shelf. Total chum bycatch reached roughly 151,000 fish. Genetic data presented separately at the meeting showed the combined Kuskokwim-Bristol Bay reporting group comprised the majority of the fleet's Chinook bycatch, about 54 percent in the A season in 2024 and roughly 65 percent in 2025. Presenters noted the new baseline still cannot separate lower Kuskokwim from Bristol Bay stocks, so those two are reported in aggregate. Tribal representatives and subsistence advocates at the meeting raised concern that these are stocks from rivers where subsistence fisheries have faced severe restrictions or closures in recent years.