Trawl groups press North Pacific council to review Steller sea lion closures

Three trawl groups asked the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Thursday to analyze shrinking Steller sea lion closures in the Aleutians, the Bering Sea and around Kodiak. Two conservation groups opposed a review, and a Kuskokwim tribal fish commission warned against rolling back protections. The council took no vote.

The groups cited a July 2 NOAA Fisheries letter asking the council to consider a framework to "modify and shrink closures where appropriate." Council Executive Director Diana Evans wrote that the work could take substantial staff and agenda time unless the council is "very surgical." A NOAA official said changing protections for the endangered western population would require renewed Endangered Species Act consultation and substantial agency resources.

Ruth Christiansen of Groundfish Forum sought "a targeted action on 8 identified closure locations in the Aleutian Islands" for Atka mackerel only, not critical habitat, saying more than 95% of the Aleutians would stay closed to non-pelagic trawl gear.

Andrea Keikkala of United Catcher Boats sought analysis of the Sea Lion Conservation Area and nearby pollock restrictions. She said most catcher vessels must take about 40% of their A-season quota outside the area, costing the fleet an estimated $1 million to $2.5 million in extra fuel each A season. Rebecca Skinner of the Kodiak-based Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association asked to remove four Shelikof Strait haulout closures she said push boats into worse icing.

Nicholas Jacuk of Ocean Conservancy said, "The potential risks of reducing these long-standing protections are substantial while the demonstrated benefits to the associated fisheries are limited at best." He noted the council's June 2025 list of 20 recommendations included no sea lion changes. Lauren Hynes of Oceana said western juvenile and adult growth slowed from 0.96% a year to 0.62%, a rate NOAA classifies as stable. NOAA's 2025 survey estimated 38,911 western non-pups; the agency says the population still declines in the central and western Aleutians, an area that overlaps with Groundfish Forum's request, which covers the eastern and central Aleutians.

Terese Vicente of the Kuskokwim River Intertribal Fish Commission said the commission is "alarmed" by NOAA's plans to review and potentially roll back sea lion closures. On salmon bycatch, she said, "it's not that we're not in favor of adaptive measures, it's that they shouldn't replace and remove static closures to reduce bycatch and protect critical areas for salmon and other species."

The council chair proposed that members try to agree on three or four staff priorities during staff tasking starting Sunday, Oct. 11.