Federal agency managing Alaska's federal-waters fisheries (pollock, cod, halibut, crab) under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Home of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Juneau, AK, USA
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William Gibbons-Fly
“Because these monuments are established under the Antiquities act, the process is exempt not only from the requirements of Magnus and Stevens, but also the requirements of the Administrative Procedures act, the National Environmental Policy act and other legislation, all of which are established by Congress to ensure fair, transparent and most importantly, science based decision making for the management of our nation's fisheries.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
Hageman
“The bill at the heart of this hearing is sponsored by Representative Radawagan of American Samoa. Her bill states that within the boundaries of a marine national monument, fishing shall be regulated under the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management act, not the Antiquities Act.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
Kyle Huffman
“While I'm open to finding solutions to sea otter management in particular regions, this bill inappropriately shifts the response responsibility to subsistence harvest and disadvantages Alaska Native artisans who carefully process pelts into arts and handicrafts. The bill also circumvents the Indigenous Peoples Council for Marine Mammals.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
William Gibbons-Fly
“When you're banning commercial fishing from 50 to 200 miles, there's very, you're, you're putting, you know, very significant strain on the fishing industry, putting people out of business, harming the economy of American Samoa with very little, very little conservation benefit.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
William Gibbons-Fly
“In just the past few years, the US tuna purse seine fleet has been reduced from 34 vessels to just 15 vessels operating today. The remaining vessels supply most of the tuna being processed in American Samoa and otherwise support the local economy there.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
Hageman
“By contrast, fishing in nearly all of the US EEZ is regulated under the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and management Act. For 50 years, the act has propelled the United States to the forefront in terms of being the gold standard for fisheries management.”House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing · Jun 3, 2026
Habitat damage stops counting as 'harm' to endangered species on Sept. 14
Interior's semiannual regulatory agenda, published Friday, lists the rescission of the Endangered Species Act definition of "harm" at final rule stage. The change would drop habitat modification from the definition, a shift with direct bearing on Alaska salmon habitat and federal permitting.
by Maggie AlaskaNews9h ago2 min readAI
NOAA tightens salmon limits, closes coho retention off Washington, Oregon and California
NOAA Fisheries has cut Chinook limits for commercial trollers and closed parts of the Columbia River and Oregon coast to recreational salmon fishing starting Aug. 13, 2026. The changes affect anglers and commercial trollers from the U.S.-Canada border to the Oregon-California line.
by Bill AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
NOAA study finds 41% of captive capelin examined could spawn more than once
A new NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center study found an iteroparity rate of 41 percent in Pacific capelin, the first evidence the forage fish can spawn in more than one year. The finding matters for predator and ecosystem forecasting, not harvest.
by Melinda Communities.News2d ago3 min readAI
Alaska's 2027 and 2028 groundfish catch limits get their first review Sept. 8
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has scheduled its Groundfish Plan Teams for a hybrid public meeting Sept. 8-11, 2026. The agenda centers on scientific and management reviews rather than a council vote, with online access through the NPFMC meetings portal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
A weak coho run just shut down federal commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet
NOAA Fisheries has closed commercial salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ area from Aug. 5 through Aug. 15 to avoid exceeding the 2026 federal coho catch limit.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election
The Bering Sea pollock industry holds an Anchorage job fair Oct. 29, days before an election shaped by its salmon bycatch — now subject to the first mandatory Western Alaska chum cap.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska's Board of Fisheries ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto beach seines their permits don't authorize, deepening a years-long wind-down as drift rules stay unchanged.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
New EU paperwork could slow Alaska seafood shipments starting in September
NOAA Fisheries told US seafood exporters Thursday that revised European Union health certificates take effect Sept. 3, with certificates issued before Sept. 4 valid only through Dec. 3. Exporters must supply new consignment data, and aquaculture shippers face added attestations.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species is up for comment
NOAA Fisheries is taking comment through Aug. 26 on ABR Inc.'s application for a permit to conduct research on 14 Alaska marine mammal species.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts
Pacific halibut spawning biomass is near its lowest since the 1970s, and Alaska absorbed the sharpest 2025 catch cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Heatwave-driven mortality identified as key cause of Yukon Chinook crash
A peer-reviewed NOAA Fisheries study published Tuesday in Ecological Applications identifies heatwave-linked natural mortality as a primary driver of the lowest Yukon River Chinook adult run sizes ever recorded, with findings suggesting harvest restrictions alone cannot restore the fishery.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Nine years of one-year permits in the waters where the North Slope hunts
NMFS is taking comment through Aug. 21 on a ninth annual permit allowing Navy research to disturb marine mammals in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, where North Slope communities hunt bowhead.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Federal rule changes loosen protections for Alaska's listed species
Federal wildlife agencies finalized Endangered Species Act rule changes on threatened-species protections, critical-habitat exclusions and the definition of harm, with potential effects on Alaska project reviews.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska seafood exporters get EU paperwork reprieve through 2026
Alaska seafood exporters can keep using the U.S. Legal Harvest Certificate for EU shipments through Nov. 30, 2026, after NOAA Fisheries secured an extension on new IUU catch rules.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The West Coast dips into the halibut stock Alaska shares
The West Coast's Area 2A opens its third halibut period July 21, drawing on the same coastwide Pacific halibut stock Alaska's commercial and subsistence users share.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A halibut-bycatch report is dropped for the Bering Sea's biggest bycatch fleet
A federal notice folds away a separate halibut-bycatch report on the Amendment 80 trawl fleet, which accounts for most Bering Sea halibut bycatch, amid a long accountability fight.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Whale permit for Juneau's fifth cruise dock issued with no public comment
Federal regulators approved a permit letting construction of Juneau's fifth cruise ship dock disturb whales and Steller sea lions in Gastineau Channel, after a comment period drew no responses.
by Alaska Newsadded 3w ago1 min readAI
NMFS proposes removing economic data reporting requirements for BSAI trawl and crab programs
NOAA Fisheries has published a notice of availability for proposed amendments that would eliminate Economic Data Reports for Alaska's Amendment 80 trawl catcher/processor fleet and Bering Sea crab harvesters, citing high costs and limited management use. A separate proposed rule would follow, and public comments must be received by September 15, 2026.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Cook Inlet drift fleet limited to Area 3 for a single 12-hour opener Thursday
ADF&G is confining Upper Cook Inlet drift gillnetters to Area 3 for one 12-hour period Thursday, Aug. 6, after federal coho harvest in the Cook Inlet EEZ blew past both the total allowable catch and the acceptable biological catch.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
NOAA asks how to simplify import rules Alaska waited a decade for
NOAA Fisheries opened comment on streamlining seafood import restrictions covering 240 foreign fisheries, seven months after they took effect. Comments run 60 days.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
The West Coast halibut fleet left most of its quota for the July 7 opener
The Area 2A Pacific halibut fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California used just 27% of its quota in the June opener, leaving about 191,000 pounds for the July 7 reopening.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock clears review; work set for 2026
NOAA Fisheries issued the Coast Guard a modified marine mammal harassment authorization on Aug. 3 for pile driving at its Sitka moorings. The permit covers up to one year of the specified in-water work at the Fast Response Cutter homeport dock.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago1 min readAI
Halibut anglers on Alaska charters now pay $20 a day — and the money is funding a decades-old battle over who gets to catch the fish
A federal requirement that took effect with the 2026 season requires charter anglers to purchase a $20 stamp for each day they plan to keep halibut in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau's fifth cruise dock clears a federal hurdle
Federal regulators issued a marine mammal permit for pile work on Áak'w Landing, Huna Totem's $150 million fifth cruise ship dock in downtown Juneau.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
A NOAA crew cut a tangled humpback free at Endicott Arm
vA juvenile humpback whale was freed from entanglement at Endicott Arm in Southeast Alaska by a NOAA crew using knife-tipped poles, as large-whale entanglements rise nationwide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
State opens comment on $5.8 million Cook Inlet setnet relief plan
Alaska opened public comment on a draft plan to spend $5.8 million in federal disaster relief for the 2023 Upper Cook Inlet East Side setnet salmon fishery.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Yakutat's dusky rockfish season closes after filling its 150-ton share
Federal managers closed directed fishing for dusky rockfish in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska through Dec. 31 after the 150-ton directed allowance filled.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
NOAA Sets West Coast Halibut Season Opening June 23 With 261,211-Pound Cap
NOAA Fisheries published a final rule Tuesday setting the 2026 non-Tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut season for Area 2A, with 261,211 pounds allocated across two confirmed fishing windows starting June 23 and vessel catch limits tied to boat length.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
BSAI Pacific cod trawl season ends early for AFA catcher/processors
NMFS is shutting down directed Pacific cod fishing by American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/processors in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands starting July 20 and running through year's end, after the sector reached its 2,112-metric-ton directed fishing allowance.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
NMFS creates rodent detection dog exception to Pribilof dog ban
A federal interim final rule creates an exception to a decades-long prohibition on landing dogs on the Pribilof Islands, allowing independently certified rodent detection dogs to pre-emptively inspect vessels and cargo. The rule takes effect August 6, 2026, the same day public comments close.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
West Coast sablefish season loses its time-of-day rules Aug. 6
A federal rule effective Aug. 6 ends time-of-day limits on the West Coast sablefish season and sets up a cost recovery fee program deferred until December 2027.
by Alaska News3w ago1 min readAI
Regulators shift unused halibut allowance to Bering Sea trawlers
NMFS reapportioned 100 metric tons of unused halibut bycatch allowance from the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program to the trawl limited access catcher vessel C season, raising that sector's cap from 15 to 115 metric tons through Nov. 1, with no public comment.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
NOAA scouts new fish-farm zones as Gulf of Alaska planning proceeds
NOAA opened public comment through Sept. 13 on where to site the next Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. The Gulf of Alaska is already in a separate NOAA planning process.
by Alaska News2w ago1 min readAI
Whale permit for Ketchikan bridge counts down to the single animal
NMFS issued two incidental harassment authorizations for the Ward Creek Bridge replacement in Ketchikan, permitting limited disturbance of humpback whales through 2030.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
Sitka Coast Guard dock switches from steel to plastic fender piles
NOAA Fisheries approved switching to plastic fender piles for the Coast Guard's new Sitka cutter dock, a change that shrinks marine mammal disturbance zones and speeds construction.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
Bering Sea cod trawl fee drops to 2.09% after fishery value jumps
NMFS set the 2026 Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program cost recovery fee at 2.09 percent, down from the 3 percent statutory maximum charged in 2025. Cooperatives that miss the Aug. 31 payment deadline lose quota transfer approval and next year's CQ permits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Comment window opens on Alaska fishing license transfer paperwork renewal
NOAA Fisheries has opened a 30-day public comment window, closing around August 16, on renewing the paperwork system that governs how Alaska commercial fishing licenses for groundfish, crab, and scallops change hands, the last formal input opportunity before OMB decides.
by Bill AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
NOAA says dead pregnant fin whale arrived in Seward on cruise ship bow
NOAA Fisheries Alaska says a cruise ship arrived in Seward with a dead 61-foot pregnant fin whale on its bulbous bow, and federal law enforcement is investigating.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sullivan and Peltola, fighting over the same salmon
Sen. Dan Sullivan's new bycatch bill and challenger Mary Peltola's fisheries plan put trawling and salmon bycatch at the center of Alaska's 2026 U.S. Senate race.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A new cruise terminal could rise in a humpback whale feeding ground near Juneau
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on proposed incidental harassment authorizations that would allow Turnagain Marine Construction to disturb 10 species of marine mammals while driving 465 pilings on Douglas Island for a new cruise terminal. Comments are due 30 days after the June 29 Federal Register publication.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI