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
Bering Sea halibut boats would get a catch cap double the rest of Alaska
A proposed federal rule would set a permanent halibut vessel cap in the Bering Sea and Aleutians at 132,900 pounds, nearly double the Alaska coastwide limit.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
NMFS closes directed perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district
NMFS shut directed Pacific ocean perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district for BSAI trawl limited access vessels at noon Friday, Sept. 4, through Dec. 31, after the sector's 214-metric-ton allowance was reached. No public comment was taken.
by Bill AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
NOAA will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every council meeting
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region says staff capacity dropped substantially in 2025 and it can no longer host a virtual tribal engagement session before every North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting. The Oct. 8-13 Anchorage meeting sets groundfish and crab limits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
NOAA would let one boat take far more western halibut to get anyone fishing it
NOAA Fisheries proposed capping a single vessel at 5 percent of the Area 4 halibut catch limit, replacing a coastwide cap suspended out west since 2020.
by Bill AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readAI
NOAA proposes letting Seward cruise dock pile driving run into 2027
Turnagain Marine Construction did not finish the Seward cruise ship dock within its one-year marine mammal permit. NOAA Fisheries proposes a renewal covering 12 remaining construction days through Sept. 1, 2027, with a 15-day public comment window opening Sept. 8.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago2 min readAI
The paperwork behind 65 villages' share of the Bering Sea is up for renewal
NOAA Fisheries wants OMB to extend the information collection behind the Western Alaska CDQ Program, covering vessel registration, quota transfers and appeals. The public and federal agencies have 30 days to comment. The six CDQ groups are the estimated respondents, at 36 annual hours.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Alaska seafood headed to Europe needs a new certificate starting today
Alaska seafood exporters shipping to the European Union must use new EU health certificates starting Sept. 3, attesting that antimicrobials were not used for growth.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
NMFS closes Central Gulf cod for hook-and-line vessels 50 feet and up
NMFS is closing directed Pacific cod fishing for hook-and-line catcher vessels 50 feet or longer in the Central Gulf of Alaska from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, after the sector's 1,187-metric-ton directed allowance was reached.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Small cod boats return Sept. 1 in the Bering Sea and Aleutians
Pacific cod boats under 60 feet can fish the Bering Sea again Sept. 1, after federal managers shifted quota from jig and larger hook-and-line fleets.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Central Aleutian perch fishery closes early for a second straight year
NMFS is shutting down directed Pacific ocean perch fishing in the Central Aleutian district for BSAI trawl limited access vessels at noon Thursday, Aug. 27, through Dec. 31, after the sector's 480-metric-ton allowance was reached. No public comment was taken.
by Alaska News1w ago1 min readAI
Ninth Circuit upholds federal Cook Inlet salmon management against drift fleet challenge
A Ninth Circuit panel upheld federal management of Cook Inlet's offshore salmon fishery, rejecting every claim brought by two Cook Inlet fishing groups.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAI
New EU seafood paperwork lands Sept. 3, and it is not the only change
New EU health certificates for U.S. seafood take effect Sept. 3, alongside a separate overhaul of the EU's catch-documentation system for wild-caught product.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska's seat on the halibut commission is open, and you can nominate yourself
NOAA is taking nominations through Sept. 14 for the Alaska-resident seat among the U.S. commissioners to the International Pacific Halibut Commission, the body whose catch limits and season dates govern Alaska commercial, charter and subsistence halibut fishing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
NOAA pays $1.57 million for samples from subsistence-harvested seals
NOAA has awarded the Alaska Department of Fish and Game a $1.57 million cooperative agreement running Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2029, to sample ice seals harvested for subsistence in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas and to survey Steller sea lion haulouts in Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species
A harmful algal bloom killed northern fur seals off St. George Island with a record saxitoxin level, and federal money will keep tribal monitors tracking the depleted population.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
NOAA is still testing groundwater in the Pribilofs, decades after it left
NOAA awarded a $186,644 contract for groundwater monitoring under the 1996 Pribilof Islands Environmental Restoration Agreement, running through January 2028.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min readAI
Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
NOAA Fisheries has reissued the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities a marine mammal harassment permit for ferry berth construction in Tongass Narrows, the third since 2023. The state told the agency in June that no pile driving or drilling has occurred.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Eight Alaska fishery disaster requests are past the deadline federal law sets
NOAA Fisheries has missed its own posted determination deadlines on eight of twelve pending Alaska fishery disaster requests, blocking any aid allocation to affected communities.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
A sharp cut to West Coast salmon limits lands on fish Alaska shares
Federal managers cut Chinook troll limits off Washington and Oregon by three-quarters and closed parts of California's salmon fisheries, affecting stocks shared with Alaska.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska's largest fisheries lab swaps ozone for ultraviolet to treat its water
NOAA's Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute near Juneau is replacing its ozone disinfection system with ultraviolet units and a sand filter under a $155,653 contract.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago1 min readAI
Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
NOAA Fisheries renewed marine mammal permits for Hoonah's cargo dock and Ketchikan's ferry berths through August 2027. Neither project has started construction.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
A federal rule will stop habitat destruction from counting as "harm" to listed species
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 AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
From California to Southeast Alaska, salmon fisheries are closing in lockstep this week — under the same treaty
Southeast Alaska's commercial troll fishery closed after reaching its Pacific Salmon Treaty Chinook cap, as NOAA closes West Coast salmon fisheries the same week under the same shared stocks.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
A NOAA study finds Pacific capelin may 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.News3w ago3 min readAI
The panels that shape Alaska's pollock and cod catch limits meet next month
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 AlaskaNews3w 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 1mo 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 1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago3 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 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 1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 1mo 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 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A paperwork snag with Europe threatens a major market for Alaska seafood
A paperwork dispute with the EU threatens a major market for Alaska seafood, as NOAA confirms processors still face requirements its own systems aren't set up to handle.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo 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 News1mo ago1 min readAI
Bering Sea crab fee drops by half, but the itemization fight remains
The federal cost-recovery fee on Bering Sea crab fell to 0.67% as fishery value rose, but harvesters still can't get an itemized accounting of the enforcement costs they pay.
by Bill 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI