NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) is the federal agency that manages fishing in Alaska's federal waters under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It sets catch limits and bycatch rules for pollock, cod, halibut and crab, working with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to manage fisheries off Alaska.
fisheries.noaa.gov ↗222 W 7th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99513, USA
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Week of Sep 28
Federal managers weigh permit letting a Bering Sea trawler donate halibut it now must discard
One Bering Sea trawler could give food banks the halibut it now has to throw overboard, under a federal permit open for comment through Oct. 16.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Pollock trawlers shut out of central Bering Sea area after hitting herring bycatch limit
Pollock fleet hit its herring bycatch cap, so part of the central Bering Sea closes to pollock trawling until March 1. Last year it closed five days earlier.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Week of Sep 21
Aleutian groundfish boats barred from selling 'other rockfish' for the rest of 2026
Aleutian groundfish boats hit their "other rockfish" limit again, so the catch-all rockfish can't be sold until January. It's practically a fall tradition.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Juneau kelp farm study suggests minimal influence on fish and invertebrates
A federal study of two kelp farms near Juneau found minimal impact on fish and invertebrates, though a missed sampling trip prevented statistical confirmation.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
EPA Rule Would Drop Discharge Permits for 65 Alaska Trawlers
EPA wants to delete six words from a rule. If it does, 65 Alaska factory trawlers lose the permit that keeps their fish waste away from sea lions.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom 
The West Coast's halibut fleet needed six openings to near its small quota
The West Coast's commercial halibut season is over after six openings to catch a small quota — from the same stock Alaska fishes, near 1970s lows.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Week of Sep 14
House committee advances bill treating hatchery fish as wild under Endangered Species Act
House committee voted to require federal agencies to consider hatchery fish alongside wild ones in Endangered Species Act consultations, a shift with major economic implications for Alaska's salmon industry.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
NOAA funds Alaska work on what stranded marine mammals ate
A stranded Alaska killer whale died of sepsis after swallowing three kinds of fishing hooks. NOAA is paying the state to keep examining these animals.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Seafood exports to Türkiye are frozen, though little Alaska product moves there
U.S. seafood can't be certified for export to Türkiye because American plants aren't on its approved list. The blocked edible trade is about $160,000.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Week of Sep 7
Managers want to double a halibut cap. Their own analysis warns against it.
Federal managers want to roughly double a halibut vessel cap in the Bering Sea, though their own analysis says it helps a few big boats at the fleet's expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readFrom 
NOAA awards Bristol Bay fishermen's group $499,400 to push sockeye into restaurants and schools
NOAA awarded Bristol Bay's fishermen's group $499,400 to market sockeye salmon to restaurants and schools, though some fishermen question if demand campaigns raise dock prices.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
West Coast halibut catch falls to a fifth of June's rate as NOAA adds a sixth period
The West Coast halibut fleet can't catch its full allocation — a sign of strain in a coastwide stock, near 40-year lows, that Alaska also depends on.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Nine new deep-sea sponge species confirmed in Gulf of Alaska and Aleutians
Scientists found nine sponge species new to science off Alaska, one so strange it needed its own genus. Alaska now claims 232 kinds of sponge.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Retention of Aleutian rougheye and blackspotted rockfish closed for rest of 2026
Vessels working the Central and Western Aleutian districts can no longer keep blackspotted and rougheye rockfish.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Pile driving at a Juneau fuel dock could damage seals' hearing
Federal regulators estimate a Juneau fuel dock rebuild could expose marine mammals to pile driving noise 1,660 times, 852 of them at injuring levels.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Bering Sea halibut boats would get a catch cap double the rest of Alaska
Bering Sea halibut boats have gone five years with no catch limit. Regulators want to fix that, at roughly double what the rest of Alaska lives with.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom 
Coming up
Amendment 80 Trawl Fleet Permit Paperwork - Public Comment Deadline
Public notice
Comments close: Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify Groundfish Season Timing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fisheries
Public notice
Public Comment Period: Pelagic Trawl Gear Definition Proposed Rule
Public notice
Halibut Stamp Purchase Deadline for CHP Holders
Public notice
Final Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Regulations on Bering Sea Chum Salmon Cap Released for Public Comment
Public notice
About NOAA Fisheries
fisheries.noaa.gov ↗222 W 7th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99513, USA
NOAA Fisheries, also called the National Marine Fisheries Service or NMFS, is the federal agency that manages fishing in Alaska's federal waters under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has its Alaska office in Anchorage.
It sets catch limits, season rules and bycatch rules for fisheries such as pollock, cod, sablefish, halibut and crab in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, working with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Its scientists study fish and crab stocks and the marine ecosystems that support them.
The agency also administers the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, issuing permits for construction such as pile driving near whales, sea lions, seals and belugas at docks and ports. It certifies seafood for export and consults with tribes on fishery limits.
More from NOAA Fisheries
Week of Aug 31
NMFS closes directed perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district
Federal fisheries closed directed Pacific ocean perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district through year-end Friday after the trawl fleet's 214-metric-ton annual allowance was reached.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NOAA proposes letting Seward cruise dock pile driving run into 2027
NOAA proposed extending Seward's cruise dock construction permit through September 2027 to finish pile driving that disturbs marine mammals in Resurrection Bay.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
NOAA will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every council meeting
NOAA Fisheries will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every North Pacific council meeting, citing a substantial drop in staff since 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NOAA would let one boat take far more western halibut to get anyone fishing it
Alaska's halibut is not getting caught. NOAA wants to let a single boat take much more of the western quota to get somebody out there fishing it.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The paperwork behind 65 villages' share of the Bering Sea is up for renewal
Sixty-five Western Alaska villages hold a share of the Bering Sea. Keeping the paperwork current takes 36 hours a year, and it is up for renewal.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska seafood headed to Europe needs a new certificate starting today
Alaska seafood bound for Europe needs a new health certificate as of today, declaring no antibiotics were used for growth and none reserved for human medicine.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 24
NMFS closes Central Gulf cod for hook-and-line vessels 50 feet and up
On Sept. 1, Alaska's largest hook-and-line boats lose Central Gulf cod for the year, while smaller boats gain new cod access in state and Bering Sea waters.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Small cod boats return Sept. 1 in the Bering Sea and Aleutians
Small cod boats get their Bering Sea fishery back Sept. 1 after seven months out, with quota shifted from two fleets that will not catch theirs.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Central Aleutian perch fishery closes early for a second straight year
Central Aleutian trawlers lose Pacific ocean perch at noon Thursday, four months early — the second straight year the fishery has closed ahead of schedule, and faster than last year.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Ninth Circuit upholds federal Cook Inlet salmon management against drift fleet challenge
Cook Inlet drift fishermen lost again in federal court. The fight over who actually gets the fish moves back to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
New EU seafood paperwork lands Sept. 3, and it is not the only change
New EU seafood export certificates take effect Sept. 3. For Alaska's wild-caught fish and crab, the bigger change is a separate catch-documentation overhaul.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Week of Aug 17
Alaska's seat on the halibut commission is open, and you can nominate yourself
Alaska's seat on the commission that sets Pacific halibut catch limits is open. Nominations close Sept. 14, and self-nominations are accepted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NOAA pays $1.57 million for samples from subsistence-harvested seals
NOAA is paying $1.57 million for samples from seals Alaska Native hunters take for food. The science depends on hunters volunteering what they harvested.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species. Tribal monitors get another year to track it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NOAA is still testing groundwater in the Pribilofs, decades after it left
NOAA is paying $186,644 to keep sampling groundwater in the Pribilofs, cleanup left over from 116 years of federal control of the fur seal harvest.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
Ketchikan's airport ferry docks at one set of berths with no backup. Three years and three federal permits later, the state hasn't driven a pile.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Eight Alaska fishery disaster requests are past the deadline federal law sets
Eight Alaska fishing communities are owed federal disaster relief the law says is already overdue, and until the decisions come, no one gets paid.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Alaska's largest fisheries lab swaps ozone for ultraviolet to treat its water
Alaska's largest fisheries research lab is swapping ozone for ultraviolet light to disinfect its water. A Juneau plumbing firm won the $155,653 job.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 10
Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A federal rule will stop habitat destruction from counting as "harm" to listed species
A federal rule effective Sept. 14 stops habitat destruction from counting as harm to listed species like Cook Inlet belugas. It doesn't reach Alaska salmon.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
From California to Southeast Alaska, salmon fisheries are closing in lockstep this week — under the same treaty
Southeast Alaska's king troll fishery hit its treaty cap and closed the same week West Coast fisheries are closing — all tied to the same shared Chinook.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A NOAA study finds Pacific capelin may spawn more than once
A NOAA study found 41% of the Pacific capelin examined can spawn more than once — upending the assumption that, like salmon, they spawn once and die.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago3 min read
The panels that shape Alaska's pollock and cod catch limits meet next month
The scientific panels that shape catch limits for Alaska's pollock, cod and rockfish meet Sept. 8-11 to start setting what the fleet can take in 2027 and 2028.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 3
A weak coho run just shut down federal commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet
A weak coho run just closed commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet's federal waters through Aug. 15, and the low cap is already squeezing state gillnetters.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read