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
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
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 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 1mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A routine Yakutat fishing closure lands on a shrinking fleet
Federal managers closed dusky rockfish fishing off West Yakutat for 2026 after the fleet hit its limit, as the town's small-boat fishing fleet keeps shrinking.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 1mo ago2 min readAI
Yakutat's Pacific ocean perch season closes after filling its quota
Federal managers closed directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the West Yakutat District through Dec. 31 after the fleet caught its 1,923-metric-ton allowance.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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 News2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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 2mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
NPFMC directs NOAA to update pollock roe rules after seizure highlighted regulatory gap
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed two motions directing NOAA Fisheries to update product recovery rate regulations that no longer match how AFA catcher-processors and motherships measure catch, and to clarify rules governing prohibited species catch disposition, including whether bycatch can be converted to fishmeal.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Council votes 8-3 to study halibut bycatch rules for Golden Fleece replacement vessel
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted 8-3 on Tuesday to initiate a regulatory analysis that could require an Amendment 80 replacement vessel in the Gulf of Alaska to follow the same halibut bycatch limits and monitoring standards as other non-pelagic trawl catcher processors, prompted by news that the Golden Fleece's unique 2007 exemptions could transfer to a different vessel at a time of historically low halibut abundance.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
A fin whale's death near Seward reopens Alaska's vessel-speed debate
A fin whale died of a vessel strike near Seward, found on a Royal Caribbean ship's bow. A federal investigation continues as conservation groups push for Alaska speed limits.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
ADF&G opens comment on three federal fishery disaster spend plans
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is taking public comment and holding statewide listening sessions to shape how federal disaster relief funds get distributed across three fishery failures. Who gets money depends on who shows up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
New EU rules could jam up Alaska fish headed to Europe this summer
After July 10 the EU accepts only its new, detailed catch certificate for U.S. seafood. NOAA expects no extension — a risk for Alaska pollock and salmon exports.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Strangers on the Water Free a Tangled Humpback
A juvenile humpback whale was freed from crab-pot lines near Endicott Arm after mariners spotted it and tracked its position for NOAA responders to cut it loose.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Federal regulators renew HEX authorization for Cook Inlet marine-mammal harassment
NOAA Fisheries has renewed HEX Operating LLC's incidental harassment authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act for natural gas activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska, effective September 13, 2026 through September 12, 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readAI
NOAA says dead fin whale brought to Seward showed trauma consistent with vessel strike
NOAA Fisheries reported that a dead fin whale found on a cruise ship's bow in Seward showed blunt-force trauma consistent with a vessel strike, with a law-enforcement investigation ongoing and final cause of death pending further testing.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min readAI