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 Aug 3
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock clears review; work set for 2026
Sitka's Coast Guard cutter dock cleared its environmental review, with waterfront construction set to run from 2026 to 2028.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election
Days before the final vote, the Bering Sea pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair — as salmon bycatch, and a new mandatory chum cap, roil the 2026 campaign.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
New EU paperwork could slow Alaska seafood shipments starting in September
New EU paperwork starting Sept. 3 could slow Alaska seafood shipments to Europe, though the strictest new rules hit farmed fish, not the wild-caught catch that is most of Alaska's harvest.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Regulators shift unused halibut allowance to Bering Sea trawlers
Regulators shifted unused halibut bycatch to Bering Sea trawlers' cod season, reviving the bycatch fight as halibut stocks sit near record lows.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Cook Inlet drift fleet limited to Area 3 for a single 12-hour opener Thursday
Cook Inlet drift gillnetters get just one 12-hour opener in Area 3 Thursday, driven by coho conservation — a federal EEZ closure and state limits are squeezing the fleet's access as coho harvest runs over its cap.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Pacific halibut hit a 40-year low as Alaska absorbs the deepest cuts
Pacific halibut are at a 40-year low, and Alaska's waters took the deepest 2025 cuts, including 22% in the Central Gulf, hitting commercial, charter and subsistence fishing alike.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Sitka Coast Guard dock switches from steel to plastic fender piles
Sitka's new Coast Guard dock is switching from steel to plastic piles, a change that both speeds up the work and shrinks the zones where pile-driving noise could disturb marine mammals.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Bering Sea cod trawl fee drops to 2.09% after fishery value jumps
Federal cost recovery fees on Bering Sea cod trawlers dropped from 3% to 2.09% after the fishery's value jumped 42%. But fishermen still want to know what the fees pay for.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 27
A halibut-bycatch report is dropped for the Bering Sea's biggest bycatch fleet
A paperwork notice drops a halibut-bycatch report on the Bering Sea fleet that kills the most halibut, just as a hard-won rule began reining that bycatch in.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A paperwork snag with Europe threatens a major market for Alaska seafood
Europe is a major buyer of Alaska seafood, and a paperwork snag with the EU — one NOAA's own systems can't yet handle — is threatening some of those sales, with the clock running out Nov. 30.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
NOAA scouts new fish-farm zones as Gulf of Alaska planning proceeds
NOAA is asking where to scout the next commercial fish-farm zones. The Gulf of Alaska is already in planning, and this round could expand it.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
State opens comment on $5.8 million Cook Inlet setnet relief plan
Cook Inlet's East Side setnetters get to weigh in on splitting $5.8 million in disaster relief, arriving two-plus years after the 2023 season that earned it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea crab fee drops by half, but the itemization fight remains
The Bering Sea crab fee dropped by half — but because the fishery earned more, not because the fleet can finally see what it's being charged for.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
NOAA asks how to simplify import rules Alaska waited a decade for
Import rules Alaska harvesters waited ten years for took effect Jan. 1. Seven months later, NOAA wants to know how to make them easier to run.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 20
Whale permit for Ketchikan bridge counts down to the single animal
Federal regulators will let a Ketchikan bridge project disturb up to 63 humpback whales. Last season's number was 62. Nobody filed a comment either way.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
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
Federal rule changes loosen protections for Alaska's listed species
New federal rules quietly loosen Endangered Species Act protections just as Alaska's development push accelerates, with belugas, polar bears and eiders in the balance.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A routine Yakutat fishing closure lands on a shrinking fleet
Yakutat's dusky rockfish season closed on schedule — routine, except for a shrinking small-boat fleet counting the ways left to make a living.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
A permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species is up for comment
A Fairbanks firm wants a federal permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species. NOAA is taking public comment through Aug. 26.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Juneau's fifth cruise dock clears a federal hurdle
Juneau's contested fifth cruise dock cleared another hurdle: a federal permit for the pile-driving that will disturb sea lions in Gastineau Channel.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Yakutat's Pacific ocean perch season closes after filling its quota
Yakutat's Pacific ocean perch season closed Wednesday after filling its 1,923-ton quota — the second West Yakutat rockfish fishery to wrap in a week.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Yakutat's dusky rockfish season closes after filling its 150-ton share
Yakutat's dusky rockfish season is done for the year — 150 metric tons and out, right on the same July schedule as last year. Bycatch retention still allowed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Whale permit for Juneau's fifth cruise dock issued with no public comment
Juneau has fought over its fifth cruise dock for six years. When the feds asked about letting construction disturb whales and sea lions, nobody said a word.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Nine years of one-year permits in the waters where the North Slope hunts
Federal regulators are weighing a ninth straight one-year permit letting Navy research disturb whales and seals in the Beaufort and Chukchi — the waters where North Slope communities hunt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 13
BSAI Pacific cod trawl season ends early for AFA catcher/processors
NMFS shut down directed Pacific cod fishing for AFA trawl catcher/processors in the Bering Sea starting Monday, July 20, after the sector hit its annual allowance.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Comment window opens on Alaska fishing license transfer paperwork renewal
Alaska commercial fishers have until mid-August to comment on federal fishing license transfer forms, with the only change being that paperwork can now be submitted by email instead of by mail.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
NMFS proposes removing economic data reporting requirements for BSAI trawl and crab programs
Federal fisheries managers proposed eliminating economic reporting requirements for Bering Sea trawl and crab harvesters, citing limited usefulness and cost savings.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The West Coast dips into the halibut stock Alaska shares
The West Coast opens its third halibut period July 21 — a small slice of the same coastwide stock Alaska's fleets and subsistence users draw from.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 6
Alaska seafood exporters get EU paperwork reprieve through 2026
Alaska's seafood-to-Europe shipments dodge a July 10 paperwork cliff — NOAA bought exporters 18 more months before the new EU catch forms bite.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Heatwave-driven mortality identified as key cause of Yukon Chinook crash
A new study pins the Yukon Chinook collapse on heatwave-driven deaths of young salmon at sea, not just low recruitment or overharvest, meaning harvest closures alone won't fix the crash.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
NMFS creates rodent detection dog exception to Pribilof dog ban
NMFS lifted a 50-year dog ban on the Pribilof Islands to allow certified rodent detection dogs to inspect vessels, protecting seal rookeries and subsistence harvests from invasive rodents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 29
A NOAA crew cut a tangled humpback free at Endicott Arm
A juvenile humpback got tangled at the mouth of Endicott Arm. A NOAA crew freed it from a small boat with knives on poles — work only 94 people nationwide are cleared to do.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
NPFMC directs NOAA to update pollock roe rules after seizure highlighted regulatory gap
North Pacific Fishery Management Council directed NOAA to update pollock roe rules after a seizure exposed gaps between 1990s regulations and how the fishing industry actually operates today.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 22
A fin whale's death near Seward reopens Alaska's vessel-speed debate
A pregnant fin whale that died of a vessel strike was found on a Royal Caribbean ship's bow near Seward. Investigators haven't said which vessel struck it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A new cruise terminal could rise in a humpback whale feeding ground near Juneau
The feds want comment on a Douglas Island cruise terminal whose two years of pile driving could "harass" 10 marine mammal species in a humpback feeding ground.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
ADF&G opens comment on three federal fishery disaster spend plans
Alaska Fish and Game is taking public comment on how to spend three federal fishery disaster grants, but hasn't yet posted listening session dates or details on the total money involved.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Sullivan and Peltola, fighting over the same salmon
Sullivan introduced a bycatch bill he calls the most sweeping ever; Peltola, who's owned the salmon issue for years, counters with a tougher plan. The science is contested.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
New EU rules could jam up Alaska fish headed to Europe this summer
July 10: the EU stops taking the old, easy catch certificate. Alaska fish bound for Europe needs the detailed new one — and NOAA says the deadline isn't budging.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Strangers on the Water Free a Tangled Humpback
A young humpback got snared in crab-pot lines near Juneau — and a relay of passing boat crews kept watch until rescuers could cut it loose.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Federal regulators renew HEX authorization for Cook Inlet marine-mammal harassment
Federal regulators renewed HEX Operating's permit to incidentally harass marine mammals during natural gas work in Cook Inlet through September 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read