Commercial Fisheries
RSSCommercial fishing industry: Bristol Bay sockeye, BSAI pollock and crab, halibut and sablefish IFQ, Board of Fisheries rulings, NPFMC allocation
Sen. Sullivan's Bycatch Reduction Act targets Alaska trawl fleets alongside new Begich bill
Sen. Sullivan introduced a Bycatch Reduction Act targeting trawl gear rules in Alaska waters. • Rep. Begich's separate bill addresses illegal fishing globally, not Alaska trawl practices. • Alaska state senators proposed banning bottom trawling in state waters.
by Maggie AlaskaNews12h ago2 min readAIBering Sea and Gulf of Alaska
Alaska AG voids contested Area M salmon regulations after ethics challenge
Alaska attorney general voided five salmon regulations after board members failed to disclose conflicts of interest. • Fishing groups won relief through ethics enforcement instead of court. • Regulations would have restricted fishing time and added chinook catch closures. • Board must restart the process to readopt any rules.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAIAlaska
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council limit golden king crab catch limits
We're you planning on eating all that crab on your plate? No no, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, I was just curious.
by Bill AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAIAleutian Islands and Pribilof Islands, Alaska
Sullivan's Bycatch Bill Wades Into Alaska's Hardest Fish Fight
Sullivan's sweeping bycatch bill targets trawl salmon catch — a real and raw grievance, even as federal science pins Alaska's river collapses mostly on a warming ocean.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago3 min readAIAlaska
NSRAA shuts Southeast Cove, Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum all season
NSRAA closed Southeast Cove and Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum fishing all season, cutting purse seine access at two northern Southeast harvest areas.
by Bill AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAISoutheast Alaska
Kodiak seiners back Kreiss-Tomkins for governor
A Kodiak seiners' group endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor on a fisheries platform — though "restore balance to the Board of Fish" means very different things to different fishermen.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAIAlaska
Ugashik posts above-average sockeye harvest as Bristol Bay ramps up
Ugashik District has harvested 79,000 sockeye salmon as of June 22, running ahead of the typical pace for this date as Bristol Bay's season picks up.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAIBristol Bay, Alaska
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 AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readAIAlaska
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 AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAISeward, Alaska
NOAA Sets West Coast Halibut Season Opening June 23 With 261,211-Pound Cap
NOAA opened the 2026 commercial halibut season for West Coast waters June 23 with a 261,211-pound catch cap, a fraction of Alaska's much larger allocation under international management.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAIAlaska
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 AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAIAlaska
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
Alaska charter anglers now pay $20 per day to keep halibut in Southeast and Southcentral waters, a federal fee that funds the charter sector's purchase of commercial fishing quota to expand their halibut allocation.
by Alaska News3w ago2 min readAIAlaska
ADF&G opens six Kodiak sections to commercial fishing, bans large Chinook retention
Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened six Kodiak commercial salmon sections to purse seine fishing June 9 but banned retention of Chinook salmon 28 inches or larger, citing low king salmon runs in the Karluk and Ayakulik river systems.
by Alaska News3w ago2 min readAIKodiak
Federal fishery disaster relief of $99M headed to Alaska after years of waiting
Alaska took four of every five dollars in the nation's fishery-disaster aid — and none of it has reached anyone yet, with 13 more disasters still in line.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAIAlaska
Dunleavy was at Trump's signing reopening 500,000 square miles of Western Pacific to commercial fishing
The Alaska angle is about Antiquities Act precedent, not fishing grounds
by Cale Green2w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Pebble Mine's challenge to EPA reaches an Anchorage court Thursday.
Pebble vs. EPA hits Anchorage federal court Thursday. The salmon, the State of Alaska, and a major mineral deposit all want a say.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAIAnchorage, Alaska
Kenai River king salmon fishery closed through mid-August 2026
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed May 1 through August 15, 2026 under emergency order. Third consecutive year of full closure due to conservation concerns. Other species fishing allowed with single-hook lures only. Nearby Kasilof River open to limited hatchery king salmon fishing.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAINorthern Kenai Peninsula
Are You Kitten Me? Alaska’s Fish “Waste” Just Found Its Second Life
by CamilleSutherland3mo ago2 min read11
A House bill on NOAA workplace safety is built on data from Alaska — where a third of fisheries observers report harassment or assault
A House bill to strengthen sexual harassment protections at NOAA is built on data from Alaska's North Pacific Observer Program, where nearly one third of the roughly 400 annual observers report harassment or assault.
by Alaska News3w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Kodiak seafood permit bars waste deposits on seafloor
Alaska's new seafood processing wastewater permit for Kodiak bans dumping waste on the seafloor starting June 2026, ending a practice unique to Alaska that has left massive piles of bones and shells creating dead zones underwater.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min readAIKodiak
Kotzebue Sound crab opener set for June 15 with no buyers registered
Alaska opens Kotzebue Sound red king crab fishing June 15 with a 10,000-pound limit, but no registered buyers, forcing fishermen to sell directly to dockside customers instead of processors.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min readAIKotzebue Sound
Begich bill to expand commerce in Alaska sea otter handicrafts gets first congressional hearing
A new bill in Congress that asks, what otter we do?
by Alaska News3w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Peltola releases Alaska fisheries platform anchored in factory trawling ban
Democrat Mary Peltola released a Senate campaign fisheries platform calling for a ban on factory trawling and tribal seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. • Peltola, a former U.S. representative and fishing boat captain, cited declining salmon returns as urgency for the reforms. • The platform also proposes freezing the Federal Subsistence Board's current composition and expanding electronic monitoring for bycatch.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min readAIAlaska
Aleutian Islands golden king crab quota rises 13% for 2026/27
One crab goes up, the other crab goes down.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3d ago2 min readAIAleutian Islands, Alaska
North Coast Chinook Troll Fishery Opens 5 Days, Then Closes
Washington-Oregon commercial Chinook troll fishery opens for just five days, June 12-16, reflecting coast-wide salmon scarcity that also shapes Alaska's harvest limits under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.
by Alaska News2w ago2 min readAI
NOAA says dead fin whale brought to Seward showed trauma consistent with vessel strike
A pregnant fin whale found dead on a cruise ship's bow in Seward showed injuries consistent with a vessel strike, NOAA said, though the responsible ship remains unclear.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min readAISeward, Alaska
Silver Bay applies for a dock right in front of competitor Snug Harbor
Silver Bay is putting a dock right in front of Snug Harbor's waterfront on the Kasilof. Competition is the substance.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAIKasilof River, Alaska
Bristol Bay Igushik set gillnet season opens June 15 with 15-hour blocks
Bristol Bay's Igushik set gillnet season opens June 15 with 15-hour fishing blocks, kicking off the summer sockeye harvest that generates most of the region's annual catch and revenue.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAIBristol Bay
Satellite Tags Track Pacific Cod Shifts in Warming Bering Sea
Satellite tags are tracking whether Pacific cod are permanently shifting north in the warming Bering Sea or temporarily moving, data that will shape management of Alaska's second-largest groundfish fishery.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAIBering Sea
Bristol Bay fishery opens under old rules as new regs stall in review
Bristol Bay's commercial salmon season opened June 1 under old rules while new regulations adopted in January remain stalled in legal review.
by Bill AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAIBristol Bay
Halibut Landings Lag 80% Behind Quota as Prices Hit $7/lb
Alaska's halibut fishery has landed only 3.5 million pounds against a 19 million pound quota by early May 2026, an unusually slow pace despite strong $6 to $7 per pound dock prices across major ports.
by Alaska Newsadded 1mo ago2 min readAIAlaska
Eagle River king salmon fishery closed for 2026 season
Alaska closed all king salmon sport fishing in Eagle River through July 13, 2026 due to weak fish populations and unmet escapement goals.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAIAnchorage
Senate panel advances Ketchikan mariculture manager to Board of Fisheries
The Senate Resources Committee advanced Paul Cyr's nomination to the Alaska Board of Fisheries, which would give Southeast Alaska its first seat on the influential regulatory board in years.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min readAIJuneau
Both cranes on Cordova's Drive Down Dock are out of service at the height of Copper River salmon season
Bad timing for fishing season as Cordova Drive down dock crane is not up to snuff
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAICordova
DNR lifts moratorium on Nushagak Bay shore fishery lease applications
Alaska lifted a three year moratorium on commercial salmon fishing leases along Nushagak Bay's east shore, reopening applications from June 1 to October 15 each year.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAIAlaska
Southeast outer coast lingcod fishery closes after hitting quota
Alaska closed the Southern Southeast Outer Coast commercial lingcod fishery Saturday after boats landed the full 50,100-pound quota, though sport fishing and other areas remain open.
by Alaska Newsadded 3w ago1 min readAISouthern Southeast Outer Coast
Federal Decision Keeps Chinook Management in Alaska's Hands
NMFS ruled that Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon do not warrant ESA listing, preserving Alaska's state control over fisheries management after a court-ordered review deadline.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min readAIAnchorage, AK
State Opens Two-Day Geoduck Fishery in Kaigani Strait
Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened a two-day commercial geoduck fishery in Kaigani Strait for April 22-23 to harvest the remaining 7,000 pounds of quota in Subdistrict 103-30-001.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAIKaigani Strait Subdistrict 103-30-001
Sullivan: Russia flooding markets to drive down Alaska fish prices
Senator Dan Sullivan says a U.S. ban on Russian seafood protects Alaska fishermen from market flooding. • Reports show Russian fish still enters the U.S. through China, bypassing the ban. • Experts say global market factors also drive down Alaska fish prices.
by Alaska Newsadded 3w ago2 min readAIAlaska
