Commercial Fisheries

Outside scientists find NOAA's Alaska fishing observer program sound, recommend no 2027 changes

Three outside scientists reviewed how NOAA decides which Alaska fishing boats carry observers or cameras. Verdict: sound methods, no changes needed for 2027.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab closed, bars pot gear near the islands

Alaska keeps Pribilof red and blue king crab fisheries closed for 2026/27 and bars crab pots from waters around the islands, extending a blue king crab shutdown that started in 1999.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Glacier Fish, SeaShare present halibut donation permit to council

Glacier Fish and SeaShare asked federal regulators to let the Northern Glacier donate up to 5,000 pounds of halibut it now discards, sending the fish to Western Alaska food banks if approved.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council advisers back changes to help small Alaska towns fish their halibut and sablefish quota

Small Alaska towns bought halibut and sablefish quota, but over 750,000 pounds went uncaught last year. Council advisers want to make it easier to fish.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Advisory panel asks scientists to test four more sablefish models before December

New sablefish models would cut the catch ceiling up to 32%. Council advisers want four more options tested before December's catch decision.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Federal managers close Central Gulf Pacific cod fishing to pot boats for the rest of 2026

High cod prices helped pull new boats into the Central Gulf pot fishery. Federal managers say the fleet's share is caught or about to be, so it's done for 2026.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Trawl groups ask fishery council to shrink Steller sea lion closures; conservation groups object

Trawlers want the North Pacific council to shrink Steller sea lion fishing closures, citing fuel and safety. Conservation groups and a tribal commission object.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Southeast Alaska sea cucumber dive fishery opens with a 1.4 million-pound cap

Alaska opened its 2026/27 Southeast sea cucumber dive fishery Monday with a 1.4 million-pound cap, down 18% from last season, with weekly openings by area until March 31, 2027.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Follows: Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get first fishing period Sept. 30 to Oct. 7

Western Gulf fishermen ask council scientists to back moving Bering Sea cod quota

Western Gulf fishermen say some Bering Sea cod spend winter in their waters, and they would like 3% to 7% of the Bering Sea quota to follow the fish there.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council scientists back new Gulf of Alaska pollock model as survey mismatch persists

Federal scientists picked a new Gulf of Alaska pollock model, but the bottom trawl survey still won't line up with it, and nobody knows exactly why yet.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Council advisers debate studying more charter leasing of commercial halibut quota

Charter operators want room to lease more commercial halibut quota. Commercial fishermen say deal first with the boom in bareboat rentals.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council advisers back Bering Sea crab ceilings after the state already set its catches

Federal advisers signed off on Bering Sea crab ceilings a day after the state set its catches. The unsettled part: what to do about hybrid crab.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Japanese surimi executives visit Dutch Harbor on ASMI trade mission

Japanese surimi makers visited Dutch Harbor to push back against tariffs that treat Alaska pollock the same as Russian imports.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Bering Sea Tanner crab limit nearly triples as snow crab falls 45 percent

Alaska tripled the Bering Sea Tanner crab limit to 32.1 million pounds for winter 2026, while cutting snow crab 45% to 5.1 million pounds, with all three major crab fisheries opening Oct. 15.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: State reviews Bering Sea crab catch calculations Wednesday

New models could cut Alaska's 2026 sablefish catch advice by nearly a third

New models could cut Alaska's 2026 sablefish catch advice by nearly a third. Longliners want a phase-in. The council sets the catch limit in December.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

North Pacific council's SSC keeps snow crab buffer at 40%, not 50%

Alaska's Bering Sea snow crab catch ceiling rises to 12.73 kilotons after the North Pacific council's science committee kept a 40 percent safety buffer instead of increasing it to 50 percent.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Prince William Sound parallel cod season closes to pot gear at noon Wednesday

Alaska closes pot fishing for Pacific cod in Prince William Sound at noon Wednesday, Oct. 7, following a federal season closure, while longline and jig seasons stay open.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Southeast winter troll king season opens Oct. 11, with five inside areas closed

Southeast's winter king troll season opens Oct. 11 and runs to March 15 or a 45,000-fish cap. Five inside areas stay closed to protect wild fish.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Yakutat set gillnetters must donate any Situk king that dies in the net

Yakutat gillnetters cannot keep any Chinook salmon through Oct. 7 and must donate dead kings because the Situk River run fell far short of its escapement goal.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Federal managers raise Bering Sea perch, rockfish and flatfish catch limits

Federal fisheries managers raised Bering Sea catch limits for three groundfish species by 3,961 metric tons starting Oct. 30, drawing from reserves without risking overfishing.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

State reviews Bering Sea crab catch calculations Wednesday

Fish and Game reviews its Bering Sea crab catch numbers Wednesday. Last season's limits went up for red king, snow and Tanner crab. This season's? Stay tuned.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Every preregistered Bering Sea crab boat is selected for observer coverage

Every Bering Sea crab boat that preregistered for winter fishing must now carry a state observer or risk delayed fishing, with skippers needing to give 10 days' notice to the contractor.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Southeast Alaska gillnetters caught less salmon this year but expect higher pay

Southeast gillnetters caught less of every salmon species than average this year, but prices are way up, so the paycheck should be bigger. Not a bad trade.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Western Gulf of Alaska Pacific ocean perch fishery closes through Dec. 31

Federal managers closed the Western Gulf of Alaska's Pacific ocean perch trawl fishery Thursday. The fleet hit its 2026 limit, the year's fourth perch closure.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Federal regulators approve Norton Sound group's trade of unused flatfish quota for 900 tons of rock sole

Nome-based NSEDC traded unused flathead and yellowfin sole quota for 900 more metric tons of rock sole, so its community quota fleet can keep fishing.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Bristol Bay's smaller sockeye run pays 21 percent above average

Bristol Bay caught fewer sockeye than usual but got paid far more for them: $264 million, 21% above average. Togiak and Nushagak kings came up short.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get first fishing period Sept. 30 to Oct. 7

Chignik District red sea cucumber divers get their first week of the season starting Wednesday, under a 15,000-pound cap for the whole season.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Prince William Sound fall herring fishery opens Thursday with 749-ton cap

Prince William Sound's fall herring fishery opens Thursday with a 749-ton harvest cap, less than half last year's limit due to a weak spring spawn.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Trawl meeting in Anchorage Oct. 16 will take no remote testimony

Fishery managers will spend a day in Anchorage on trawl nets touching the seafloor. No votes, no remote testimony, and written comments close Oct. 9.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Markey blocks Sullivan's attempt to fast-track bycatch bill through the Senate

Sullivan tried to pass his bycatch bill without a vote. One Democrat, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, said not so fast. Peltola called it performative.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Yakutat set gillnetters get another opening, but still can't keep king salmon

Yakutat set gillnetters get another opening starting Sunday. Other salmon are fair game. Kings still aren't, in any size, whether for sale or for dinner.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

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 Sep 21

Copper River commercial salmon season closes Oct. 13 after weak sockeye and strong coho runs

Copper River's commercial salmon season ends Oct. 13. Sockeye came in at a third of forecast, kings hit an eight-year low, and coho decided to make up for it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Copper River dipnet and subsistence fishing runs through Sept. 30

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

NOAA weighs 77 Gulf of Alaska sites for future kelp and shellfish farms

Seventy-seven spots along the Gulf of Alaska coast could someday grow kelp and oysters. NOAA is still studying them, and no farm is approved yet.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska closed its Bering Sea scallop grounds after the two-boat fleet hit the cap

Alaska's whole commercial scallop fishery is two boats. An emergency order just closed the Bering Sea grounds to them for the rest of the season.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kodiak's salmon fishery opens for 54 hours starting Thursday at noon

Kodiak gets 54 hours of salmon fishing starting Thursday at noon. The Karluk River saw 93 kings reach spawning grounds against a goal of 3,000.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fishery managers will meet on trawl seafloor contact, with no power to recommend

The Board of Fisheries took 51 seconds on three trawl proposals. Its follow-up meeting can't recommend anything and won't take testimony by phone.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Mar 20

Follows: Board of Fish Defers Trawl Gear Restrictions, Opts for Federal Coordination