Commercial Fisheries
RSSCommercial fishing industry: Bristol Bay sockeye, BSAI pollock and crab, halibut and sablefish IFQ, Board of Fisheries rulings, NPFMC allocation
Rules on remote Alaska communities' fishing quota return to council
Federal fishery managers revisit rules on how small, remote Alaska communities hold and trade halibut and sablefish quota, at an October meeting in Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Eshamy District stays closed as sockeye run behind target
A rule capping set gillnetters at 36 hours a week in the Eshamy District took effect in July. The district has been closed to fishing all season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Three Afognak sections close as Kodiak gets a 102-hour opening
Three Afognak sections closed Wednesday evening while the rest of Kodiak got periods of up to 102 hours. The Chinook nonretention rule still stands.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Hoonah oyster farm wants to grow to about 10 acres
A Hoonah oyster farm wants to add two parcels and renew its state lease for 20 years, bringing the site to about 10 acres. Comments close Sept. 28.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo 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 News1mo 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 1mo ago2 min read
Petersburg-area gillnetters get one more day before the fishery closes
Drift gillnet fishermen near Petersburg get one more day before Districts 6 and 8 close Thursday — the second short extension this month for the fishery.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
With monitoring down, the state is using a commercial opening to gauge coho
Norton Sound gillnetters get one 24-hour coho opening this weekend. With monitoring projects mostly down, the state is using it to gauge abundance.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Yakutat scallop fishery closes as harvest reaches 145,000-pound cap
Yakutat's commercial scallop fishery closes Wednesday as the fleet hits its 145,000-pound limit — a small statewide fishery worked by just two boats.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet pot boats get back into state-waters cod on Sept. 1
Cook Inlet's jig-only Pacific cod season closes Sept. 1 and reopens to all legal gear, leaving 339,000 pounds of unharvested quota available to pots, jigging machines, and troll gear through year-end.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sand Point salmon fishery opens Wednesday for 109 hours, the longest window of the string
Sand Point's salmon fishery opens for about 109 more hours this week, shaped by a strategy that protects immature salmon in the Shumagin Islands.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kodiak salmon fishing extended again, running through Wednesday evening
Kodiak boats get a second 48-hour extension, running through 6 pm Wednesday. The Chinook nonretention rule stays in place across the whole area.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Prince William Sound's seine fishery stays closed, its next opening tied to hatchery returns
Prince William Sound's purse seine fishery stays closed with no opening set. Its next opening now depends on salmon returns to the hatcheries, not a fixed date.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Copper River gillnetters get a 12-hour opener Monday, half the last period
Copper River and Bering River gillnetters get 12 hours Monday, half of last week's opener, as Fish and Game tries to keep building early salmon escapement.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A second Southeast area hits its lingcod limit in two weeks
For the second time in two weeks, Southeast longliners must start throwing lingcod back as another area hits its seasonal limit. The state calls it routine.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska managers open some salmon fisheries and close others as runs diverge
Alaska fishery managers opened some salmon fisheries and closed others the same week, each call turning on how the fish are running in that particular place.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sand Point salmon fishing extended 48 hours through Sunday night
Sand Point boats get 48 more hours of salmon fishing, through 9 pm Sunday. The state published no catch or escapement figures explaining why.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kotzebue chum fishermen got a second buyer for the season's last week
Kotzebue chum fishermen had two buyers for the season's final six openings, after weeks with one. The regulatory season closes Aug. 31.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A sharp cut to West Coast salmon limits lands on fish Alaska shares
Federal managers cut West Coast Chinook troll limits by three-quarters, and because the salmon are shared, mixed stocks, the change reaches Alaska's runs too.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bristol Bay 2027 sockeye forecast to fall below 50 million, ending an 11-year run
Bristol Bay's sockeye run is forecast at 44.2 million for 2027, which would end an eleven-year streak above 50 million. The state still grades that strong.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Juneau-area gillnetters get another opener, but directed king fishing stays closed on low abundance
Juneau-area gillnetters get another opener through Wednesday, but directed king fishing stays closed across four Southeast districts on low king numbers.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Southeast gillnetters ride a strong pink run, with the season about to turn toward coho
Southeast gillnetters are working a strong pink salmon season, with several areas open into Thursday and the focus set to turn toward coho later this month.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A weak sockeye return has managers ready to open a Juneau-area fishery on six hours' notice
A weak Speel Lake sockeye return near Juneau has managers ready to open a terminal fishery on six hours' notice. Escapement is below its goal range.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Southeast seiners get another opening, with one district carrying a below-forecast pink season
Southeast seiners get another opening Tuesday, with one district carrying more than half the catch in a pink season running below the regionwide forecast.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet drift gillnetters drop to two days a week as the sockeye catch thins out
Cook Inlet drift gillnetters are down to Mondays and Thursdays for the season, after two openings in a row each took under 1% of the sockeye harvest.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Yukon fall salmon fishing closes at the peak of the season, not for a weak run but to meet Canada's share
Yukon fall salmon fishing closed at the peak of the season for Interior households — not for a weak run, but because Canada's treaty share has to pass first.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kodiak westside, Afognak and Alitak sections get a 45-hour extension
Kodiak commercial salmon fishing extended 45 hours into Monday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. across westside, Afognak and Alitak sections under state emergency order.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Prince William Sound seiners get 12 hours Sunday across six districts
Twelve hours, six districts, 8 am to 8 pm Sunday. Escapement finally looks good enough that Fish and Game is talking about every-other-day openings.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
NOAA is looking for a fishing boat to carry its scientists across the Gulf and Aleutians
NOAA is hiring an Alaska fishing boat to carry its scientists on a 55-day voyage across the Gulf and Aleutians, running the survey that helps set catch limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Deep Inlet reopens to the commercial fleet after the hatchery takes its cut
Alaska reopened Deep Inlet to commercial salmon fishing after the state hatchery finished cost-recovery operations, ending a closure that began June 28.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Chignik fishermen get a five-day opening, but most of the area stays closed on weak runs
Chignik Bay and Central districts open for commercial salmon Aug. 17-21, but the window is provisional and most other Chignik areas stay closed due to low pink and chum counts.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Gillnetters near Ketchikan and Haines get an extra day on the water
Drift gillnetters near Ketchikan and Haines got an extra day on the water this week, with some inlets and canal waters closed off in exchange.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Kamishak District closed to seining after survey found fewer pinks
Alaska closes the Kamishak District to commercial salmon seining Wednesday night after an aerial survey found fewer pink salmon than expected in Lower Cook Inlet.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in a fishery the rest of Alaska watches closely
Sand Point fishermen get 61 hours on the water — in an Area M fishery watched across Alaska for catching chum bound for the struggling Yukon and Kuskokwim.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Prince William Sound's purse seine fleet stays closed, waiting on weather
Prince William Sound's seine fleet stays closed, grounded because the weather's too poor to fly the aerial surveys Fish and Game needs before it will open.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
