This week the federal government shut down the harvest of all polluck in the Gulf of Alaska after two fishing vessels took over 2,000 chinook from the region as bycatch. The news drew immediate condemnation against the two Kodiak vessels that ended the fisheries for 20 vessels in the region. The incident took place as […]
WASHINGTON – Wednesday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report entitled, Federal Fisheries Management: Efforts to Reduce and Monitor Unintentional Catch and Harm Need Better Tracking. The report found that federal efforts to monitor and reduce bycatch in U.S. fisheries are lacking. “Alaskans and our fishing families know bycatch is a huge […]
WASHINGTON – Wednesday, Representative Mary Peltola (AK-AL) introduced a pair of bills to restrict bottom trawling and reduce bycatch – the bipartisan Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act and the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act. “Since coming to Congress, I’ve worked to make fish and fishing policy the issue of national importance it deserves to be,” said Rep. […]
Petition did not meet criteria necessary for emergency action NOAA Fisheries denied a request for emergency action to institute a cap of zero on Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. The request was submitted on January 17, 2024. It effectively asked Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to close the Bering Sea pollock […]