What's being done to address trawling issues in Alaska
— ADF&G Press Release

Doug Vincent-Lang, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, Alaska 99811-5526

Press Release: June 12, 2026

CONTACT: For more information contact: Patty Sullivan patty.sullivan@alaska.gov

What's being done to address trawling issues in Alaska

There has been much debate regarding the impact that trawling has had on Alaska fisheries, especially given that some of our state's salmon, crab, and halibut stocks are struggling. A picture is sometimes painted that trawling is the sole cause of stock declines, and that if we just ended it, all would be well.

Unfortunately, the issue is more complex. First off, trawl fisheries are among the most regulated fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean. With observer coverage, we know the extent of the bycatch of salmon, halibut and crab. And it's small. For example, in 2025 the Alaska federal trawl fishery bycatch of Chinook and chum salmon represented less than 1% of the total Alaskan commercial harvests of these species.

That said, like with any fishery, there are impacts with trawling - from bycatch and intercept (incidental harvest of non-target species) to habitat disturbance from bottom contact by mid-water trawl gear. These are impacts that I have been concerned about and, as Commissioner, have taken steps to address.

It's important to recognize that two entities regulate fishing in or near Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) is not in charge of either, but has a voice in both. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) regulates fisheries in Alaska's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), from 3 miles to 200 miles offshore. I have a seat on this Council, and the Alaska Governor nominates Alaskans to fill five of the remaining 10 voting seats. For State water fisheries, the Alaska Board of Fisheries is the primary regulating entity. Let's look back at what decisions have occurred in these forums over the last eight years with respect to trawling.

Bycatch Limits

ADF&G has led efforts at the NPFMC to implement 100% observer coverage in the Bering Sea cod trawl fishery and 100% electronic monitoring on all pollock boats in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. We have also reduced halibut bycatch by 25% in the Bering Sea cod trawl fishery and by 35% in the Bering Sea bottom trawl fishery. We have also reduced the bycatch of crab by 35% in the Bering Sea cod trawl fishery; and have developed regulations aimed at reducing the actual Bering Sea chum salmon bycatch by 90% in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. These are significant reductions aimed directly at reducing the impacts of trawl fisheries on species important to Alaskans.

Western Alaska Chum

Alaska has led efforts through the NPFMC to adopt regulations for the first caps on Western Alaska chum bycatch. When these hard caps are reached, productive pollock fishing areas are closed. We have supported and funded the development of state-of-the-art inseason genetic technology to identify stock-of-origin in real time. This allowed the NPFMC to set caps on Western Alaska chum. That distinction matters. The vast majority of chum salmon bycatch originate from Russia and Asia, not from Alaska. A Western Alaska chum cap will focus industry efforts on reducing bycatch for chum stocks of most concern to Alaskans.

Chinook & Chum in South Alaska Peninsula, Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim, Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet

We have taken action to address the interception of struggling salmon stocks across our state. In the South Alaska Peninsula fisheries, which is a known area of intercept of non-local stocks, we have implemented a state-of-the-art genetics sampling program to determine stock of origin for Chinook and chum salmon. Based on this information, we have worked with the fishermen and the Alaska Board of Fisheries to reduce the intercept of chum and Chinook salmon destined to the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim and Chignik drainages in South Alaska Peninsula seine and gillnet fisheries.

We have also reduced intercept of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon in marine sport and commercial fisheries with area and gear restrictions and bag and possession limit restrictions. In Cook Inlet, we have worked with the Board of Fisheries to reduce the intercept of Kenai River Chinook salmon in Upper Cook Inlet commercial fisheries and the intercept of Northern Cook Inlet coho salmon in Inlet drift net fisheries.

The point is important: our approach has not been to focus on one gear type or one fishery. It has been to identify where struggling Alaska stocks are being affected and to take strategic action based on the best information.

King and Tanner Crab

We are also addressing the effects of trawl gear on bottom habitat. ADF&G is working with federal and state regulatory bodies to close sensitive areas for Tanner Crab to bottom trawling in the Gulf of Alaska. In recognition of depressed red king crab populations, we led an effort to start a regulatory package to reduce bottom contact by mid-water or pelagic trawl gear, which we introduced at the June NPFMC meeting. In cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service, we are supporting industry research and field work that will inform Council action to reduce bottom contact with pelagic trawl gear.

Changing Ocean Conditions

At the same time, we have invested significant resources in understanding the other forces affecting Alaska's salmon, crab and halibut stocks. Increasingly, the science points to changing ocean conditions and marine predation as significant factors. The collapse of snow crab in the Bering Sea, for example, has been linked to a marine heat wave, not bycatch. For salmon, the evidence is pointing to changing marine conditions and marine predation as primary factors. Some data show that marine mammals now consume more Chinook salmon on an annual basis than are harvested by humans. Halibut presents another challenge. Changes in halibut growth and size have affected the amount of harvest available to fisheries and prompted implementation of bycatch limits for Bering Sea trawl vessels that change with halibut abundance.

We are also investing in new science. For seven years, ADF&G has conducted a marine science program designed to better identify these changing environmental conditions and what can be done to address them.

Unfortunately, science does not always provide immediate answers. Understanding what is happening in a changing North Pacific means putting together many pieces of a complicated puzzle.

Bottomline

Things are being done to address the impacts of trawling on our salmon, crab and halibut stocks. But trawling is not the only pressure these stocks face. Changing ocean conditions. marine predation, and other factors are also affecting their abundance and productivity.

Using an analogy, if your arm hurts, you don't ask the doctor to cut it off. Instead, you ask why and ask the doctor to perform tests to examine the cause. Then, the identified cause is treated. Let's employ this same reasoning to trawling and continue to address the issues while considering the data and the Alaska context. We have good foundation to build upon — the advisory task forces were established to examine these very questions. Let's use these to ensure our trawl fisheries are properly managed. Eliminating trawling without acknowledging and addressing the other forces affecting our stocks could impose significant economic costs on Alaska and its coastal communities without producing the recovery that Alaskans would expect.

The right approach is not to choose a culprit first and look for evidence second. It is to follow the science.

As Commissioner, Doug Vincent-Lang has led the Alaska Department of Fish & Game for the last eight years.