The international advocacy organization Oceana is pushing for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to take action on trawling. The nonprofit released a statement Oct. 7 calling on the council to limit trawling in the Bering Sea and Alaska fisheries, saying it is a threat to sensitive seafloor habitats.
Trawling involves dragging a large fishing net behind a boat to collect fish. It’s big business: the trawl fishery targeting Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea is the largest fishery in the nation. Critics say trawl gear used in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea makes contact with the seafloor, damaging marine ecosystems.
Ben Enticknap, a scientist and campaign director for Oceana, expressed concerns about the practice, saying trawling “risks damaging sensitive habitats.” He called on the council to impose measures to ensure the gear stays off the bottom.
Another hot-button issue in the trawl fishery is bycatch, which is when non-target species like salmon are unintentionally caught and often discarded. Pollock trawlers operating in the Gulf of Alaska recently caught more than their annual bycatch limit of Chinook salmon — over 2,000 fish.
Oceana has also taken legal action, filing a lawsuit against federal fishery managers for “failing to protect Alaska’s seafloor habitats.” The lawsuit argues that fishery management plans in the region have not fully considered the best available science or implemented adequate conservation measures.
Fishing groups and coastal communities have pushed back against many criticisms of the trawl fishery. Industry representatives argue that calls for tighter restrictions are unnecessary and could place undue burdens on the fishing sector. The Groundfish Forum, a trade group representing 17 catcher-processor vessels, says the criticisms are often based on misperceptions.
Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-Sea Processors Association, warns that recent legislative proposals aimed at curbing trawling would introduce “unworkable and burdensome new federal mandates.”
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will take up the bycatch issue at its February 2025 meeting in Anchorage.
