The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages federal fisheries off Alaska’s coast, wrapped up its February meeting Tuesday, with one issue dominating discussions: salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea. The 15-member council unanimously approved a motion that inches forward a decision that could finally put to bed the issue of pollock trawlers’ chum salmon bycatch, which has become the biggest fisheries issue in over a decade.
In 2021, Bering Sea pollock trawlers caught 546,043 chum salmon as bycatch, about 10% of which was headed to western Alaska, where subsistence communities depend on them for survival.
It was the second-highest year for bycatch since 1991, which prompted the council to explore new limits and infuriated subsistence communities, who say commercial fishing is being protected at their expense.
“Subsistence needs are ignored. Restrictions are unjustly placed upon us,” said Amber Vaska, who works with the Tanana Chiefs Conference, representing over 40 tribes in Alaska. “We have given everything, and bycatch is allowed without accountability. Our survival is worth less than the profits of this industry.”
Vaska was one of more than 150 people who testified before the council. She argued that bycatch isn't just a fisheries issue, it threatens an entire way of life.
“Our lives, our culture, everything we are, revolves around salmon,” she said, and called it a “heartbreaking picture of the salmon crisis on our well-being.”
Bycatch, climate change, and a $2 billion industry
At first glance, the issue seems straightforward. Industrial trawlers scoop up salmon before they can return to western Alaska rivers, decimating subsistence fisheries. The Bering Sea trawl sector, valued at about $2 billion, catches more chum salmon as bycatch than subsistence fishermen harvest.
But federal and state scientists point to another factor — climate change — as the major driver of salmon declines. Extreme marine heatwaves and warming oceans are disrupting entire food chains.
But critics say that doesn’t give the commercial fishing industry a pass. Jackie Boyer, with the nonprofit SalmonState, argued that bycatch is one of the few factors communities can control.
“Climate change is an issue, but it’s something that we’ve got no control over,” Boyer said. “What we do have control over is bycatch.”
While climate change is likely the primary driver of salmon declines, trawlers still caught 35,000 chum in the Bering Sea pollock fishery last year. Meanwhile, subsistence freezers and smokehouses sat empty.
However, leading studies estimate that just 18% of that chum originated in western Alaska. Most came from Asia and Russia, where hatchery fish are released into the Bering Sea.
Balancing conservation and industry
The council must now weigh the impact of bycatch against the economic consequences of restricting the trawl sector, which employs tens of thousands of people and adds millions of dollars to Alaska’s economy.
Council member Jon Kurland acknowledged the challenge during the February meeting.
“It clearly would not be practicable to close the pollock fishery and forgo all of its benefits to the nation,” Kurland said.
The council’s motion includes five potential actions, ranging from keeping the status quo to implementing strict bycatch limits, seasonal closures, or industry-led avoidance measures.
With the unanimous vote, the council will now study these alternatives and prepare for a final decision at its December meeting in Anchorage.
This story has been updated to clarify bycatch numbers recorded in 2021.
