Home / Environment / Pollock Nets Snag Salmon: Alaska's Fishing Feud Heats Up
Pollock Nets Snag Salmon: Alaska's Fishing Feud Heats Up
9 Oct
Summary
- Pollock fishery bycatch includes hundreds of thousands of salmon annually.
- Native communities face cultural and food security impacts from declining salmon.
- Fishing practices and bycatch are key issues in Alaska's midterm elections.
The Alaska pollock fishery, a multi-billion-pound industry, is embroiled in controversy over its incidental capture of salmon. Maverick Blake, captain of the F/V Progress, noted that unintended catches, or bycatch, alongside pollock can include salmon, a fish critical to western Alaska's Native communities.
Over the past decade, Bering Sea pollock operations have captured an annual average of approximately 18,000 Chinook and 288,000 other salmon. This bycatch occurs as salmon populations face severe declines throughout western Alaska, exacerbated by rising ocean temperatures according to scientific research from 2025.
Critics argue that bycatch is a regulated mortality factor, crucial when salmon populations are depleted. Andrew Seitz, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, emphasizes the critical importance of each fish to riverine communities facing subsistence harvest restrictions.
Despite industry claims of advanced management, including salmon excluders and real-time communication, concerns persist. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission highlights the profound cultural and generational impacts of diminished salmon access, affecting traditions and food security for communities like Rampart.
Genetic studies indicate that while most chum caught in pollock nets are not from western Alaska, a significant portion of Chinook bycatch originates there. This nuanced data fuels ongoing debates about the balance between the pollock industry's economic importance and the conservation needs of struggling salmon stocks.
