The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) is celebrating the defeat of a trawling ban in Prince William Sound (PWS) after Alaska’s Board of Fisheries shot down the proposal.
The PWS pollock trawl fishery is the only state-managed pollock trawl fishery in the U.S. state of Alaska, as the other pollock trawl fisheries are managed federally. At a recent board meeting, the state’s Board of Fisheries rejected proposals to close the PWS pollock and pelagic trawl fisheries after the industry pushed back.
“This wasn’t a victory only for the trawl fishery,” Alaska Groundfish Data Bank Executive Director Julie Bonney said in a release. “It was a victory for every fishing family, crew member, and processor who depends on sustainable Alaska fisheries to keep our coastal communities alive. When Alaskans stick together, we are stronger; this meeting proved that.”
Before the meeting, multiple groups advocating for fishermen pushed back on the trawling ban, especially given the difficult circumstances the Alaska seafood industry has faced in 2024. The industry has had to deal with crab season closures, a down year in the salmon fishery that threatened the future of some seafood businesses, and the sudden and dramatic closure of the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery after a Chinook salmon bycatch incident. The last closure left roughly 50,000 metric tons (MT) of pollock quota in the water.
The PWS pollock trawl fishery is relatively small by comparison. Data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicates the fishery only had 15 vessels participate in 2024, catching just under 8 million pounds – or 3,600 MT. Despite its small size, the Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association (AWTA) said the industry needs every avenue possible to stay afloat.
“Kodiak is not immune to the significant challenges currently facing the seafood industry, including high operating costs, trade barriers, and competition from land-based proteins,” the AWTA said in its public comment on the proposals. “Our coastal communities and fishing businesses need stability right now as they try to weather the storm and make it through these challenging times. AWTA members rely on the PWS pollock fishery, and we ask the board to support our operations and not take actions that needlessly hurt our fishery and community.”
The board considered four different proposals related to the fisheries: proposal 14, the complete closure of the Prince William Sound walleye pollock pelagic trawl fishery; proposal 15, modifying bycatch limits in the Prince William Sound pelagic trawl fishery; proposal 16, the complete closure of the Prince William Sound pelagic trawl fishery; and proposal 17, establishing observer requirements in the Prince William Sound pelagic trawl fishery.
In proposal 14, the language of the trawl fishery management plan would be changed to prohibiting a trawl fishery unless no part or attachment of the trawl gear touches the seafloor. It would also prohibit the fishery if there is any bycatch of Chinook salmon. Since 2020, the PWS trawl fishery has caught just over 2,000 pounds of Chinook salmon as bycatch each year.
Ultimately, the board approved only proposal 15. Because proposal 15 passed, the board took no action on 14 and 16. Proposal 17, meanwhile, failed with just one board member voting in favor, KMXT reported.
The APFA credited widespread and vocal opposition from community members toward the pollock trawl ban as reasoning for its failure.
“Fishermen understand that we are all connected,” Bonney said. “From salmon to pollock, our fisheries must work together. The success of pink salmon in Prince William Sound relies in part on pollock harvests, and the local fishing community understands that more than anyone.”
The APFA also said a “well-known advocacy group” pushed misleading information online and at the meeting to try and sway the board.
While APFA did not name the advocacy group, there were multiple groups voicing support for a closure of the pollock trawl fishery for various reasons. The Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission pushed for a ban in light of ongoing challenges in the Copper River Chinook salmon fishery.
“Waste of Chinook salmon through trawling bycatch is unacceptable during this period of poor Chinook salmon production and ongoing efforts to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon under the Endangered Species Act,” the commission wrote.
Another advocacy group, SalmonState, also pushed for the ban and said that the trawl fishery contacts the bottom “up to 60 percent of the time” and catches vulnerable species.
“The bycatch that is found in the pelagic trawl nets displays an unsustainable fishery that is dragging the seafloor,” SalmonState said in its public comments.
The APFA said the fishery does not impact the bottom, as did many fishermen who commented on the proposals.
“Trawl operators are not going to risk losing or damaging USD 300,000 [EUR 286,000] worth of pelagic trawl gear by putting it on the bottom,” Patrick O’Donnell, the owner and operator of an 85-foot trawler, said. “Further, most of PWS has not been surveyed, or charts updated, since the 1964 earthquake, and current charts clearly state that the depths on the charts may be inaccurate due to shifting seafloor as a result of the 1964 earthquake. Putting USD 300,000 worth of trawl gear on the seafloor in PWS is recipe for disaster.”
After the meeting results, O’Donnell credited the support of salmon fishermen in defeating the proposal.
“It was heartening to see salmon and trawl fishermen stand shoulder to shoulder on this issue,” he said in an APFA release. “We don’t always agree, but we recognize now is the time to support one another. When fishermen join forces and speak the truth, others listen.”
