Alaska’s “A” pollock season labeled make-or-break for fishing communities

A fishing harbor in Alaska from the air.
Alaska's "A" pollock season kicks off as the state's seafood industry works to recover from multiple difficult years | Photo courtesy of the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance
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Alaska’s “A” pollock season kicked off on 20 January, and the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) is calling it a high stakes season for the economy of the communities it supports.

Alaska’s pollock fishery is one of the largest in the world, and last year it caught 99.9 percent of its 1,263,580 metric ton (MT) quota. In 2025, Alaska’s federal fisheries in the Bering Sea will be able to access 1.375 million MT, a 6 percent hike over 2024, and fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska will be allowed to target 171,000 MT.

The fishery’s “A” season will run through April, and represents some of the most efficient fishing for a lot of companies targeting the species. Its start this year comes after 2024 was marked by a number of challenges, which compounded on multiple years of losses that NOAA Fisheries estimates cost the industry USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.7 billion) in 2022 and 2023 due to declining profitability.

The APFA said “A” season will be make-or-break time for Unalaska, Kodiak, and other fishing communities, determining “whether they thrive or stare down an uncertain future.”

Alaska’s pollock fishery faced regulatory challenges in 2024, and had to fight off a proposed ban of all trawling in Prince William Sound the industry said would hurt fishermen who couldn’t afford to keep fishing if it went through. The fight over trawling was also just after the industry was dealt a major blow when a sudden unusual bycatch incident forced the state to shut down the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) pollock fishery, leaving 50,000 MT of quota uncaught.

“The Central Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery was cut short last fall which had a significant economic impact on Kodiak. Processors, vessels, and support businesses are counting on a successful ‘A’ season pollock fishery to survive,” Alaska Groundfish Data Bank Executive Director Julie Bonney said...


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