February 7, 2022 — A request by Alaskan Native groups for NMFS emergency action on salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery has been denied by the agency, saying the petition in effect asks for closure of the fishery, and would not address recent salmon run failures in western Alaska.
The request was submitted on Dec. 21 by Kawerak, Inc., the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, and the Bering Sea Elders Group.
“It effectively asked Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to close the Bering Sea pollock fishery in 2022,” according to a statement from NMFS announcing the decision. “The petitioners also asked for Tribal consultation with Western and Interior Alaska Tribes to develop long-term measures to reduce chum salmon bycatch, which NOAA Fisheries is currently undertaking.”
Read the full story at National Fisherman