The North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s management practices are doing little to address the collapse of some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet.
By Brooke Woods, Linda Behnken and Nanci Morris LyonUnused salmon nets hang in the Stevens' empty smokehouse, which would normally be filled with salmon this time of year, on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Stevens Village, Alaska. Two salmon species have all but disappeared from Alaska's Yukon River this year, prompting the state to shut down fishing in an effort to save them.
Federal fisheries off Alaska are managed via the dictates of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which has done little to address the trawl fleet’s enormous bycatch of species immeasurably important to Alaskans. This is despite years of requests for positive change from Indigenous peoples, stakeholders, and the public.
Under the status quo, the council is allowed to prioritize short-term economic gains over ecosystem and community needs. It perpetuates inequity and environmental injustice, pushing the burden of conservation from industrial trawlers onto everyday Alaskans. Updated language for these guidelines could turn this around. Thousands of Alaskans and Americans recently weighed in advocating for these changes.
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