Background Articles

The Southeast Alaska commercial red and blue king crab fishery will remain closed for the upcoming season due to low stock numbers, although some areas have shown signs of rebounding, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Commercial fishing openers are only available to individuals registered as catcher/sellers. On the Kuskokwim, the only one registered is Fran Reich.

The most-expensive project in the nationwide initiative is $25 million for Alaska to replace a dozen culvert sites along the Parks Highway.

Southeast trollers brought in about 85,000 king salmon from July 1 to July 12, around 8,000 fish over the target for the first opener of the season. Nevertheless, the fishing was pretty good for the 500 boats that stayed in the game. Hagerman says three days of bad weather during the opener meant for some busy days during good conditions. A lot of the work involved shaking undersize kings, which were below the legal length of 28-inches, and trying to keep hooks free for bigger fish.

As king salmon decline in the Bristol Bay region, changes to king salmon harvest include reduced bag limits, area closures, as well as the introduction of youth-only fisheries in the Naknek River.

A federal appeals panel issued a last-second ruling Wednesday that will allow this summer’s Southeast Alaska troll chinook salmon fishery to open as scheduled July 1.

The Bureau of Land Management, in partnership with the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District and Trout Unlimited, are restoring mining-impacted streams along the upper Yukon River watershed. Projects will improve water quality and fish habitat along Nome and Wade Creeks.

A group of Indigenous communities from Alaska and B.C. has declared a state of emergency related to Pacific salmon populations, and says First Nations need to be more involved in managing traditional resources. 

Chinook (king) and chum are the major salmon species on the Yukon and Kuskokwim. They’ve been at historically low numbers in both rivers for years. The coho (silver) returns have also dropped.This will be the fourth year subsistence fishing has been closed or severely restricted on both rivers. The region is bracing for another dismal subsistence harvest.

The Bering Sea region is front and center for federal fisheries researchers after the 2019 heatwave produced extreme change in the marine ecosystem.

This summer, Kenai Peninsula beaches from Ninilchik to Kenai will be empty of setnets and buoys. Family-run commerial fishing businesses, a major economic force in the Cook Inlet region since territorial days, have been shut down and may not be coming back.

Such a large, sudden die-off and a lack of sea ice were a red flag for scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Climate change is knocking some Pacific salmon out of alignment with the growth of the ocean plankton they eat to survive, new research says.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has allowed for 1,500 grey seals to be hunted in the Baltic Sea and 630 harbour seals on the west coast.

Potential new limits on the accidental catch of chum salmon by pollock trawlers are still years away from being implemented.

Alaska researchers will continue a controversial study this year on a parasite in Yukon River chinook salmon that requires killing hundreds of fish, a move that’s drawn sharp criticism from Canadian experts. 

First Nations groups in the Yukon Territory and Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration are advancing discussions about whether hatcheries could help stem a steep crash in salmon populations on the Yukon River.

Coordinating teams to collect and sort marine debris, plus shipping it to a landfill or recycling center is an expensive logistical nightmare as Alaska waters increase with marine debris.

The lawmakers discussed the challenges faced by Alaska’s fishermen in a remote address to Kodiak’s annual commercial fishing trade show.

Although many Alaskan students are familiar with salmon fishing, raising them gives them a new perspective on writing, science, math and art.