Alaska salmon troller Bay of Pillars in Chatham Strait. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
A Southeast Alaska trolling vessel. Credit ASMI
Bering Sea Non-Chinook Salmon Bycatch
Non-Chinook salmon are accidentally caught in the federally managed pollock fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI).
History
Four species of salmon (sockeye, coho, pink, and chum) are aggregated into the "non-chinook salmon" species category. Chum salmon, however, comprises over 99.6% of the total bycatch in the non-chinook salmon category.
In 2016, Amendment 110 was implemented to improve the management of Chinook and chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery by creating a comprehensive salmon bycatch avoidance program. This action is necessary to minimize Chinook and chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery to the extent practicable while maintaining the potential for the full harvest of the pollock total allowable catch (TAC) within specified prohibited species catch (PSC) limits.
Amendment 84 established the salmon bycatch inter-cooperative agreement (ICA) which allows vessels participating in the directed fisheries for pollock in the Bering Sea to utilize their internal cooperative structure to reduce salmon bycatch. We continue to consider new measures to minimize salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery to mitigate the potential negative impacts on salmon stocks in general.
Regulations, Reports, and Management Actions
- Salmon Bycatch Reports
- Federal Register Rules and Notices
- BSAI Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
- Salmon Bycatch Analyses
- Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Minimizing Non-Chinook Salmon Bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery – July 2023
- Bering Sea Chum Salmon PSC Management Measures Initial Review Draft Environmental Assessment and Council action, December 2012
- Scoping Report, May 2009
- Chum Salmon Bycatch Discussion Paper, December 2008
Contact Information
More Information
- Transfer Application - Request for Groundfish/Halibut CDQ and Prohibited Species Quota
- Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management
- Bycatch in Alaska
- North Pacific Fishery Management Council - Salmon Bycatch Information
- Salmon Fisheries Management
- Exempted Fishing Permits
- Tribal Consultations
- American Fisheries Act (AFA) Pollock Fisheries Management
- Federal Fisheries in Alaska
Alaska salmon troller Bay of Pillars in Chatham Strait. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
A Southeast Alaska trolling vessel. Credit ASMI
