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).

Alaska

Chum salmon

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 intercooperative 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.