Alaska

Alaska's dynamic, often ice-covered seas are home to a remarkable diversity of life—crustaceans, fish, seals, sea lions, porpoises, whales, and more. Few places in the world offer such beauty and bounty. This region of nearly 1.5 million square miles includes waters in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea.

Alaska produces more than half the fish caught in waters off the coast of the United States, with an average wholesale value of nearly $4.5 billion a year. Alaska's fisheries are among the best-managed, most sustainable in the world. Alaska resources provide jobs and a stable food supply for the nation, while supporting a traditional way of life for Alaska Native and local fishing communities.

Together, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center help ensure the sustainability of these marine resources for generations.

Featured News

Dead Northern fur seal on St. Paul Island, Alaska. Credit: Paul Melovidov, Ecosystem Conservation Office Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (used with permission).

Feature Story

Harmful Algal Blooms Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea

Alaska

West Coast

Featured image banner for National Fishing and Boating Week

Feature Story

Celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week!

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement special agent and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Police officers seize Tanner crab on Corey Potters' crab catcher vessel F/V Arctic Dawn. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Feature Story

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement Foils Crab Trafficking Plot in Alaska

Alaska

A type D killer whale swims at the surface of the ocean. It has a small white mark near its eye and a white belly.

A Type D killer whale, a new species in the Southern Ocean. Credit: Paul Tixier

Feature Story

New Kids on the Block: Species Discovered by Our Scientists

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

International

Looking down a dip net full of silvery juvenile salmon.

Feature Story

New Evidence of Temporary Refuge for Migrating Juvenile Salmon From Marine Heatwave Conditions

Alaska

Fisheries

Amendment 125 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Plan; Pacific Cod Small Boat Access

Alaska

Protected Resources

Incidental Take Authorization: City of Whittier’s Whittier Harbor Rebuild Phase III Project in Whittier, Alaska

Alaska

Protected Resources

Incidental Take Authorization: Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities' Prince William Sound Ferry Terminal Improvement Projects in Cordova, Chenega, and Tatitlek, Alaska

Alaska

Protected Resources

Incidental Take Authorization: Hilcorp Alaska, LLC's Ice Road and Ice Trail Construction, Operation, and Maintenance Activities on Alaska's North Slope

Alaska

Protected Resources

Incidental Take Authorization: Narwhal, LLC's Oil and Gas Exploration Activities in West Harrison Bay, Alaska

Alaska

IB 25-22: NMFS Opens Directed Fishing for Pacific Ocean Perch in the Bering Sea Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

Alaska

IB 25-21: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific Cod by Hook-and-Line Catcher/Processors in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf Alaska

Alaska

IB 25-20: NMFS Prohibits Recreational Fishing for Chinook Salmon in the Cook Inlet EEZ Area.

Alaska

IB 25-19: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska (Revised April 21, 2025)

Alaska

IB 25-18: NMFS Prohibits Retention of Shortraker Rockfish in the Central Gulf of Alaska (Revised April 15, 2025)

Alaska

Notice of Funding Opportunity: New Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Marketing (CIFARM)

National

Fiscal Year 2024–2026: Broad Agency Announcement

National

Featured Highlights

A ribbon seal with dark brown hair and a pattern of large white ribbons on the chest raises her head and shoulders above the water line and looks around among ice floes.

An adult female ribbon seal looks around among ice floes in the Bering Sea. Animals are much harder to detect during aerial surveys when they are in the water. Credit: NOAA Fisheries / Josh M London / Photo taken under authority of NOAA Fisheries Research Permit #23858.

New Study Will Improve Abundance Estimates for Bearded, Ribbon, and Spotted Seals in Alaska

Alaska

A crowd of people surrounds a fin whale carcass on the shore

Late afternoon residents walk to investigate the fin whale carcass. Credit: Bridget Crokus, volunteer Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services

47-Foot Fin Whale Found Washed Ashore Near Anchorage

Alaska

Spring Chinook Salmon. Credit: Michael Humling, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Alaska Salmon Research Task Force

Alaska

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Our high quality research supports sustainable management and conservation of Alaska marine species with economic and cultural benefits for the nation. Alaska waters support some of the most important commercial fisheries in the world. Large and diverse populations of whales, seals, sea lions, and porpoises and Alaska native hunting and fishing communities also share these waters.

We study the health and size of marine animal populations. We also study the key areas where these animals feed, breed, and grow. To study ocean habitats, we monitor environmental conditions important to sustain marine life. For instance, we regularly monitor sea surface temperatures in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. We analyze biological, oceanographic and ecological data collected during research surveys and by trained fisheries observers in our laboratories. From this, we learn more about marine animal diets, age, growth and reproduction, food web dynamics and the role of humans in marine ecosystems. We use this and other information to monitor changes to marine animal populations and Alaska ecosystems over time.

Fish and Crab Science

Fisheries Monitoring (Observer Program)

Marine Mammal Science

Ecosystem Science

Sustainable Fisheries

The Alaska Regional Office works with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to manage Alaska’s sustainable fisheries. Using the best available science, we work through the Council process authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to develop measures for best management of Alaska’s fisheries, considering a range of factors such as the health of the fish stocks and economic impact of fishery practices. Once fishing levels and regulations are adopted and approved, the Alaska Regional Office works to implement the Council decisions. The goal is to allow fishermen to harvest the optimum amount of fish while leaving enough in the ocean to reproduce and provide future fishing opportunities in perpetuity.

Commercial Fishing

Recreational (Sport) Fishing

Subsistence Fishing

Resources and Programs

Protected Marine Life Overview

The Protected Resources Division works to conserve and recover marine mammals in close coordination with the State of Alaska and other partners. To manage protected marine species, as required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and Fur Seal Act, the Alaska Region advances recovery of threatened and endangered species and the conservation of marine mammals, including whales, seals, and sea lions. We work to minimize interactions between marine mammals and commercial fisheries; promote responsible marine mammal viewing practices; coordinate response to stranded or entangled marine mammals; consult with federal agencies to minimize project effects on threatened and endangered species; and cooperatively manage subsistence use of marine mammals through co-management agreements with Alaska Native organizations.

Endangered Species Conservation

Protecting Marine Life

Pinnipeds

Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises

Habitat Conservation

NOAA Fisheries conducts and reviews environmental analyses for a large variety of activities ranging from commercial fishing, to coastal development, to large transportation and energy projects. Working with industries, stakeholder groups, government agencies, and private citizens, we ensure that these activities have minimal impact on essential fish habitat and marine life in Alaska. Our habitat conservation activities include protecting essential fish habitat, mitigating damage to and enhancing habitat affected by hydropower project construction and operations, removing invasive species, and restoring habitat that has been affected by development, oil spills, and other human activities. We focus on habitats used by federally-managed fish species located offshore, nearshore, in estuaries, and in freshwater areas important to migratory salmon.

Essential Fish Habitat

Resource Tools

Habitat Programs

Habitat Restoration

Featured Species

Alaska's coastal communities depend on healthy marine resources to support commercial and recreational fisheries, tourism, and the Alaskan way of life. Our mission at NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office is the science-based stewardship of Alaska’s marine resources and their habitats in the Gulf of Alaska, eastern Bering Sea, and Arctic oceans. We are responsible for supporting sustainable fisheries, recovering and conserving protected species, such as whales and seals, and promoting healthy ecosystems and resilient Alaska coastal communities.

Alaska

Alaska

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Beluga Whale

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