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.

Jonny Antoni and Kaitlyn Tolin of Sea Quester sugar kelp farm outside of Juneau, Alaska. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Feature Story

NOAA Fisheries Releases its 2023 Alaska Aquaculture Accomplishments Report

Alaska

Two aquaculture workers pull a line of kelp out of the water and into their boat, on Seagrove Kelp Co's farm site. Buoy markers are present on the water's surface.

Sustainably grown, organic Alaskan kelp is harvested at the Seagrove Kelp Co. farm in Doyle Bay. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Jordan Hollarsmith

Podcast

Seaweed: The Miracle Macroalgae with Major Economic and Environmental Value

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

National

North Pacific Right Whale

Feature Story

NOAA Fisheries to Revise Critical Habitat for Right Whales in Alaska

Alaska

Feature Story

Auke Bay Laboratories Welcomes a New Deputy Director

Alaska

Agency Statement

Response to Recent Reports of Killer Whale Incidental Catches in Alaska

Alaska

Fisheries

2023-2024 Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications

Alaska

Fisheries

Federal Register Notices of Proposed and/or Continuing Information Collections as Required by the Paperwork Reduction Act

Alaska

Protected Resources

Critical Habitat for North Pacific Right Whales

Alaska

West Coast

Alaska

West Coast

Fisheries

Amendment 122 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program

Alaska

Fisheries

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Cost Recovery Program and Fee Percentages

Alaska

IB 23-50: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Atka Mackerel by Vessels Participating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Trawl Limited Access Sector Fishery in the Central Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

IB 23-49: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific Ocean Perch by Vessels Participating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Trawl Limited Access Sector Fishery in the Central Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

IB 23-48: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific Ocean Perch by Vessels Participating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Trawl Limited Access Sector Fishery in the Western Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

IB 23-47: NMFS Reallocates Atka Mackerel from the Bering Sea Subarea and Eastern Aleutian Island District Incidental Catch Allowance to the Amendment 80 Cooperative in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

IB 23-46: Apportionment of the Groundfish Reserve in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

Alaska

Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program Funding

National

Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Competition

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Tribes and Underserved Communities

National

Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants

National

Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grants

National

Featured Highlights

Beluga with calf in water with green hills in background

Cook Inlet beluga whales. Credit: Chris Garner, Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson

Public Benefits of Recovering Endangered Beluga Whale Outweigh Costs

Alaska

50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act with smalltooth sawfish, green turtle, Atlantic salmon, staghorn, North Atlantic right whale, and Tubastraea floreana

The Endangered Species Act: 50 Years of Conserving Species

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

A Southeast Alaska trolling vessel. Credit ASMI

Statement on U.S. District Court Decision Remanding 2019 Biological Opinion Regarding Southeast Alaska Salmon Fisheries

Alaska

West Coast

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.