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.

Heat map showing variations in size of the Bering Sea cold pool in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The Bering Sea cold pool, a bottom water mass that is < 0-2o C resulting when winter sea ice recedes affects fish movement. Warmer water temperatures and reduced sea ice in recent years resulted in shrinkage of the cold pool. Figure: NOAA Fisheries.

Feature Story

Study Shows Pollock Stocks are Mixing More Due to Changing Ocean Conditions and Weather Patterns

Alaska

Feature Story

Current Sea Surface Temperatures in the Eastern Bering Sea

Alaska

Photo of a pair of Bering Sea snow crabs on a lab table.

Bering Sea snow crab support a valuable commercial fishery. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

Feature Story

Snow Crab in Warming Waters

Alaska

Credit: NOAA Fisheries.

Feature Story

The Economic Importance of Seafood

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

Photo of Katie Sweeney, holding a remote control console, and Brian Fadely, holding a drone, on a Bogoslof Island beach..

Katie Sweeney and Brian Fadely prepare to launch a drone on Bogoslof Island, Alaska. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

Feature Story

Studying Northern Fur Seals in Remote Alaska

Alaska

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

Alaska

2020–2021 Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications

Alaska

Proposed Negligible Impact Determinations and MMPA Section 101(a)(5)(E) Authorization for Commercial Fisheries

Alaska

Pacific Islands

Southeast

Alaska

Pacific Islands

Southeast

North Pacific Observer Program - Federal Register Rules and Notices

Alaska

Regulatory Amendment to Limit Access by all Federally Permitted Vessels to the BSAI Pacific Cod Parallel State Waters Fishery

Alaska

IB 20-79: NMFS Opens Directed Fishing Pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

IB 20-78: NMFS Opens Directed Fishing Pollock in Statistical Area 610 of the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

IB 20-77: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

IB 20-76: NMFS Reports Take of a Short-Tailed Albatross in the BSAI

Alaska

IB 20-75: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pollock in Statistical Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

NOAA Live! Alaska

Oct 27, 2020

Alaska

Alaska Fisheries Science Center 2020 Groundfish Seminar

Oct 27, 2020

Alaska

FY 2021–2023: Broad Agency Announcement

National

Species Recovery Grants to States

National

Species Recovery Grants to Tribes

National

Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program

National

Featured Highlights

Central Gulf of Alaska Marine Heatwave Watch

Alaska

Current Sea Surface Temperatures in the Eastern Bering Sea

Alaska

Science in Alaska

Our 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.

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, 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, 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 Research

Fisheries Monitoring

Marine Mammal Research

Ecosystem Research

Sustainable Fisheries in Alaska

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 in Alaska

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 Overview

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 in Alaska

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.