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.

A large white ship with the NOAA insignia floats in a bay surrounded by mountains.

Feature Story

New Horizons in the Alaska Fisheries Data Environment

Alaska

Bridge crew from Norwegian Encore holding their Certificate of Corporate Responsibility from the Whale Alert Alaska Program.

Feature Story

Cruise Ships Honored for Reporting Most Whales on Whale Alert Alaska Network

Alaska

Photo of a cream-colored basket star with delicate, lacy arms extended over a rock encrusted with colorful orange and purple animals on the Alaska seafloor.

A basket star on the Alaska seafloor. Credit: NOAA Fisheries.

Feature Story

Predicting Winners and Losers in a Warming Arctic

Alaska

Feature Story

Meet Geri Stoll, Permit Assistant

Alaska

Mabel Baldwin-Schaeffer with Utqiagvik whale bone on beach.

Feature Story

Meet Mabel Baldwin-Schaeffer, Tribal Research Coordinator

Alaska

Fisheries

Amendment 124 to the FMP for the Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Amendment 112 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

Fisheries

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

Alaska

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Pacific Islands

Southeast

West Coast

National

Fisheries

2022-2023 Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications

Alaska

Fisheries

Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

Fisheries

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

Alaska

IB 22-61: 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 Eastern Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

IB 22-60: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific Ocean Perch in the Bering Sea Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area

Alaska

IB 22-59: NMFS Reallocates Pacific Cod from Catcher Vessels Using Trawl Gear and Vessels Using Pot Gear to Catcher Vessels Using Hook-and-Line Gear and Catcher/Processors using Hook-and-Line Gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska

Alaska

IB 22-58: 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 22-57: 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

2022 Alaska Fisheries Science Center Groundfish Seminar Series - Richard McBride

Nov 28, 2022

Alaska

2022 Alaska Groundfish Seminar Series -- Cheryl Denton and Adam Cook

Dec 6, 2022

Alaska

2022 Alaska Groundfish Seminar Series -- Maciej T. Tomczak

Dec 13, 2022

Alaska

FY 2021–2023: Broad Agency Announcement

Featured Highlights

Underwater photograph of an adult chum salmon swimming upriver surrounded by bubbles

Chum salmon swimming upriver. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Faster turnaround times and integrated new data shed light on salmon bycatch dynamics in Alaska

Alaska

fish species swimming around deep-sea coral habitat in Glacier Bay AK

Rockfish swimming around deep-sea coral habitat in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Innovation To Learn More About Alaska's Deep-Sea Corals and the Species that Live There Post #1

Alaska

The Latest Bottom Temperatures From The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Alaska

Quick Look at Alaska's Climate Science Regional Action Plans for Confronting Climate Change

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

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.