Friday, February 13, 2026
- Feb 13
- 8 min read
Alaska
State moves to secure King Cove Road connection
The Cordova Times by staff - February 11, 2026
State Department of Law officials are taking new steps in support of completing construction of an 18-mile road between King Cove and the Cold Bay on the Alaska Peninsula.
Many Western Alaska stakeholders seek stricter limits on trawl fleet; community development groups warn that would hurt coastal communities
KUCB by Theo Greenly - February 11, 2026
On an August afternoon in Nikolski last summer, nearly all 20 people who live in the small Aleutian village came out for the grand opening of a new community center.
Pacific cod quota updated mid-season for Kodiak area fishermen
KMXT By Davis Hovey - February 10, 2026
Pacific cod fishermen in the Kodiak area and South Alaska Peninsula can now catch nearly 8 million pounds of fish during the current state-managed fishery.
A new Bering Sea bycatch limit for chum salmon aims to protect subsistence in Western Alaska
KNBA by Alena Naiden - February 12, 2026
Federal fisheries regulators have set some limits on salmon chum bycatch in the Bering Sea. The highly debated – and long awaited – decision aims to protect declining salmon stocks while minimizing harm to pollock fisheries.
NPFMC Sets New Measures to Reduce Western Alaska Chum Bycatch During Pollock B Season
SeafoodNews by Peggy Parker - February 12, 2026
History was made at last week's North Pacific Fisheries Management Council meeting, convened to address the chum salmon bycatch in the pollock trawl fleets during the summer “B” season.
First, Western Alaska residents who rely on chum salmon as a keystone food in their culture and way of life described their loss to the Council and industry stakeholders who attended the meeting or listened online. More than 200 individuals submitted written comments, testified before the 11-member panel, and addressed advisory bodies before the Council gaveled open. The Council has heard Alaska Native stakeholders before, but never at this scale.
Second, final action was taken on a particularly difficult issue to reduce Western Alaska chum salmon bycatch by the trawl fleet. Credit can be given to new developments in genetic identification, use of the Incentive Plan (Program) Agreements among trawl fleets, and early incorporation of Local Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, and Subsistence (LKTKS).
The decision came after three full days of testimony, where Council Chair Angel Drobnica suspended the 3-minute time limit for individuals to speak, a nod to Alaska Native culture and part of a council-wide effort to be more inclusive to stakeholders who are not part of the for-profit commercial fisheries, usually before the Council.
The new management measure will use a known corridor for Western Alaska chum salmon passage during the months of June, July, and August, and establish a cap that, when reached, would trigger a closure of that area to pollock vessels.
The corridor is also a well-known and lucrative area for pollock fishing, so keeping the bycatch low is incentivized for that area.
The third component is the use of the Incentive Plan (Program) Agreements or IPAs.
The cap was set at 45,000 Western Alaska chum and will be allocated as Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) to each pollock sector as follows:Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups — 4,410Catcher vessels delivering shoreside plants — 31,950Catcher vessels delivering to motherships — 4,365Catcher processors — 4,275These amounts can be transferred among sectors.
“If a sector exceeds its Western Alaska chum salmon PSC limit, regulations will require each sector’s IPA to close a Western Alaska chum salmon corridor of 20 stat areas in clusters 1 and 2 (50% of the fishing grounds) in season for the remainder of June 10 – August 31,” reads the motion that passed on an 8-3 vote.
The enforcement part of the motion:
“If a sector exceeds its Western Alaska chum PSC limit between June 10 and August 31 during the B season and the IPA failed to close Western Alaska chum salmon closure corridor, then the IPA must close 20 stat areas (including 685530, 675500, 655500, and 645501) in the Western Alaska chum salmon corridor during all of June 10-August 31 the following B season, as set in regulations,” said Rachel Baker, council member and Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, reading her motion.
There are four statistical areas that must be closed due to the high incidence of Western Alaska chum in that area at that time of year. The closures will be done through the IPAs.
“Prior to each B season, NMFS will provide an estimate, using a 3-year rolling average, of each sector’s ratio of Western Alaska chum PSC to total chum PSC for the IPA to calculate their Western Alaska chum PSC and manage inseason,” said Baker. “To the extent data are available, an IPA could monitor its Western Alaska chum PSC using inseason genetic data for clusters 1 and 2 to avoid Western Alaska chum.
“After each B season, using the estimated ratio of Western Alaska chum to total chum PSC described above, NMFS will evaluate available data and the IPA reports to assess whether a sector exceeded its Western Alaska chum PSC limit, and if a limit was exceeded, determine whether the IPA made the required closures the previous year,” Baker said.
The full motion includes seven additional requirements for the IPAs to implement the program.
National
US Dietary Guidelines may soon result in flood of retail, government seafood spending
SeafoodSource by Christine Blank - February 12, 2026
The new 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which has been roundly lauded by seafood organizations, could add millions of dollars in U.S. government seafood purchases and billions of dollars in additional annual retail and foodservice seafood sales.
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US seafood revenues sank in 2023. Here's why.
The U.S. commercial seafood sector saw broad economic declines in 2023 as falling prices erased gains in harvest volumes, according to a new federal report.
Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - February 13, 2026
The U.S. commercial seafood sector saw economic declines in 2023 compared to 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in its annual Fisheries Economics of the United States report.
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Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Offshore Aquaculture Bill
SeafoodNews by Ryan Doyle - February 13, 2026
More than 420 organizations, businesses, and community leaders sent a joint letter to Congress this month urging lawmakers to reject the Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act of 2025 (MARA Act). The signatories include commercial fishing groups, conservation and advocacy organizations, farmers and local community leaders.
Critics say the bill’s emphasis on “research” would effectively open the door to industrial‑scale fish farms in US federal waters.
“...MARA creates a one‑way road to permanent, large‑scale offshore fish farms, with no off‑ramps,” said Don’t Cage Our Oceans (DCO2), the coalition leading the effort to stop industrial aquaculture in North America.
Opponents of the bill argue that the research provisions are misleading because they create a direct pathway to commercial production from the outset.
“If the MARA Act passes, the only real ‘experiment’ will be on the communities that will lose access to their fisheries, the nearby marine life exposed to filth and fish viruses, the consumers who eat these farmed products and, sadly, the farmed fish themselves,” said Jason Jarvis, a commercial fisherman, longtime industry advocate and board president of the North American Marine Alliance.
The letter underscores that waters from three miles to more than 200 miles offshore support commercial fishing communities, coastal economies and marine ecosystems that depend on clean water and biodiversity.
In December 2025, about 140 backers — including prominent seafood companies — sent their own letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
That letter, led by Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) and the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture (CSA), emphasized bipartisan support for expanding aquaculture in federal waters.
“The US has the science and technology, ocean resources and skilled seafood workforce to lead in sustainable seafood production,” said Drue Banta Winters, campaign manager at SATS.
"The MARA Act would put in place a pathway to demonstrate that we can grow more of our seafood here at home responsibly and sustainably, while strengthening coastal economies, supporting America’s terrestrial farmers and bolstering our nation’s food security.”
International
Record domestic shipments underline shift in Russia’s pollock market
Russia’s pollock industry continued its pivot toward the domestic market in 2025, with shipments rising 7 percent year-on-year as consumption campaigns gained traction.
Intrafish by Evgeny Vovchenko - February 12, 2026
In 2025, approximately one-third of Russia's total pollock catch was sold domestically.
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Federal Register
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Amendment 125 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Plan; Pacific Cod Small Boat Access
A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/12/2026
NMFS issues this final rule to implement amendment 125 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP).
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; 2026 and 2027 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish
A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/13/2026
Correction
In proposed rule document 2025-22995, appearing on pages 58204 through 58228 in the issue of Tuesday, December 16, 2025, make the following correction:
On page 58212, below Table 3, below footnote 6, footnote 7 should read:
7 The 2027 allocations for Atka mackerel between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2026.
IB 26-11: NMFS Prohibits Directed Fishing for Pacific cod by Catcher Vessels Less Than 50 feet Length Overall Using Hook-and-line Gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska
Notice of a fishery management action
NOAA Fisheries - February 12, 2026
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 50 feet (15.2 meters (m)) length overall using hook-and-line gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), effective 12 noon, Alaska local time, February 15, 2026, according to Jonathan M. Kurland, Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS.
IB 26-10: NMFS Opens Directed Fishing for Pacific Cod by Vessels Using Pot Gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska
Notice of a fishery management action
NOAA Fisheries - February 12, 2026
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by vessels using pot gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), effective 12 noon, Alaska local time, February 17, 2026, according to Jonathan M. Kurland, Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS.
Alaska seafood company makes key acquisition ahead of salmon season
Located just inside the mouth of Alaska's Kasilof River, the buying station provides vessels with a direct offload point during the summer salmon season, the company said.
Intrafish by Rachel Sapin and Kyle Stucker - February 12, 2026
U.S.-based online seafood retailer Wild Alaskan Company announced Thursday it has acquired the Kasilof Buying Station, a riverfront facility serving Alaska's Cook Inlet fishery, a major sockeye salmon fishery.
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