Wednesday, December 17, 2025
- admin04655
- Dec 17
- 6 min read
Alaska
NOAA Seeks Comment on Bering Sea Chum Salmon Bycatch Proposals
Kodiak Daily Mirror - December 16, 2025
NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a new draft environmental impact statement for four potential strategies to reduce chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery.
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ADF&G releases 2026 Kodiak salmon forecasts
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released its 2026 Kodiak Management Area (KMA) salmon forecasts.
Kodiak Daily Mirror by Terry Haines - December 16, 2025
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released its 2026 Kodiak Management Area (KMA) salmon forecasts.
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West Coast
CDFW Reviews Entanglement Risk for Dungeness Crab Season; Washington Crab Meets Quality Criteria
SeafoodNews by Susan Chambers - December 17, 2025
Will California open its waters for Dungeness crab fishing soon? Will Washington? Fishermen and processors should know soon. While Oregon crabbers south of Cape Falcon are fighting stormy seas to set and retrieve their gear this week, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham said Tuesday will assess marine life entanglement risk under the state’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program this week.
At the same time, state managers from all three states’ Departments of Fish and Wildlife plan talk Friday morning to discuss recent meat quality and domoic acid test results and potential season opening dates for areas that remain closed, which includes southern Washington and a sliver of northern Oregon that share the Columbia River area, and all of California.
The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group was scheduled to meet today to review collected data and the Department’s preliminary management recommendation. Bonham said he will review the Working Group’s recommendation and make a final determination on management measures intended to minimize whale entanglement risk on or around Friday, Dec. 19. According to Tri-State protocols, the decision could also be announced on Monday, Dec. 22.
The CDFW staff preliminary recommendations include opening the commercial Dungeness crab season in Fishing Zones 3, 4 and 5 (Sonoma/Mendocino county border south to the border with Mexico) on Jan. 5, 2026, at 12:01 a.m., with a 50 percent gear reduction in place. A gear-setting period for those zones would begin Jan. 2, 2026, at 8:01 a.m.
For Fishing Zones 1 and 2 in Northern California – the state border with Oregon south to the Sonoma/Mendocino county line – CDFW’s Marine Region recommends a season opener with a 25 percent gear reduction once domoic acid and crab quality testing requirements are met. At present, those northern zones are expected to remain delayed until at least Jan. 15, 2026, pending completion of required testing, according to CDFW.
Alternatives Considered
CDFW evaluated several alternative management approaches but did not advance them in the preliminary recommendation. Depth-based restrictions were rejected, with the agency citing the broad depth distribution of humpback whales and the risk that concentrating gear could increase entanglement potential.
Alternative gear was also considered; while not part of the initial opening, CDFW noted that approved systems may be authorized after April 1 at the Director’s discretion, following a RAMP closure. Sub Sea Sonics/Guardian ropeless systems are among the alternative gears already approved for use after April 1, 2026.
Domoic acid and crab quality testing continue to be a limiting factor for the northern management area, according to CDFW. According to CDFW and the California Department of Public Health, domoic acid results through Dec, 5, 2025, show re-tested samples from multiple locations—including Trinidad, Crescent City, Eureka and Fort Bragg—have exceeded action levels for domoic acid in viscera, triggering the need for additional testing.
CDFW said those results have hindered its ability to complete quality testing ahead of the Tri-State managers’ Dec. 22 decision deadline. Without passing results, the start date for the northern management area will be delayed to Jan. 15, 2026, the last delay date under quality testing, CDFW said. Crab quality criteria apply only to Zones 1 and 2.
Washington Test Results Improve
Some good news from Washington arrived this week, with crab from the last remaining area in Washington, Long Beach, to not meet meat quality criteria finally making it over the finish line. Crab harvested on Dec. 13, 2025, were above full, with average meat recovery from Round 3 testing at 28.1%, exceeding the 23% threshold by 5.1%.
Oregon and Washington fishery managers noted a Tri-State meeting will be held Friday and hope to have an announcement out later that day (or Monday at the latest) for a season opening north of Cape Falcon, in Oregon, and Washington. The earliest the fishery could open is Dec. 30, 2025, according to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife industry notice on Dec. 5.
International
US confirms marine mammal-related import ban will start Jan. 1; tuna, mahi to take big hits
A ban on billions of dollars' worth of seafood will take effect on Jan. 1, US government officials confirmed Tuesday
Undercurrent News by Cliff White - December 16, 2025
The US federal government is pressing ahead with plans to enforce a sweeping import ban on seafood from dozens of foreign fisheries starting Jan. 1, 2026, as it tightens implementation of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions.
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Environment/Science
Ecosystem shifts, glacial flooding and ‘rusting rivers’ among Alaska impacts in Arctic report
NOAA’s 2025 report comes despite Trump administration cuts to climate science research and projects
Alaska Beacon by Yereth Rosen - December 16, 2025
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its annual Arctic Report Card on Tuesday, which documents the way rising temperatures, diminished ice, thawing permafrost, melting glaciers and vegetation shifts are transforming the region and affecting its people.
FYI’s
‘We’re really breaking new ground’: hybrid fishing boat prepares for maiden voyage in Sitka
KCAW by Hope McKenney - December 15, 2025
It’s a cold, snowy day down by Sitka’s marine haulout. Inside the giant unheated commercial workspace, I can still see my breath as men weld and work on boat parts around me.
Federal Register
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Pacific Cod in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska
A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/16/2025
NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from catcher vessels using trawl gear to catcher/processors using trawl gear and vessels using pot gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Pacific Cod in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska
A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/16/2025
NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of Pacific cod from catcher vessels using trawl gear to catcher vessels using hook-and-line gear and vessels using pot gear in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Gulf of Alaska; 2026 and 2027 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish
A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/16/2025
NMFS proposes 2026 and 2027 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA).
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 12/16/2025
NMFS proposes 2026 and 2027 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/15/2025
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) the Groundfish Harvest Control Rule Development Workshop will meet on January 20, 2026, and the Joint Groundfish Plan Teams will meet on January 21, 2026.
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2025-2026 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments
A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/16/2025
This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to management measures in recreational groundfish fisheries.
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