A Zero Bycatch Target Makes Zero Sense.
A Zero Bycatch Target Makes Zero Sense.
A zero speed limit isn’t a serious safety policy. And an absolute zero bycatch target isn’t a serious fisheries policy.
It’s an impossible mandate that ignores how wild fisheries work and it replaces science-based management with a political slogan.
Alaskans Have Had Enough of Unrealistic Rhetoric. We Deserve Real Solutions.
We should always work to reduce bycatch. Alaska’s fishermen, scientists and regulators have spent decades doing exactly that. And it has worked. In the Alaska pollock fishery, bycatch rates continue to fall, as technology and proactive communication methods get better every year.
But fish do not separate themselves into neat lanes beneath the ocean. No large wild fishery can guarantee that every fish caught will be the intended species. Responsible management means measuring impacts, setting strict limits and continually improving, rather than pretending incidental catch can be eliminated entirely while continuing to produce seafood at scale.
Shutting down Alaska’s fisheries would not eliminate the world’s demand for seafood, or fishing in the broader Bering Sea. It would shift more production to foreign fleets operating beyond the reach of U.S. regulators, often with less transparency and weaker environmental, labor and monitoring standards.
The real choice is between accountable, closely monitored domestic fisheries management, and foreign production we cannot control.
In the Bering Sea pollock fishery:
- Every vessel is electronically monitored or carries a trained observer.
- More than 98% of the catch is the species fishermen are targeting.
- Scientists establish harvest limits before boats leave the dock.
That’s accountability. That’s science-based management.
Don't Put Alaska's Future at Risk for a Slogan.
Pollock supports approximately 6,300 jobs held by Alaskans, generates $832 million in annual economic output and connects 65 Western Alaska communities to economic opportunity through the Community Development Quota (CDQ) program.
Alaskans shouldn’t have to choose between protecting fish and protecting fishing families. We can keep reducing bycatch while preserving the jobs, communities and food production that responsible fishing makes possible.
Keep Improving. Keep Alaska Fishing.
Sign up today to stand with Alaskans who support science-based fisheries, working families and strong coastal communities.