Still Time To Submit Public Comments Over Bering Sea Chum Salmon Bycatch

The following is courtesy of NOAA Fisheries Alaska:

Reminder: NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Measures to Reduce Chum Salmon Bycatch 

Public comment period open through January 5, 2026.

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that analyzes approaches to reducing chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. This DEIS is responsive to a request by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to evaluate four measures for its consideration in providing management advice. The comment period opened September 12, 2025 and will remain open through January 5, 2026.

Bycatch of chum salmon, including chum salmon from Western Alaska river systems, occurs in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. Many factors may be contributing to chum salmon declines including competition with Asian-origin hatchery fish, changes in the marine ecosystem conditions, commercial fishing for chum salmon, and bycatch in fisheries. For Alaska Native communities, the loss of chum salmon and low runs in recent years, resulting in restrictions and closures of subsistence fisheries, have resulted in economic, social, health, and food security impacts.

Current salmon avoidance measures include bycatch limits on Chinook salmon, salmon excluder devices, and temporary closures of salmon bycatch hot spots. The NPFMC is considering four alternative management measures:

• An overall limit on chum salmon bycatch
• An overall limit on chum salmon bycatch that would apply only during lower chum salmon abundance
• Additional chum salmon avoidance measures managed by formal fishermen agreements
• An overall limit on chum salmon bycatch that triggers a temporary closure of an area with historically higher rates of bycatch of chum salmon from Western Alaska

The DEIS describes the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts of these alternatives. The NPFMC plans to recommend its preferred management measure(s) to NOAA Fisheries at its February 2026 meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.

For more information on the submission process, visit the NOAA Fisheries website.