Trawl Bycatch Survey Results

In early 2025, SalmonState surveyed Alaskans on their opinions of the best way to address trawl bycatch. 1,008 Alaskans responded.

Respondents were asked to rank the following policy changes:

  1. Reform the North Pacific Fishery Management Council management and makeup to better reflect Alaskans and Alaska interests. (Data label: NPFMC reform)

  2. Reform the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that governs fisheries in federal waters. The MSA was passed by Congress in 1976. (Data label: MSA reform)

  3. Ban both bottom trawling and midwater trawling. (Data label: Ban trawl)

  4. Ban bottom trawling and ensure the definition of “pelagic",” or “midwater” trawlers, makes clear that no portion of that gear should drag the ocean floor at any time. (Data label: Ban bottom trawl)

  5. Reduce bycatch by introducing stronger bycatch limits for halibut, crab, herring, orca, king and chum salmon. In addition, strengthen bycatch monitoring and make information and data about bycatch more transparent and available. (Data label: Bycatch caps)

  6. Reduce federal subsidies for trawl-caught pollock and other fish, currently in the hundreds of millions. Alaska largely sees no benefit from these subsidies. (Data label: Trawl subsidy)

The following bar graph is the number of Alaskans who ranked each topic as a top priority.

Here’s what Alaskans had to say

  • "I was a fishery observer and was appalled by the amount of waste that vessels brought onboard. Captains willingness to lie about gear deployment to NOAA officials was shocking. Nearly all crews on the vessels I worked on were from out of state, and crews were happy to brag about how little they spend within the Alaska economy."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "Rep. Begich I sit on the fish board for the State of Alaska and hear more complaints about the trawl fishery than anything else. We need the observers on these boats to help regulate the fleet. Otherwise it's like the fox watching the hen house."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "Trawling is killing all of the fisheries throughout Alaska and needs to be stopped. The Kenai River has suffered multiple impacts to the fishery as well as so many others throughout the great state. I remember when....the 1980' were fun and fish were a dime a dozen. I used to feed my sled dogs with salmon from the Yukon...not anymore....I used to fish for Kings.....not anymore."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "I saw trawling nets that each band was 2,000 lbs I think and the net would have many bands and 90% would be waist. This was back when I worked in a factory ship, F/V Frigid Sea back around 1990. We worked in the Bering Sea. It was a crime but the technology wasn’t there like now. I think the real damage was done long ago. Those nets took every thing."

    Juneau, AK

  • "I am a recreational sport fisherman with 25 years of experience fishing Prince William Sound to Nuka Bay. I have seen the drastic change in the bottom fishery as a result of the trawl fishery. 25 years ago it was guaranteed limits of quality 40-120 lb halibut. I am now lucky to catch one big fish per season. While fishing and camping in PWS I have watched trawlers mow back and forth over a productive spot all night. When returning to my waypoint the next day, it was dead. Not even a bite when the previous day provided multi species limits the previous day. "

    Eagle River, AK

  • "The first time I came to Alaska was for fishing in Kodiak. The Karluk area is well known for its river and lagoon. It was once home to many salmon. It was a huge source of fish and it was one of my first experiences falling in love with Alaska years ago. Only 76 kings returned home to the Karluk River in Kodiak in 2024. This is less than 3% of the 3,000 fish minimum escapement goal. That’s devastating and terrifying news. It also has a huge effect on the Alaska bear population also contributing to Increased bear attacks. Therefore, the oceans, rivers and the land too and the creatures that live on the land are affected. Salmon is what unites every Alaskan. It’s rooted deep in the culture and life of this land. We must fight for our local food. Or else we will starve and future generations with have no food. This is a desperate situation and must be taken care of immediately. The salmon that I catch in the summer is a main food staple in my household all year round. It’s one of the best proteins we can get in Alaska. Recreational and subsistence fishing must continue for the livelihood of thousands of people who live here on these beautiful lands. Thank you for helping end trawling now. I appreciate it."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "My family was a commercial trawl family out of Montauk and Gloucester for 3 generations. We outfished our stocks by the time I was a teenager and I watched the family business fall apart. I went to school for Fisheries Biology to atone for my family’s destructive past."

    Seward, AK

  • "In 5 years as a fisheries observer only saw significant salmon catches at the Akutan plant by shoreside catcher boats fishing in nearby waters. Except 1 outlying company the other boats kept a close eye on bycatch amounts in order to maximize fishing in the areas and prevent closures due to reaching bycatch limits."

    Wasilla, AK

  • "I worked on the Aleutian Speedwell, a Pollock factory trawler. On one bottom tow we brought in 100 tons of Irish Lords and 20 tons of Pollock. We had a slick of dead fish behind us for miles."

    Haines, AK

  • "My family lives on the Tanana River. We haven’t been able to fish since 2021."

    Fairbanks, AK

  • "I worked on a trawler and witnessed king salmon being caught as bycatch and being thrown overboard before observers could see."

    Wrangell, AK

  • "I have commercial fished in Bristol Bay since 1998. Over the almost 30 years I have commercial fished, there have been some years where a chunk of our expected run did not show up. One thought has been that trawlers have intercepted large portions of the salmon runs. They need to be regulated more and have more accountability for their actions."

    Sterling, AK

  • "I lost my business because of the trawlers."

    Willow, AK

  • "I have worked to prohibit Groundfish trawling in both state and federal waters off of Alaska since the 70’s. I wrote the BOF proposal to prohibit ground fish trawling in SE Alaska which passed the BOF."

    Sitka, AK

  • "As a former Federal Fisheries Observer I have seen first hand the wanton waste and carnage that trawling brings. This is far from a 'clean' fishery and and captains constistantly place profit over sustainability. To further add issue, many of the fisherman in the trawl fishery come from outside the state of Alaska. They have no regard to the value that salmon and healthy fisheries at large have to our state. These fisherman come to cash a quick big check at the expense of Alaskans. The further cutting of the observer program and its funding will further add to issues that the trawl fishery brings as it becomes less and less regulated and scrutinized. There are many methods to fish Alaska's bountiful waters in targeted and relatively clean matters. The waste that trawling brings is both pathetic and disgusting."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "My family has been longlining in the Gulf of Alaska for 6 generations. Among many other fisheries. Trawling isn’t fishing."

    Palmer, AK

  • "Yes, I fish 1% of the halibut quota for the state through the longline fishery. I am certified in NEPA and have two graduate degrees, including a MPA in Natural Resource Policy. I can attest to the corruption of the trawl fleet. I believe that ASMI and the AIS observer program cater to them. AIS the contractor for the observers donates money and throws parties for trawl industry. It has been cited even in the Alaskan Beacon or Juneau Empire. I live in Juneau- I’m so dissatisfied and disappointed in ASMI. I am a K69 crabber. There wasn’t even one crab recipe on the ASMI website…only trawl pollock. We (fisherman) pay a lot through taxation for sustainable labeling. These relationships flaws with other organizations are systemic."

    Douglas, AK

  • "I fishwheel the copper. Haven't had kings in years. My friends on the Yukon haven't either, as well as chums. We still enjoy reds but if the cause was climate change we wouldn't. Its the trawlers. Every nation that has rid the trawlers have exp a comeback of fish. We should follow!"

    Fairbanks, AK

  • "Trawl bycatch has had a direct impact on me personally as a SE Alaska troller."

    Sitka, AK

  • "I was a fisheries observer and saw the wanton waste first hand, maybe ban trawlers because there is too much waste that detrimental to all other fishing groups"

    Homer, AK

  • "I am a IFQ holder for halibut in area 4A and blackcod in the Bering Sea and my family is directly impacted by the A80 catch of halibut and in blackcod in the BSAI. We invested in the Bering Sea blackcod fishery expecting it to be a small boat, line caught fishery and were shocked when A80 was allowed by NMFS to fish for blackcod in BSAI. I view this as a 'loophole' that needs to be closed. No directed fishing of blackcod by A80!! This never would have been tolerated when IFQ's were being created!"

    Anchorage, AK

  • "I’m a troller and gillnetter in SE Alaska since 1978 and have seen the decline in our king salmon since the trawlers started."

    Delta Junction, AK

  • "I am a 64 year old Yukon River resident who grew up fishing salmon, both for subsistence and for a little extra cash from commercial fishing to help support our subsistence lifestyle. That lifestyle is gone now, as a result of unrestricted bycatch by the trawlers in their early years of operation. I would like to see trawling banned from Alaskan waters. So for the next two questions: Do you subsistence fish? And do you fish commercially? I used to until we on the Yukon were BANNED from both activities because of trawling."

    Marshall, AK

  • "As an individual who fishes out of Valdez AK, I have watched the availability of fish dwindle... most notably in the last 3 years."

    Valdez, AK

  • "Growing up in Alaska , I have watched and seen the impact that trawling has had on Alaskas fishing grounds, there has been a drastic reduction in the amount of salmon spawning in rivers, and the amount halibut, and rock fish in the oceans. I have watched as local Alaskans have been unable to catch fish for subsistence living and also sport fishing, trawling has been a detriment to our resources!"

    North Pole, AK

  • "I live in south central Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. The quantity and the quality of the fish that are available to catch as a sport fisherman has gone down significantly over the year's because of trawling."

    Kenai, AK

  • "For 5 years i have been fishing prince william sound and many trips have produced no fish. Ive spoke to many people who have watched the fishery in prince william sound decline over the last decade."

    Anchorage, AK

  • "The people in my region are suffering they are no longer allowed to subsistence or commercial fish. This amounts to a loss of traditions, culture and income that is sorely needed in a region where living wage jobs are rare."

    Kotlik, AK

  • "Growing up with a subsistence lifestyle I've been personally impacted. The traditional waters I grew up fishing in are being closed for longer each year."

    Ketchikan, AK

  • "I have the same story as any person on the Yukon drainage who want healthy fish to return and limiting and/or forbidding trawling is what we can do to help."

    Eagle, AK

  • "My family halibut fishes every summer and the decline of halibut since I was a child seems to decline every year, in the Kenai Peninsula. I also salmon fish and the numbers have also decreased. My family is Alaska Athabaskan and they have not been able to fish on the Yukon River in a few years."

    Palmer, AK

  • "I have been an observer, trawl deckhand, owner operator salmon, halibut 48 years in Alaska. I watched the crab and halibut get scraped off the bottom, despite testifying. Nothing meaningful ever happens to stop bycatch. Now Kodiak is dependent on trawl caught fish... Sad"

    Kodiak, AK

  • "I’m a 26 year old longliner the fishery I’ve loved for a decade and invested heavily in is disappearing right in front of me quotas are cut every year and it’s harder and harder to find marketable halibut all across the state every single year"

    Anchorage, AK

  • "In 1985/86 I personally watched these ships strip the ocean of all life in blocks of 40 square miles each DAY"

    Anchorage, AK

Photo by Jacki Cleveland