Deadline to submit a written comment on the Draft EIS, and/or recommendations for the NPFMC’s Final Action, to the NPFMC is January 30th.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will take Final Action on the alternatives presented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) February 2–11, 2026 in Anchorage.
Alternatives Under Consideration:
No Action / Status Quo
Annual Bering Sea-wide cap of 100,000–550,000 chum salmon
Conditional Bering Sea-wide cap of 100,000–550,000 chum salmon triggered after years of low chum salmon returns
Stronger contractual requirements for the pollock industry to reduce bycatch
Targeted time-area cap of 50,000–350,000 chum salmon in the highest bycatch zones for Western Alaska
Full Draft EIS available here:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/draft-environmental-impact-statement-and-regulatory-impact-review-proposed
Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Tribal Resource Stewardship (TRS) and partners, including the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, created a 30-minute video explaining the EIS, the NPFMC’s role, and why stronger chum salmon bycatch management matters for Western Alaska.
Watch the video: https://shorturl.at/Qjok4