The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has apprehended an individual for illegally harvesting Dungeness crabs in the North Sound area of Washington State. A WDFW officer observed the person crabbing from a local pier and conducted an inspection, uncovering 27 Dungeness crabs in the individual’s possession. Of these,…
The icy waters off Alaska proved unforgiving early Monday morning as a tragic chapter unfolded. The F/V WIND WALKER, a 50-foot commercial vessel, capsized near Point Couverden, southwest of Juneau, leaving five crew members unaccounted for and a community dealing with grief and unanswered questions. The U.S. Coast Guard first…
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing harms both consumers and fishermen by undermining the seafood industry’s integrity. For fishermen, IUU fishing causes economic losses by flooding markets with illegal seafood, depletes fish stocks through overfishing, and creates unfair competition as illicit operators bypass regulations and compliance costs. Tackling IUU fishing…
A recent legal battle between the Groundfish Forum, representing the interests of Alaska’s flatfish fishing sector, and the U.S. government over new halibut bycatch regulations ended in favor of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In a ruling delivered by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, the court upheld Amendment 123,…
Within Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, deck machinery has emerged as a leading source of serious injuries, with winches being a major culprit. In a study prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in the Journal of Agromedicine, Volume 28, 2023 – Issue 3, injury data from…
On July 24, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that could reshape fisheries management in Alaska. The decision, centered on trawl bycatch practices, underscores the ongoing tension between environmental conservation and commercial interests. By invoking the legal principle of Chevron deference, the Court has mandated stricter regulations on…
It is with great sadness that we report the death of a 21-year-old commercial fisherman. On Friday July 5th, 2024, Corwin Wheeler died after becoming entangled in fishing gear and being pulled overboard and underwater in the Bristol Bay area. According to Alaska State Trooper spokesman Austin McDaniel, The Department…
OceanGate, the company responsible for the lost Titanic tourist submersible likely overstated the details of its partnerships in the development and engineering of the TITAN submersible. This was likely an effort to legitimize the unclassified submersible, which was built with a carbon fiber hull and titanium end caps. The fatal…
Pacific Seafood’s Westport facility has been fined $222,000 for “repeatedly discharging polluted wastewater into Half Moon Bay in Westport.” The Washington Department of Ecology also reported that in the past two years, the facility has violated its water quality permits 58 times. “It’s unacceptable that this facility is continuing to…
Spring Chinook Salmon. Photo courtesy Michael Humling, US Fish & Wildlife Service Salmon fishing in the federal waters of Cook Inlet will restart this summer with a shift in management to the federal government, as finalized in a recent ruling. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), a branch of…