NPFMC to Discuss Salmon Bycatch in December 2022
Photo courtesy Megan Leary.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is the regional federal fishery management council tasked with overseeing and regulating federal marine fisheries 3–200 miles off the coast of Alaska. Among other fisheries, it manages the Bering Sea-Aleutian Island commercial pollock trawl fleet – including the Chinook, chum, and other salmon species incidentally caught and discarded as bycatch by these vessels.
As of December 1, 2022, over 8,300 Chinook salmon were caught as bycatch in 2022 directed BSAI commercial fisheries, and almost 6,000 of those were caught and discarded by non-CDQ commercial pollock vessels. NOAA salmon genetics data from 2011–2020 shows that nearly 50% of all Chinook salmon bycatch in the BSAI fishery are bound toward Coastal Western Alaska and the Middle and Upper Yukon, meaning we estimate the pollock fleet wasted over 4,000 Chinook salmon as bycatch headed to our rivers this summer.
Over 245,000 chum salmon were taken as bycatch through November 17, 2022, with nearly 242,000 fish taken as bycatch by non-CDQ commercial pollock vessels. According to NOAA salmon genetic data from 2011–2021, on average 15% of bycaught chum salmon were headed to rivers from Bristol Bay to Kotzebue, and 4% on average were part of the Upper/Middle Yukon fall chum run. In 2022, this could translate to roughly 46,500 chum salmon caught and killed by the pollock fleet instead of spawning in our Western and Interior Alaska rivers – or feeding our families.
After waves of public testimony in June 2022 urging the NPFMC to reduce salmon bycatch, the Council has taken little concrete, comprehensive to protect the declining salmon populations returning to Western and Interior Alaskan rivers and communities. This December, the NPFMC members will be meeting again – and they need to hear from you!
WHAT: The NPFMC will be discussing salmon bycatch during agenda item D1, including ways to lower chum salmon bycatch and reports from the Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force and Salmon Bycatch Committee. We are continuing to push the Council to reduce both Chinook and chum salmon bycatch to zero to prioritize and protect subsistence fishing communities and the salmon we depend on for our ways of life.
WHEN: Written public comments must be submitted by December 2 at 12:00pm AKST, and the NPFMC meets December 5–22, 2022, in Anchorage and via Zoom. Salmon bycatch is on the agenda at the Advisory Panel (AP; December 6–9) and Council (December 8–14). NPFMC meeting schedules are fluid, but it is likely that testimony on salmon bycatch (agenda item D1) will happen at the AP on December 7 and at the Council on December 13.
HOW IT WORKS: The AP convenes before the Council to review the agenda (including written public comments) and propose initial motions for the Council to consider. The Council has the ultimate authority in management issues. Public testimony (in-person or remotely via Zoom on your computer or by phone) is heard by both the AP and Council after all presentations and reports at the end of each agenda item. Individuals are given 3 minutes to testify, and those testifying on behalf of Tribes, organizations, or companies are given 6 minutes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to or testify before the AP and Council urging them to take action to reduce Chinook and chum salmon bycatch! This post will be updated as more information on the Council and our asks become available.
WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT: It is critical that the AP and Council hear from you about your experiences on your river, in your community, and how salmon bycatch is affecting your well-being.The Council has management authority over fisheries that impact our way of life, food security, cultural well-being, and ecosystem health, and they need to hear from you. If salmon bycatch is allowed to continue without meaningful restrictions, our salmon and the well-being of our communities will continue to suffer. The rivers and lands are our grocery stores in rural Western and Interior; we do not have other options to provide for our families.
It is critical that the Council members responsible for managing bycatch, which directly affects your way of life, hear from you!
To submit a written comment by December 2:
Navigate to the online meeting agenda.
Scroll down to item D1: Salmon Bycatch.
Click on the “Comment Now” button.
Fill out your information, including email. (Don’t have an email? Call Terese Schomogyi at 907-545-7388 to troubleshoot.)
Write in your public comment or attach a separate file with your written comment.
Confirm you’re not a robot and submit!
Read KRITFC’s written comment submitted to the Council here.
To provide oral testimony at the AP (UPDATE: Staff presentations on salmon bycatch will start at 8:30am on December 7, with testimony following):
NOTE: You will only be able to sign-up to testify once the AP meeting begins on December 6.
Navigate to the online meeting agenda.
Scroll down to item D1: Salmon Bycatch.
Click on the “Comment Now” button.
Click on the “AP Sign-Up” tab.
Fill out your information, including email. (Don’t have an email? Call Terese Schomogyi at 907-545-7388 to troubleshoot.)
Attach any separate written comments you have.
Confirm you’re not a robot and submit!
When it’s time to give your testimony, join the AP meeting in-person at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel (500 W 3rd Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501), join via Zoom with video here, or dial +1-253-215-8782 and enter Meeting ID: 886 7161 2019.
Oral testimony is taken in the order listed. If in-person, when your name is called, approach the microphone to speak. If on Zoom, when your name is called, unmute by pressing the button on your computer or pressing *6 on your phone. The AP will circle back to you if you are not available the first time your name is called.
To provide oral testimony at the Council (UPDATE on 12/12: The Council is likely to take up public testimony on December 13):
NOTE: You will only be able to sign-up to testify once the Council meeting begins on December 8.
Navigate to the online meeting agenda.
Scroll down to item D1: Salmon Bycatch.
Click on the “Comment Now” button.
Click on the “Council Sign-Up” tab.
Fill out your information, including email. (Don’t have an email? Call Terese Schomogyi at 907-545-7388 to troubleshoot.)
Attach any separate written comments you have.
Confirm you’re not a robot and submit!
When it’s time to give your testimony, join the Council meeting in-person at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel (500 W 3rd Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501), join via Zoom with video here, or dial +1-253-215-8782 and enter Meeting ID: 814 5113 0091.
Oral testimony is taken in the order listed. If in-person, when your name is called, approach the microphone to speak. If on Zoom, when your name is called, unmute by pressing the button on your computer or pressing *6 on your phone. The Council will circle back to you if you are not available the first time your name is called.
Wondering what you should say in your testimony? The most important thing you can do is to speak from your heart. You are the only one who knows your experience and your connection with salmon – and you are an expert in that. Tell the Council why you want them to take action to protect Western Alaska salmon and what it means to you to not be able to harvest abundant salmon. Here are some ideas to guide your testimony:
Share your name and community/river you live and fish in. Share about your connection with salmon.
Urge the Council to act quickly to further reduce Chinook and chum salmon bycatch, with a goal of zero salmon bycatch.
Tell the Council that action to reduce chum salmon bycatch is urgently needed in light of severely depressed chum salmon populations in Western Alaska for the third year in a row in 2022. At this point in our multi-species salmon crisis in Western Alaska, every fish that makes it to our nets or our spawning grounds counts, and the Council cannot delay action. Describe the inequity our subsistence communities face as they are unable to fish while the pollock fishery can catch and discard chum and Chinook salmon almost without restrictions.
Urge the Council to immediately act to reduce salmon bycatch by implementing a hard cap on chum salmon bycatch and further acting to lower Chinook salmon bycatch.
Tell the Council to include Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge in any analysis or discussion paper about bycatch caps, and must work with Tribes to develop these.
REMEMBER: If you are speaking personally, you will only have 3 minutes to testify. If you are speaking on behalf of your Tribe, city, or organization, you will have 6 minutes. We suggest planning your testimony in advance or setting a timer to avoid being cut off in the middle of your words.
Have questions about the NPFMC or need help navigating this process? Reach out to Terese Schomogyi at 907-545-7388 or terese@kritfc.org.
Quyana, Tsen’ahn, Thank you for sharing your voice and advocating for our salmon and traditional ways of life.