The National Marine Fisheries Service with NOAA Alaska Region is hosting two engagement sessions with Alaska Native Tribal governments, organizations, and corporations regarding halibut (November 29) and salmon bycatch (January 11) in Alaska marine fisheries. These engagement sessions are NMFS’s response to dozens of public testimonies about bycatch during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in October 2021. Any Alaska Native entity is invited to call in.
Preliminary 2021 Salmon Harvests, Escapements, & Run Reconstructions
KRITFC Testifies at Natural Resources Subcommittee Hearing on Magnuson Stevens Act Reauthorization
On Tuesday, November 16, KRITFC Executive Director Mary Sattler Peltola testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Waters, Oceans, and Wildlife about proposed reauthorizations to the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA). In her witness statement, Mary emphasized the need to address climate change, add Tribal seats to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and further minimize bycatch in the reauthorized MSA.
As tribal leaders, we urge collective action for Western Alaska salmon now
Our fish racks, smokehouses and fish camps remain empty. The trawl fleet continues catching and wasting salmon. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council may not have acted, but our work to restore abundant salmon populations and continue practicing our ways of life is far from over. The well-being of our descendants rests on our collective action now.
Testify at the NPFMC Meeting
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, along with its Advisory Panel (AP) and Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), are currently holding their October meetings to discuss federal fishery management in Alaska. We urge every subsistence fisherman and woman on our river to provide a testify to them.
Kuskokwim River Salmon Situation Report 2021
Provide Written Comments to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal Organizations Support Inclusion in Federal Fisheries Management
The following statement was issued by five leading Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations, including regional non-profit consortiums for 76 Tribes, in response to the introduction of the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-2) and Rep. Ed Case (D-HI-1).