Alaska Bycatch Task Force News Today

‘Should have happened a long time ago’: Hope and skepticism ahead of first meeting of governor’s Bycatch Task Force

The family of a toddler killed last month in St. Paul is advocating to bring his body home, after the first homicides in the small Pribilof Island community in 15 years; the M/V Tustumena won’t be making it out to the Aleutian chain until July at the earliest; and, while some see the Alaska Bycatch Task Force as a possible turning point, others say they’re skeptical of what it can accomplish.

All three Kenai Peninsula representatives to Juneau have signed onto a letter to the council that oversees commercial fishing in Alaska’s federal waters,

All three Kenai Peninsula representatives to Juneau have signed onto a letter to the council that oversees commercial fishing in Alaska’s federal waters, joining a bipartisan chorus of voices demanding reduction of halibut bycatch.Specifically, representatives are asking the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to approve Alternative 4 at its meeting next week, which would take the most significant swing toward linking the trawl fleet’s fishing with halibut abundance in the Bering Sea.