Harvests are underway in the lucrative wild Alaska pollock A season, with an overall 1.5 million metric ton total allowable catch (TAC) in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. The fishery survived a potential domestic trawling ban, but still faces stiff economic competition from Russia.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council in December set the TAC at 1.375 million metric tons for the Bering Sea and 171,000 metric tons in the Gulf of Alaska. That decision came after the Alaska Board of Fisheries rejected proposed trawling bans in Prince William Sound.
The volume of the TAC and the Alaska pollock biomass, which refers to the total weight of the pollock in a specific area, has remained relatively consistent over the years. That’s clear evidence of the sustainable, responsible, science-based way the fishery is managed, according to the Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance.
The alliance, which formed in March 2024, is a coalition of fishery stakeholders representing Alaska’s pollock trawl fishery.
The pollock A season, which began Jan. 20, supports both the state and national economy. Pollock alone contributes nearly $1.5 billion annually in wholesale value, with products that feed millions of people worldwide.
In the Central Gulf of Alaska, with a TAC of about 80,000 metric tons of pollock, harvesters opted to wait to begin fishing until Feb. 10. The three-week delay, they calculated, would offer a much lower possibility of salmon bycatch and higher catch per unit of effort of wild Alaska pollock, according to Julie Bonney, owner and executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank in Kodiak.
Fishermen and processors suffered a huge economic loss last Sept. 25 when two trawlers from Kodiak caught 2,000 king salmon while fishing for pollock. The fleet had to shut down, leaving 50,000 tons of whitefish in those waters.
Bonney noted that the fleet came together proactively when they got word of the large bycatch of salmon, stopped fishing and came to town to avoid exceeding the salmon bycatch limit. Still, the cost of abiding by regulations had a big financial impact on commercial harvesters, processors and other businesses that deal directly with the pollock fishery, she said.
“The Kodiak fleet is focused on minimizing Chinook salmon bycatch to prevent a future fishery shutdown and has voluntarily agreed to delay the ( Central Gulf of Alaska) pollock fishery for three weeks,” said Capt. Chan Johnson, operator of the f/v Walter N, which harvests pollock both in the Central Gulf and the Bering Sea.
“The entire community depends on a successful pollock fishery. We take our responsibility very seriously,” Johnson said.
While there’s no way to make up the loss from last fall, Central Gulf harvesters and processors are now focused on having a successful A season, she said.
The abundant biomass of pollock is shared with six Community Development Quota (CDQ) entities representing 65 Western Alaska communities. They are allocated a percentage of the annual Bering Sea pollock harvest.
Luke Fanning, CEO of the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, noted that the industry has faced considerable setbacks in recent years.
“The success of the pollock fishery is not only critically important for the jobs it creates, the families it supports and the communities it sustains, but also for the infrastructure and markets it provides for other fisheries like crab, Pacific cod and sablefish,” he explained.
“This fishery is an economic engine for the CDQ program,” Fanning continued. “Without it, the level of resources going into Western Alaska would be greatly reduced, with no clear replacement.”
The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance noted that the A season comes at a pivotal time, with U.S. pollock harvesters facing competition from Russia’s heavily subsidized pollock industry, which has been driving down prices, while domestic policy debates have threatened to cut back pollock fisheries operations.
The Russians are also building new processing facilities and using North Korean labor in those processing plants, Bonney said.
The wild Alaska pollock fishery’s adherence to science-based management and sustainability remain a global standard, and external pressures make the need for a successful season even more urgent, the Alliance said.
“It is not just about catching fish—it’s about sustaining a way of life for thousands of Alaskans and ensuring the survival of communities that depend on the sea,” Bonney said.