Pollock trawlers hauled 40,000 Alaska salmon this year

Pollock trawlers have caught 40,000 Alaska salmon this year, according to industry figures. The fish are considered bycatch, meaning they are scooped up accidentally while vessels target pollock. The catch represents a small fraction of the total pollock harvest, but the loss has intensified political conflict in the state.

The salmon run is failing to return to Western Alaska rivers. Evon Waska lives at the water's edge in the Kuskokwim River region. His drying racks, which should hold fish for his family, are currently empty. Waska attributes the scarcity to industrial fishing boats operating miles offshore.

"They don't close the trawlers. They close me and my people first," Waska said. Government agencies frequently close rivers to fishing to conserve fish. These closures impact subsistence fishers who rely on the catch to feed their families.

The pollock industry is a $1 billion sector with a strong presence in Seattle. Vessels use sock-shaped nets that extend a quarter mile. These nets have openings as wide as a football field. While designed for pollock, the gear also captures king salmon and other species. The discarded fish are a primary source of anger among residents.

The issue has dominated political advertising in the tight U.S. Senate race. Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan has historically supported the pollock industry. He is now promoting a new bill intended to reduce bycatch. Sullivan called the measure the most comprehensive bycatch legislation ever written.

"It's the most comprehensive bycatch legislation ever to reduce bycatch, protect seafloor habitat," Sullivan said. The bill aims to safeguard seafloor habitats while managing fish waste.

Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is Indigenous and from the Kuskokwim area. She proposes banning factory trawlers, the largest segment of the pollock fleet. Peltola views Sullivan's legislative effort as a strategic move for the election.

"Dan Sullivan reeled in over $300,000 from trawlers and waited until the 11th hour for a half-hearted and half-baked solution," Peltola said. She argues that the incumbent's support for the industry undermines his current environmental stance.

Heather Mann leads the local trawlers association. She contends that eliminating the pollock fishery would not significantly restore salmon runs. "Even if you were to eliminate pollock, the chances of salmon runs being restored, what the science shows us is it would have a minimal impact," Mann said.

In the village of Kwethluk, subsistence fishing remains the main occupation. Tribal president Mary Nikolai visited a neighbor's cold smokehouse. The structure had been unused for the entire summer. "Most of the smokehouses are like this. And it's like a slow trend of closing our workforce out," Nikolai said. The physical absence of fish in these community spaces underscores the economic and cultural strain on the region.