We Are the Bering Sea
Fighting for Alaska’s small boat fishermen
From small boats in Bristol Bay to families who subsistence harvest along the Yukon and Kuskokwim, fishing has sustained our state for generations.
We fish to feed our families, support our villages, and carry forward traditions. When we protect community-based fishing, we’re protecting our way of life.
Today, Alaska’s community fisheries are unreliable and declining.
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Trawler Bycatch is to blame
Trawlers are allowed to bycatch tens of thousands of king salmon and an unlimited number of chum salmon each year. Since 2017, 84.7% of all Chinook and 96.7% of non-King salmon bycatch was caused by trawling.
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97% of all seafloor disturbance
Bottom and pelagic (or mid-water) trawling together disturb 97% of all seafloor contact/habitat disturbance in Alaska, an area roughly the size of Texas.
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60–80% Decline since the late 1990s
King salmon spawners in the Yukon and Kuskokwim regions have declined by more than 60–80% since the late 1990s.
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Coastal Species face decline
Herring, halibut, and crab have also faced significant decline, and are all important species to Alaska’s coastal communities.
Small boats and subsistence nets have fed Alaska families and communities for generations.
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75% of trawling industry vessels are non-Alaskan owned and pollock accounts for less than 1% of jobs statewide.
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71% of labor income, 62% of jobs, and roughly two-thirds of total economic output from the pollock fishery leaves Alaska.
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If you don’t count the midwater trawlers, the fleet in the Bering Sea is completely from outside Alaska.
Fisherman is more than a job title.
It is a cultural lifeline tied to identity and survival.
The fish we catch is food that cannot be replaced by a grocery store. Our communities thrive when we can continue to practice our Native cultures.
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Salmon caught in trawl nets as bycatch could have provided over 18.4 million six-ounce servings of fish to families.
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Families on the Yukon and Kuskokwim have faced fishing shutdowns while trawlers are still allowed to catch salmon as bycatch.
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Subsistence fishing rights are in place to protect an ancient and sacred way of life. Losing salmon runs is a loss of culture and identity.
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Our boats were passed down, our elders taught us to mend our nets, and our smokehouses have fed our families for generations. We want to continue passing on this way of life to the next generation.
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Eating non-Native foods from the grocery stores chips away at our cultural identity as Native peoples.
A healthy ocean benefits all of us.
Every kind of Alaska fishing depends on protecting fish habitat and our food web.
About
For over 45 years, Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association has represented working Alaska fishermen and their families.