Alaska Trawlers Catch Salmon as Western Runs Decline

Alaska’s massive pollock trawl fishery, which supplies fish for products including Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, also catches salmon and other marine life unintentionally. Over the past decade, Bering Sea trawlers caught an average of about 18,000 Chinook salmon and 288,000 other salmon annually, mostly chum. The catches have intensified a dispute as salmon runs decline in western Alaska: Indigenous communities and smaller fishing operators say they are suffering the consequences, while scientists point to warming waters and critics argue that bycatch is a factor the industry can reduce. The issue has become a prominent political and cultural debate in Alaska, including in its Senate and governor races.