A diverse group of harvesters, conservation entities and others are calling on United States federal fisheries managers to do more to protect seafloor habitats from midwater trawl nets they say are dragging the bottom of the ocean floor.
Midwater, or pelagic, trawling — used to catch schooling fish like pollock, is supposed to be fished in the water column rather than on the seafloor. For this reason, pelagic trawling is allowed in most conservation areas closed to bottom trawling — a form of fishing where nets are purposely dragged on the seafloor and damage corals, sponges and other living seafloor habitats in the process.
An analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Service indicates that 40% to 100% of the width of pelagic trawl gear fished in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea has been in contact with the seafloor, and that these nets, which range from 50 to 190 yards wide, are dragged for miles.
After hearing extensive testimony during their October meeting in Anchorage, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) called for a special meeting to be held Feb. 3-10 at the Egan Center in Anchorage for an initial review of chum salmon bycatch in these waters. The fishery council is to further consider pelagic trawl seafloor impacts at its June 2025 meeting in Newport, Oregon.
“No matter what you call it, any net that drags the seafloor is bottom trawling and risks damaging sensitive habitats and marine life like king crabs and halibut,” said Ben Enticknap, senior scientist and campaign director for Oceana. “Management of pelagic trawling needs to change to reduce impacts to seafloor habitats and to require the gear is off bottom — 100% of the time — if fishing in Alaska’s habitat conservation areas.”
During its October meeting the council began reviewing regulations defining pelagic trawling, which drew four dozen letters of comment from individual fishermen, fishing groups, communities, Alaska Native organizations, conservationists, and Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer.
Among the organizations calling for better protection of the seafloors are Oceana, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, Salmon State, Native Village of Marshall, Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Ocean Conservancy and the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
Veteran Kodiak commercial harvester Alexus Kwachka said in his testimony on the pelagic trawl gear issue that the time has come to define pelagic trawl.
“For far too long the industry has sold itself on pelagic trawl being off the bottom or very limited contact,” Kwachka said. “This is not the case and it falls on the council to set a criteria that defines pelagic trawl and has enforceable standards to go along with the definition. Please do so.
“From the public’s perspective this seems simple: If trawl gear is making bottom contact, it is bottom trawling,” he continued. “If the trawl gear is not making bottom contact it is pelagic trawling. The state of Alaska does not allow bottom contact within 3 miles of the shoreline with a few exceptions. Why then are trawlers allowed to fish within 3 miles? Without a definition what are they doing? (A) little bit on the bottom or a lot? The public deserves to know.”
The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) recommended that the council establish clear and enforceable performance standards that limit bycatch and seafloor contact by vessels operating pelagic trawls in areas and at times otherwise closed to non-pelagic trawl gear.