National Fishermen
June 2nd, 2025
By Carli Stewart
Seward, AK harbor in southern Alaska, set on an inlet on the Kenai Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Chansak Joe / Shutterstock
At this year’s National Working Waterfront Network conference in February, a session on Alaska’s fisheries brought together a diverse panel of fishermen, policy experts, scientists, and community advocates. The panel described ongoing work in the Gulf of Alaska, co-led by NOAA Fisheries social scientist Marysia Szymkowiak and organizations in Sitka, Cordova, and Kodiak, to develop resilience plans focused on local fishing economies.
Their message was unified: Alaska’s fishing communities are at a tipping point. Regulatory pressures, climate change, and economic consolidation are making it harder to fish, and harder still to stay rooted in the coastal communities that have long relied on it.
One panelist, commercial fisherman Kinsey Brown from Cordova, who is currently working for the Prince William Sound Science Center, set the tone early. “This work is very close to my heart and my life, because I want our kids to be able to continue to do this.”
Brown emphasized that Alaska’s small-boat fleet had historically been resilient because of its diversity and adaptability, but recent changes are putting that at risk. “There’s not really just one big fishery that people can do to feed themselves and their families all year long.. That was the case in the 80s and 90s. Less so now.”
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