ALFA Staff
Why Are Alaska’s Rivers Turning Orange?
Why Are Alaska’s Rivers Turning Orange?
ALFA Staff
Halibut Catch Sharing Plan Update
Halibut Catch Sharing Plan Update

New studies show benefits of managing for wild foods in the Tongass

May 19, 2026
Wrangell Sentinel
Mary Catharine Martin

"Ten years ago, fish research biologist Ryan Bellmore assessed how many salmon the Tongass National Forest contributes to commercial fisheries. The number turned out to be huge — 75% of 50 million salmon caught commercially in Southeast Alaska each year.

“I started thinking about the way the forest provides a diversity of services to people. Humans are a part of the food web,” he said.

Until recently, however, there was no study quantifying just how much value wild foods provide to rural residents — or the importance of incorporating that value into land management. Two new studies shed light on those topics for southern coastal Alaska."

Read the full article here.

Haines grad designs pioneering hybrid fishing vessel

May 14, 2026
Chilkat Valley News
Will Steinfeld

The Chilkat Valley News recently interviewed Chandler Kemp about the F/V Mirage, one of the first commercial fishing vessel in the U.S. to fish using a battery‑electric/diesel hybrid system — developed through an ALFA pilot project.

Haines grad and UAF engineering professor Kemp helped design the system, which lets the Mirage haul gear and run at slow speeds on battery power, cutting fuel use and emissions while keeping the boat fully fishing‑ready.

Read the full article here.

Alaskans call for immediate action from the AK Legislature and State on transboundary mining issue

"The State of Alaska and fishermen, Tlingit & Haida, and technical experts tell very different stories of B.C. transboundary mining at House State Affairs Committee hearing.

Alaskans testifying before the Alaska State Legislature House State Affairs Committee on Thursday, May 7th, agreed on an immediate need for greater State of Alaska transparency and engagement when it comes to transboundary rivers flowing from British Columbia into Southeast Alaska; a binding international agreement for Alaska and B.C.’s shared international rivers; and more. The Committee heard from the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, multiple nonprofits and the State of Alaska. The consensus came after testimony from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang and Stephen Buckley of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, in which Vincent-Lang excluded key, telling details on the state of B.C. mining activity in the headwaters of the Taku, Stikine, Unuk and Salmon Rivers."

Read the full press release here.

ADN Opinion: Trawling impacts everyone. Yes, it should be a key issue in Alaska’s elections.

May 12, 2026
Anchorage Daily News
By Kevin Whitworth and Craig Chythlook

"Community Development Quotas are frequently used as an argument for keeping the current system in place. CDQ income is not a replacement for subsistence, nor does its current structure provide an economically or ecologically sustainable industry in rural communities."

Read the full article here.

Opinion: Alaska’s ‘midwater’ trawl fleet needs to fish like one

May 28, 2026
Alaska Daily News
Robert Wright, Kevin Whitworth, Barbara ‘Wáahlaal Gidaak Blake, Linda Behnken, Michelle Stratton and Lauren Hynes

For more than 30 years, pollock trawlers have dragged nets across Alaska’s seafloor in areas explicitly closed to bottom trawling. And regulators let them do it because their gear is classified as “midwater.”

The science no longer supports that classification. Despite being categorized as “midwater,” the pollock trawl fleet accounts for roughly 40% of all seafloor contact in the Bering Sea alone.

Bottom trawling is one of the most damaging types of fishing in the world, unquestionably harming the ecology of the ocean floor and ecosystem. Nets, rollers and metal components scrape along the seafloor, wiping out just about everything in the way. Long-lived corals and sea whips, crabs, halibut, salmon, and unlucky whales and seals can all get caught and killed in bottom trawl nets.

Read the full article here.

Alaska Longline Fisherman’s Association launches hybrid electric fishing vessel

Seafood Source
Haley Jones
April 16, 2026

Jeff Turner has owned and operated his commercial fishing vessel Mirage since 2010 in Sitka, Alaska, U.S.A.

This year, thanks to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant awarded to the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), his boat was rebuilt to have hybrid diesel-electric capabilities.

“This electrification project came up through ALFA, and I applied. They sized the boat, it had space for the project, and they motivated me to be the crash test dummy, if you will, to see if we could put it to use,” Turner said. “It’s been pretty exciting; the team was excellent. Everyone involved from all the vendors, every person, every craftsman throughout was extremely motivated and excited to work on it. I’ve never suffered so enjoyably.”

Read the article here.

Alaska Board of Fisheries tackle trawlers

Kodiak Daily Mirror
Terry Haines
March 24, 2026

The Alaska Board of Fisheries considered four proposals at its meeting last week that sought to significantly change how trawl fisheries are conducted in state waters. Trawlers have been under a great deal of scrutiny of late for bycatch issues and because it has become common knowledge that mid-water nets do in fact sometimes contact the bottom. All four proposals would have imposed significant requirements and restrictions on trawlers, especially pelagic, or mid-water trawlers. 

Read the full article here.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski christens Alaska’s “transformational” hybrid commercial fishing vessel

KCAW
Ryan Cotter
April 9, 2026

Crouched down in the engine room of the 50-foot vessel, Ben Matthys is showcasing the completed hybrid engine to Senator Lisa Murkowski, answering any follow-up questions she has. He’s the lead technician who joined the project four years ago. The project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a pilot program to make commercial engines cheaper and more environmentally friendly.


Read the full article here.

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