January 12, 2026
Seafood News
New Zealand spearfishing champion Darren Shields is urging Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones to ban bottom-trawl fishing, believing it is setting the country up for more collapsed fisheries like two already ruined in Northland.
Daily Sitka Sentinel
January 12, 2026
Anna Laffrey
Tradesmen are working around the clock at Sitka’s community boatyard to install a hybrid electric propulsion system on the F/V Mirage, and breathe life into research toward clean energy solutions and cost savings for Alaska's small boat fisheries.
The Seattle Times
January 3, 2026
Lynda V. Mapes
The otherworldly beauty of the Tongass National Forest is at the heart of the livelihood of many local Southeast Alaska businesses that host a booming tourism industry. “They don’t come here to see clearcuts,” says Dan Blanchard, whose small-boat cruise operation draws 7,000 to 10,000 visitors every summer to see the big trees, bears and wild salmon that have thrived under the protection of the federal Roadless Rule.
Alaskafish.news
January 2, 2026
Laine Welch
Bering Sea and Gulf of AK trawl fisheries were re-certified as well-managed and sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Alaskans were left out of the process.
Must Read Alaska
December 17, 2025
Natalie Spaulding
The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) has been working to hybridize Alaska’s fishing fleets since receiving a grant from the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technology Office (VTO) in 2021. From 2021-2023, ALFA partnered with the National Research Energy Laboratory to “identify that the viable next step is a hybrid diesel/electric boat.”
KCAW Raven Radio
December 15, 2025
Hope McKenney
It’s a cold, snowy day down by Sitka’s marine haulout. Inside the giant unheated commercial workspace, I can still see my breath as men weld and work on boat parts around me.
Off to one side is a giant engine — or should I say two, one white and one dark grey — stuck together in an intricate pattern of metal and tubing. This engine is hybrid electric and is about to be put in the 50-foot fishing vessel Mirage.
The Mirage could be Alaska’s first official hybrid electric fishing boat, and it’s one step closer to hitting the water. The boat is part of a pilot program based in Sitka to address high fuel costs for the fishing fleet and maybe make fishing just a little bit greener.
Juneau Independent
December 14, 2025
Linda Behnken
On Dec. 5, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation director Randy Bates wrote an opinion piece arguing against Salmon Beyond Borders and the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association's (ALFA's) assertion that, 10 years after the Walker administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with British Columbia, the Dunleavy administration is "leaving Alaskans in the dark." Reading Mr. Bates' opinion piece you would not realize that commercial fishermen have also expressed strong concerns about the state's lack of action to protect the Taku, Stikine, Unuk, and Salmon Rivers from the B.C. polluting mining boom upstream.
Times Colonist
December 8, 2025
Jeff Favour
(A commentary by a Sitka, Alaska resident who has been commercial fishing since 1989. He serves on the board of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and has served on several other fisheries and community-related boards and commissions.)
It was disappointing to see David Mills, a fisheries advisor with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, use divisiveness in the name of salmon conservation in his Nov. 15 commentary, “Let’s unite to fight Alaska’s salmon overharvest.”
Our world needs more collaboration and unity right now, especially when it comes to the shared management of wild Pacific salmon.
National Fisherman
December 3, 2025
Paul Molyneaux
The environmental group that sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2020 in an effort to shut down the Southeast Alaska troll fishery for salmon took home a $1.6 million reimbursement for its costs, despite finally losing its case.
According to the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) website, its sole mission is “the protection and recovery of the Northwest’s wild fish.” Sounds like a great idea, and it would seem that the WFC’s mission and that of commercial fishermen ought to align.
Alaska Beacon
November 26, 2025
Beth Short-Rhoads
After the remnants of Typhoon Halong devastated communities in Western Alaska last month, you might have been jolted into remembering that forces beyond our immediate control govern the planet. A combination of wind, gravity, planetary rotation and uneven heating of the Earth’s surface can result in destructive storms and, in worst-case scenarios, a tragic loss of life.
While we’re right to be gravely concerned about climate change in Alaska, we can also appreciate that the powerful natural phenomena operating around us are often simply doing the quiet work of keeping our ecosystems humming — by transporting water, nutrients and atmospheric gases from place to place. The result is a bountiful suite of ecosystem services: fish and game that fill our freezers, vibrant landscapes for recreation and spiritual renewal, foundations for Indigenous culture and the economic engines of fishing and tourism.
