A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit two tribal organizations brought against the National Marine Fisheries Service challenging the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries.
Here is U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason's 45-page decision and order dismissing the claims of the Association of Village Council Presidents and Tanana Chiefs Conference. The two groups sued in April 2023.
And here is a joint press release from the At-sea Processors Association and United Catcher Boats.
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Earthjustice, the environmental law organization representing the tribal groups, said the ruling means NMFS "can continue to rely on nearly 20-year-old environmental studies to inform federal management of the massive pollock trawling industry in the Bering Sea and Aleutians Islands."
Tribal plaintiffs are disappointed with the ruling:
https://www.avcp.org/2025/03/12/court-rules-that-federal-fishery-managers-can-continue-to-rely-on-outdated-study-to-manage-the-trawling-industry/
The fact that undercut the AVCP argument was how few of the chum and Chinook salmon in the BSAI trawl nets originate from Western Alaska rivers. Many years of continuous genetic research proves this.
The upshot: chum and Chinook runs have declined in Western Alaska. But you can't pin it on the trawl fishery. So the AVCP argument is misdirected, and the judge easily understands that.
What you can pin on the trawl industry is the constant, nonstop scraping of the bottom by the "midwater" pollock boats and the Amendment 80 fleet. Halibut, crab and now it looks like P-cod keep suffering.
The real habitat destruction is going on in the Aleutians where the A80 fleet flies under the radar but has been pounding away
catching Atka mackerel, Pacific Ocean perch and sablefish (which they dump on the market in Japan lowering prices for the fixed-gear sablefish guys). Very little if any of the Atka or POP ends up coming back to the U.S. after being processed in Asia. A80 fleet needs to go!!!
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