Pollock industry, Senate race and culture collide in a fight over fish

Key Points:

• Evon Waska and many subsistence fishermen along the Kuskokwim River are struggling with declining salmon returns, blaming bycatch from Bering Sea pollock trawlers for depleting salmon populations vital to their communities.
• The pollock trawl industry, operating massive nets in federal waters, catches nearly 3 billion pounds of fish annually, but also unintentionally kills thousands of king and chum salmon, sparking outrage among subsistence, sport, and commercial fishermen.
• Bycatch has become a key issue in Alaska’s tight U.S. Senate race, with challenger Mary Peltola advocating for bans on large factory trawlers and anti-bycatch legislation, while incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan has recently proposed bycatch reduction measures after years of industry support.
• The decline in salmon threatens the cultural and subsistence lifestyles of Yup’ik communities, as fish camps lie empty and younger generations lose traditional skills and connections to their heritage.
• Local leaders and residents emphasize the injustice of bycatch, contrasting the pollock industry's focus on profit with the existential threat it poses to Indigenous ways of life, hoping the Senate race brings greater awareness and action.