National Fisherman

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West Coast & Pacific

Over 100 groundfish industry volunteers worked in 80 degree heat at Terminal 91 at the Port of Seattle on May 28 to clean four huge midwater trawl nets to recycle plastics in the into new products. Photo by John Dunlap, Trident Seafoods

Groundfish industry cleans 55,935 pounds of nets for recycling

Margaret Bauman

Gig Harbor’s long-planned Commercial Fishing Homeport moved a step closer to reality this week after a city hearing examiner verbally indicated he would approve a shoreline permit for the project. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Gig Harbor homeport project clears key permitting hurdle

NF Staff

Restaurant managers ordered to pay tens of thousands in penalties; fishing vessel owner and operators prohibited from commercial fishing in state. Photo courtesy of CDFW

Restaurant, vessel operators penalized in seafood sourcing case

NF Staff

Dungeness crabs in a live hold. Oregon DFW photo.

Calif. fisheries bill advances out of Senate

NF Staff

Bering Sea pollock come aboard a trawler. NMFS video image.

North Pacific council seeks public comment on pelagic trawl gear

Margaret Bauman

California’s ocean salmon fishery reopened in May 2026 after a three-year closure. River fishing for Chinook salmon is also reopening, but at different times in 2026. Eric Palkovacs photo.

California’s salmon fishery is reopening, but that doesn’t mean all is well

Guest Author

The Japan Coast Guard training vessel Itsukushima and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Osprey maneuver during a May 21 international search and rescue exercise in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Victoria, British Columbia. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

US, Canada, Japan coast guards hold Pacific Northwest search and rescue exercise

NF Staff

The Pacific Legal Foundation is arguing that the otters should be delisted as a threatened species, and petitioning the Fish and Wildlife Service to exempt fishermen from liability for incidental takes of southern sea otters. Photo courtesy of UFWS

Fishermen challenge sea otter protections in Calif. waters

Paul Molyneaux

Rowan Miller has been working on her father’s salmon seiner since she was 14. At 24, she has utilized the Alaska Commercial Fishing Loan Program to finance the purchase of her first boat, the Journeyman. Credit: Rowan Miller

Boat of the Month: Journeyman

Paul Molyneaux

Calif. commercial Dungeness crab fishing opportunities will remain open in some areas under existing management measures. Photo courtesy by CDFW

Commercial crabbing continues as Calif. expands trap restrictions

NF Staff

Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery is facing additional regulatory changes as the state works to address whale entanglements. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Whale permit uncertainty drives changes in Oregon crab fishery

NF Staff