Bristol Bay researchers say in‑season genetics can guide bycatch policy; council adopts Western Alaska cap
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Summary
Jordan Head of the Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute told the Alaska House Special Committee on Fisheries that BBSRI’s in‑season genetic monitoring produced weekly stock composition and catch estimates in 2024–25 and was fast enough to inform management; the North Pacific Fishery Management Council last week adopted a Western Alaska‑specific chum salmon cap that explicitly incorporates in‑season genetic monitoring.
Jordan Head, executive director of the Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute, told the Alaska House Special Committee on Fisheries on Feb. 19 that a two‑year project to deliver in‑season genetic stock composition estimates for chum salmon bycatch in the federally managed Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery can be produced fast enough to inform management.
"Can we produce accurate genetic stock composition information for the shore side sector of the Bering Sea pollock fishery fast enough to matter?" Head asked at the hearing, answering: “We can produce these estimates accurately and quickly enough to be meaningful.” He described a 2024 feasibility year and a fully operational 2025 season in which weekly public releases were posted to BBSRI’s website and distributed by email.
Head said the project’s three operational pieces—expanded port sampling, a genotyping laboratory in Dutch Harbor, and analysis—allowed BBSRI (with analysis performed by NOAA) to translate proportions into weekly estimates of Western Alaska chum salmon caught. He noted that Western Alaska stocks have historically been a minority of bycatch but highly variable year‑to‑year; for example, aggregated Western Alaska stocks were about 14–15% of bycatch in 2024 and averaged about 6.4% in 2025 for the shore‑side sector.
A rapid‑response "lightning strike" analysis during statistical week 38 in 2025 provided a concrete case: samples from the first two vessel deliveries analyzed in Dutch Harbor within 48 hours showed roughly 98% non‑Western origin chum and Western Alaska shares of about 1.4% and 2.6% for the two vessels. That near real‑time result, Head said, allowed managers to evaluate the event specifically for Western Alaska stock impacts rather than only by total chum numbers.
Head said the council action last week moved the idea of a Western Alaska‑specific chum cap from theoretical to operational. "With that analytical confidence in place, the council adopted a Western Alaska specific chum salmon cap with mandatory in season corridor closures if that limit is met or exceeded," he said, adding that the council motion explicitly incorporated in‑season genetic monitoring.
Head emphasized that this in‑season program complements NOAA’s fixed post‑season sampling rather than replacing it: BBSRI’s sampling is variable and designed for weekly mixture analyses and spatial resolution by fishing ground. He said the shore‑side sector was selected initially because it both contributes the largest share of chum bycatch and was logistically feasible to sample at scale.
Regarding funding and sustainability, Head said CDQ sector bridge funding covers 2026 shore‑side operations and that BBSRI secured a $3,500,000 federal grant through Senator Murkowski’s office to support the program from 2027 through 2030. He described the program as a collaborative effort involving ADF&G, NOAA laboratory partners and industry observers and staff, and said BBSRI is discussing how to expand the framework to other pollock sectors.
Committee members pressed Head on broader comparisons and technical limits. He said he would compile statewide comparisons, and noted that while vessel‑based mobile labs (Port Moller test fishery) and mobile van units in other regions exist, the cost and technical requirements (dozens of SNPs per fish for chum origin) currently favor centralized labs that can produce results within 24–48 hours for shore deliveries. He also said BBSRI’s laboratory is adaptable to emerging tools such as eDNA if those methods prove operationally suitable.
The committee did not take formal action on the briefing; members commended the project and encouraged continued collaboration and reporting to the legislature.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council action and BBSRI’s in‑season results create the near‑term work plan: sustain operational capacity for 2026 shore‑side sampling, refine rapid analyses for event response, and explore expanding in‑season genetic monitoring to additional fleet sectors.
