Alaska

Reported trawling too close to Kuskokwim Bay draws industry response

Published

2 years ago

June 13, 2024

Reported trawling too close to Kuskokwim Bay draws industry response

Kuskokwim Bay (From NOAA ShoreZone)

Coastal communities near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River have expressed concern about bottom-trawling vessels operating in close proximity to where salmon enter the river. But trawl industry leaders say that this is nothing new.

In recent weeks, posts widely shared on a popular Facebook group critical of the trawl industry have raised issues with vessels apparently just a few miles offshore. The posts on the STOP Alaskan Trawler Bycatch page featured marine traffic maps showing the location of the trawlers, with one post reading “six trawlers right outside the mouth of Kuskokwim.”

Chris Woodley, executive director of Groundfish Forum, a trawl industry association that represents 17 catcher-processor vessels operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands regions, testified about the issue before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council during its June 7 meeting in Kodiak.

“Over the past two days, I’ve been hearing concerns coming from stakeholders from the Yukon-Kuskokwim region regarding the presence of trawl vessels fishing southwest of Kuskokwim Bay, and concerns regarding those fisheries’ impacts upon western Alaska salmon,” Woodley said. “This is a public perception issue. What we have been hearing in the past, and this year, is that boats are fishing in the mouth of the river. And that is just simply not true.”

Woodley told the council that the vessels were operating in full compliance with federal regulations and that the maps could be misleading, making vessels appear closer to shore than they actually were.

According to Woodley, the vessels flagged on Facebook were fishing well outside of an established 8.2 million acre conservation zone off-limits to bottom trawling. The zone encompasses the entirety of Kuskokwim Bay and extends to buffer nearby coastal communities.

“In the spring, a limited number of our vessels fish for yellowfin sole in the federal waters, approximately 25 miles southwest of Kipnuk,” Woodley said.

David Bayes, a Homer-based fisheries advocate who also runs a halibut charter company, says that the presence of the conservation area that Woodley referred to doesn’t necessarily ease concerns about threats to Kuskokwim River salmon stocks.

“The thing that people get concerned about is the fish don’t have fences down there,” Bayes said. “So if somebody is dragging right next to the habitat zone, they might not be in it, but the fish theoretically would go back and forth. And it’s not like the fish just stay in one spot.”

Bayes is one of the moderators for STOP Alaskan Trawler Bycatch, the Facebook page where many of the concerns have been posted.

Beyond the direct impact on fish, Bayes also says the ecological damage to the area from trawling can’t be overstated.

“They do have a lot of habitat damage. So all their stuff is hard on the bottom trawl,” Bayes said. “We’ve heard from crews talking about the corals getting mashed down year after year. They used to get big chunks, but now they get smaller and smaller, and now there’s none at all. So you can imagine the habitat side of that.”

According to Woodley, the bottom-trawl vessels operating near the mouth of the Kuskokwim have yet to scoop up a single protected salmon in the area this year.

“In 2024, there have been zero incidental catch of chum salmon and zero incidental catch of chinook salmon in this fishery,” Woodley said. “These bycatch data are confirmed by two federally trained fishery observers on board our vessels, 100% of the time.”

However, the groundfish fleet that Woodley represents is responsible for only a small percentage of Alaska’s salmon bycatch. The vessels are instead responsible for the vast majority of halibut bycatch in Alaska waters, a species which coastal communities like Kipnuk rely on as a food source.

“The rates in this area are much lower than any place else in the Bering Sea. I believe at this point we have, I want to say, 7 metric tons of [halibut] bycatch for the season in this area,” Woodley said.

Following Woodley’s testimony in Kodiak, council member Andy Mezirow asked whether the Groundfish Forum director had any ideas for changing public perception. Woodley didn’t have a direct answer.

“This is becoming a kind of an annual thing, both for the Togiak fishery as well as for this fishery, and we’re just trying to do our best in this process where a lot of these issues are raised and concerns are expressed to communicate what’s going on here,” Woodley said.

Beyond his testimony, Woodley didn’t outline a plan for addressing community concerns about trawling in the Kuskokwim Bay area at the June 7 meeting. Online, public perception appears to remain widely skeptical about the proximity of trawlers to Kuskokwim salmon.

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Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

9 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

21 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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