Alaskans are all too familiar with radical groups funded by out-of-state interests seeking to shut down sustainable resource development. A predictable cast of characters — including billionaire activists and extreme environmental groups — are now working to destroy a large segment of the Alaska seafood industry. This campaign to ban trawling — a sustainable fishing method responsible for a substantial majority of fishery landings in the Alaska Region and nationally —poses a direct threat to Alaska’s coastal economy, seafood sector and way of life.
If you enjoy wild seafood — fish sandwiches or shrimp; fish sticks or scallops; fish tacos or rockfish — you are enjoying seafood caught by “trawl” or “dredge” fishing gears that touch the seafloor. It’s true that these fishing methods, like every farm, aquaculture facility and fishing operation on the planet, impact the environment. But, what’s also true is that the impacts of trawl fishing in Alaska are continually monitored to ensure long-term ecosystem health.
Few food production methods anywhere in the world are more sustainable and well-regulated than fisheries in the Alaska region, a fact we should all be proud of. Fishery scientists and managers use a clear, science-based process to decide where and when fishing can happen and how many fish can be caught. This results in sustainable Alaska fisheries — fisheries that support tens of thousands of jobs and many coastal communities — producing billions of seafood meals every year to feed people in America and around the world.
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The recent commentary authored for the Alaska Beacon by Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon and David Bayes is the latest effort to demonize sustainable trawl fisheries. Like other attacks on our sector, the commentary comes from a vocal few that play fast and loose with the facts.
First, let’s talk about bycatch. The authors’ claim that trawl fisheries have “high bycatch rates” is flat out wrong. The Alaska pollock fishery, for example, is recognized by the National Marine Fisheries Service as “one of the cleanest in terms of incidental catch of other species (less than 1 percent).” By way of contrast, the fixed-gear halibut and sablefish fisheries championed by Linda Behnken — one of the commentary’s co-signatories — have bycatch rates at least 28 times higher than the Alaska pollock fishery, with discard rates ranging from 28.5% to 48%.
We weren’t surprised to see the inaccuracies in the piece. Trawl critics constantly misrepresent bycatch data. For example, jellyfish — nearly 40% of the 1% bycatch in the pollock fishery — are deliberately grouped with other species in reported bycatch totals. In reality, less than 10% of trawl bycatch is made up of halibut, salmon and crab species, with pollock representing the largest component of total trawl bycatch.The dead halibut thrown overboard by the Gulf of Alaska IFQ halibut fishery exceeds the total halibut bycatch mortality from the entire Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet.
Let’s talk about monitoring. Alaska trawl fisheries lead the world in using independent observers and electronic monitoring to ensure full transparency. Across all Alaska Region trawl fisheries, 94% of the total catch was independently observed in 2023. Furthermore, Alaska’s pollock catcher vessels are implementing the largest Electronic Monitoring program in the United States, which will push North Pacific trawl vessel monitoring even higher, to almost 100%. Among the fleet that Linda Behnken represents, by contrast, just 23% of total 2023 harvests were observed by either electronic or human monitoring and there has been resistance to monitoring expansion.
Let’s talk about habitat. The emotive claim that trawl gear “scrapes the ocean’s bottom” implies permanent ecosystem harm. In reality, the Bering Sea floor is constantly subject to tidal and storm disturbance, and any additional impacts of trawling have consistently been found by experts to be “temporary and minimal”. Areas that have been regularly fished with trawl gear for decades remain some of the most diverse and productive fishing grounds on Earth.
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David Bayes, a charter fisherman and a co-author of the recent commentary, has regularly attacked our region’s sustainable trawl fisheries. The Facebook page he founded often features posts that wish death or harm toward our fellow captains and crew, our boats and our processing plants. Other posts spew hateful, personal and vengeful attacks against anyone who dares to speak up and correct misinformation about trawling or Alaska pollock. Alaskans deserve better than this.
In October, Mr. Bayes attended a meeting of billionaire environmental funders that showcased a clear anti-fishing agenda. Panels like “Bycatch: Building Power Around Alaska’s Newest Four-Letter Word” revealed a roadmap for shutting down Alaskan fisheries. Oceans 5, a key sponsor of the meeting, pools money from billionaire activists to fund campaigns displacing harvesters from their traditional fishing grounds. Their main goal? Establishing Marine Protected Areas that ban all fishing activity. If Bayes’s activist allies succeed in shutting down Alaska’s trawl fisheries, don’t think they’ll stop there. Other fisheries — and even sport fishing — could be next in their crosshairs.
We take pride in harvesting Alaska pollock and other groundfish, contributing to Alaska’s rich fishing heritage, coastal communities, and economy. Alaskans deserve honest discussions about fisheries, which often require complex trade-offs. As warming oceans — not trawl fleets — affect certain salmon and crab stocks, making informed decisions is extremely challenging. We welcome fair debates grounded in truth, transparency, and facts that can help sustain all Alaskan fisheries.
Sam Wright is a lifelong Alaskan born and raised in Homer. He has fished for over 30 years for crab, flatfish, Pacific cod and other species in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska.
Dan Carney is an Alaskan, homesteader, farmer, fisherman, 43-year Bering Sea survivor.
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Jason Chandler was born in Kodiak and is a lifelong resident. He has participated in multiple fisheries over more than 30 years and is now owner/operator of his family’s trawl vessel.
Kiley Thomson is a 32-year resident of Sand Point who fishes for salmon, crab, pollock and cod in the Gulf of Alaska. He is president of the Peninsula Fishermen’s Coalition and the Area M Seiners Association organizations, representing small vessels in Alaska groundfish and salmon fisheries respectively.
Alaska’s energy realm has been dominated by oil resources, but with the state awash in oil, Alaska is relying on another valuable resource. Buried beneath the layers of snow lies one of the most underestimated sources of clean power. Since Switzerland has set the tone of relying on solar power enhanced by snow itself, the country is offering some light on how snowy regions can depend on this valuable resource as well. With Alaska being filled with snow, the state could even become fossil fuel independent by relying on solar potential and its snow.
Swiss solar invention considering the strength of snow power
Switzerland has considered solar energy technology created for snow climates. Researchers as well as engineers have seen that solar panels in the Alps do benefit so much from the snow that their performance is improved. Shocking enough, solar panels perform well during the winter months when energy demand tends to be high.
The discovery of solar panels’ feat is because sunlight reflected off snow improves the radiation that reaches the panels. The best way this effect is reflected is through the AlpinSolar Project on the Muttsee Dam. The site can produce 3.3 GWh every year, which is rather similar to the energy generated by solar systems at low elevation levels. These alpine-based panels generate three times more electricity than installations in Switzerland’s lower regions, and this is mainly the case due to the snowy reflected layer.
It has been found that perhaps steep angles and panel spacing optimize sunlight absorption, as this placement enables snow to slide off panels easily whilst ensuring sunlight capture from reflective panels.
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Alaska is looking at relying on the snow’s potential
According to research, the bifacial solar panels, which collect sunlight on both sides, can capture more reflected energy and show better solar output in comparison to traditional single-sided panels. This will be a great idea in Alaska, where snow cover exists for many months.
Tests conducted in Alaska were promising, and snow build-up on panels was effectively managed. Teams at the University of Alaska and Sandia National Laboratories created transparent ice- and snow-phobic coatings, where panels could shed snow and ice and improve solar energy production. In fact, energy production was improved by 85% during tests. While there is hope of solar success, the challenge seems far harder in Alaska in comparison to the Swiss Alps. With low sun angles being a reality in winter months, energy storage needs to be improved, should solar be a reliable clean energy source for Alaska.
Three lessons learnt from Switzerland that can be used in Alaska
Switzerland’s successes in alpine solar technology provide an incentive for Switzerland to tap into underrated clean energy sources, too. However, the lessons learnt in Switzerland can be used in Alaska as well:
Installation design matters considerably: Steep panel angles and higher frames enable snow shedding while ensuring better reflection of surfaces.
Adapted technologies, including bifacial panels and those with special coatings, optimize solar capture: In high latitude and snow conditions, such innovations tend to improve solar power capture.
The solar system must be integrated with storage and grid systems: This ensures that solar becomes a strategic investment in places, like Alaska, where winter darkness seems to be apparent all year long.
If Alaska keeps these core solar lessons in mind, the state can tap into this form of renewable energy.
Alaska will be able to tap into its renewable energy potential
Alaska needs to consider the snow as an asset in its solar mission, as opposed to seeing snow as a foe to the renewable energy agenda. Alaska, like Switzerland, can move forward with this renewable energy resource. While Switzerland has been relying on this resource for a while with favorable results, Alaska, too, can embrace the snow. Soon, the Alps will be covered with solar panels with amazing results.
Alaska Airlines passenger jets parked at Concourse C at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Bill Roth / ADN)
When it’s time to plan a trip, there are a couple of key considerations: How do you get there and how much does it cost?
Alaska travelers take it for granted that most big trips include a stop and a layover in Seattle. That’s certainly true for more international journeys, unless the trip includes a flight to Frankfurt on Condor’s nonstop from Anchorage.
But that mandatory Seattle stop is changing, even though there will be 27 nonstop flights each day this summer.
While ticket prices change on the fly, the process of blocking out where a plane will fly takes time and effort. There are many moving parts, including crew, ground handling and maintenance.
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So the airlines have been working on new summertime flights since earlier this fall. And the lineup is pretty good. There’s also some welcome news on the airfare front.
Just a few days ago. Alaska Airlines announced plans to fly nonstop from Anchorage to three new destinations this summer: Boston, Spokane and Boise. Travelers prefer to fly nonstop. It’s faster and there are fewer opportunities to avoid missed connections, lost bags and other possible trip interruptions along the way.
The flights to Boston start on Saturday, June 13, 2026. There’s just one flight per week this year, which is one way Alaska Airlines tests out a route.
Alaska Air plans two flights per week (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) between Anchorage and both Boise and Spokane, starting on Wednesday, June 10.
Two other nonstop routes from Anchorage that had once-a-week service last summer now will get two flights per week: Anchorage-San Diego, starting May 16, and Anchorage-Sacramento, starting June 13.
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Three Alaska Air destinations will get one flight per day, starting May 13: Anchorage-San Francisco, Anchorage-Denver and Fairbanks-Portland. That’s the same date that Alaska upgrades its Anchorage-Las Vegas from two flights a week to daily service, in response to Southwest Air’s nonstops starting May 15. The Anchorage-Los Angeles schedule also increases on that date (May 13) from one to two daily flights.
More nonstops come online on June 10: Anchorage-Minneapolis and Anchorage-New York/JFK. Also on that date, the Anchorage-Chicago schedule increases from one to two daily flights.
Alaska Airlines also offers daily nonstops to Phoenix and Honolulu. Between Anchorage and Portland, Alaska offers five daily flights during the summer.
Delta Air Lines is resuming several popular nonstop flights from Anchorage in May: Anchorage-Detroit (May 21), Anchorage-Salt Lake City (May 16) and Anchorage-Los Angeles (May 22).
Delta offers year-round nonstops from Anchorage-Seattle (3-6 daily flights), Fairbanks-Seattle (1-2 daily flights), Anchorage-Minneapolis (1-3 flights per day) and Anchorage-Atlanta (Saturdays only).
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Delta’s Anchorage-Atlanta flights feature a wide-body Boeing 767 plane with lie-flat “Delta One” suites, one of just a few domestic routes. Delta resumes daily Anchorage-Atlanta flights on May 21.
American Airlines’ nonstop flight from Anchorage to Dallas operates through Jan. 6, 2026. Then there’s a two-month gap before the flight start up again on March 8.
On May 21, American Airlines resumes daily service on two routes: Anchorage-Chicago and Anchorage-Phoenix.
United Airlines flies from Anchorage to Denver each evening year-round. On May 21, United will start flying three times each day, in response to Southwest Air’s new nonstop which starts on May 15. On June 26, Denver adds a fourth daily Anchorage-Denver nonstop, just in case Southwest didn’t get the message.
May 21 also is the day United resumes its daily nonstops to Newark, Washington, D.C., and Houston.
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On March 5, United resumes its nonstop flight from Anchorage to Chicago. On April 30, United adds a second flight for the summer.
Up in Fairbanks, United resumes daily flights to Chicago on April 30 and to Denver on May 21.
[Workouts at the airport? Some fliers can already smell the sweat.]
Other airlines planning nonstops to Anchorage include Sun Country, with one to two daily flights to Minneapolis starting May 16, WestJet with two weekly nonstops from Anchorage to Calgary and Southwest, with daily flights to both Denver and Phoenix. Condor Airlines plans three flights per week from Anchorage to Frankfurt starting May 16.
A big driver for the additional flights is the cruise industry, which is on track for a robust 2026 season. There are several new entrants in the cruise market, including MSC cruises, Virgin Voyages, Windstar Cruises and Azamara.
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Still, airline watchers speculate there will be plenty of capacity in the interstate jet market, which means fares will be cheaper.
One example right now: Delta offers Basic Economy fares between Anchorage and Seattle for $196 round-trip. Travel between Jan. 12 and March 31. The upcharge to Main Cabin for advance seat assignment and mileage credit is $80 round-trip. Alaska Airlines quickly matched the Basic fare, but Alaska charges more for the upcharge to Main: $100 round-trip.
United Airlines is getting in on the discount fares, offers cheap rates to three Florida destinations from Anchorage: Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. All are available for $336 round-trip is Basic Economy. Remember, with United, you cannot even take a small carry-on aboard without getting charged extra. The upcharge to Main is $100 round-trip.
After Delta dropped the fare to Seattle, Alaska Airlines dropped its rates to Delta hubs in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Detroit. But there’s a twist.
Between Anchorage and Atlanta, Alaska Air is offering Basic fares for as little as $343 round-trip. Fly between Jan. 21 and Feb. 14. But the upcharge to Main is crazy: $175 round-trip. The price from Anchorage to Detroit on Alaska Air is compelling: just $341 round-trip. But the upcharge to Main is a buzzkill: $198 round-trip.
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The Basic rate on Alaska Air between Anchorage and Salt Lake is sweet: $264 round-trip. The upcharge to Main is sour: $169 round-trip.
[Smaller items don’t go in overhead bins. Flight attendants are cracking down.]
In fairness, Delta also is guilty of overcharging for the upcharge to Main.
Between Anchorage and Boston, Delta is offering Basic seats for $336 round-trip, traveling between Jan. 9-March 31. The upcharge to Main is $100 round-trip.
But it’s a different story with tickets to Washington, D.C. Delta dangles a great price for Basic: $344 round-trip. But then comes the sticker shock on the upcharge to Main: $180 round-trip.
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There still are a couple of golden rules when it comes to shopping for airline tickets:
1. When airlines are mad at each other, the traveler wins.
2. The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away.
Some of Alaska’s scenic rivers and streams look downright apocalyptic this year because they turned a flagrant orange color — but it’s not due to local pollution, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In actuality, the orange tinted water is rust, released as the frozen ground in Alaska thaws out due to unchecked greenhouse gasses driving global warming. And it’s leaking into the state’s waterways, according to NOAA’s annual report on the Arctic region, where it’s posing a danger to local wildlife, residents and commercial fisheries.
The day-glo rivers are also a bright orange flag that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world. The massive defrosting is also anticipated to increase sea levels and screw up weather patterns, according to scientists who talked to NPR.
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“When the Arctic thaws and warms, it’s having an impact on the global climate,” Matthew Druckenmiller, lead author of the report and senior scientist with the Boulder, Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, told the broadcaster.
The planet is already showing signs of distress from global warming, such as large-scale forest fires and extreme summer temperatures outside the Arctic, which Druckenmiller described as a giant fridge for the planet.
“The Arctic is warming several times faster than Earth as a whole, reshaping the northern landscapes, ecosystems, and livelihoods of Arctic peoples,” reads the NOAA report. “Also transforming are the roles the Arctic plays in the global climate, economic, and societal systems.”
Zooming back to Alaska, people started noticing the orange waterways in 2018, according to NPR.
“ We heard from people who live in the region — pilots who are often flying over, people in the national parks,” US Geological Survey research hydrologist Josh Koch told the broadcaster.
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As temperatures heats up in the most remote parts of Alaska, permafrost — ground that usually stays continuously frozen — is melting, and that’s unlocking iron in the soil, which oxidizes from exposure to water and air, causing rivers and streams to turn orange. Surveys revealed that this contamination is far reaching, covering hundreds of miles of terrain in Alaska.
“It’s often not orange until it reaches the stream, and then all the iron and other metals can precipitate and create this iron staining,” Koch added.
It’s not clear if residents are being harmed from the polluted water, but local scientists are monitoring the situation, NPR reports.
The other problem with these rusty rivers is that they increase the acidity level in the water, according to the NOAA report, and this may harm fish like Dolly Varden char, whose juvenile offspring have experienced a sharp decrease in numbers most likely due to iron in its aquatic habitat. And that’s pretty bad for everybody in Alaska.
“The food chain is connected to the lives of people living in the Arctic,” Druckenmiller said.
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More on climate change:Melting Glacier in Alaska Floods State Capital
