The Alaska State Legislature has passed a resolution urging federal fisheries managers to take significant action to reduce trawl bycatch, maintain current bycatch limits, and enhance enforcement measures. The resolution emphasizes the importance of salmon and bottom-dwelling species to Alaska's identity, economy, and cultural traditions, highlighting the detrimental effects of trawl fisheries that capture these species as bycatch. This bycatch not only wastes valuable fish resources but also undermines the livelihoods of local fishermen and the subsistence needs of coastal communities. The resolution calls for trawl vessels to process and donate bycatch for human consumption instead of discarding it, and it stresses the need for strict enforcement of existing bycatch limits.

Additionally, the resolution advocates for significant penalties for the capture of bottom-dwelling species and supports federal initiatives aimed at improving research, electronic monitoring, and gear innovation to minimize bycatch and protect benthic habitats. The Alaska State Legislature expresses its commitment to ensuring that federal fisheries management aligns with the state's constitutional mandate for sustained yield and the needs of communities reliant on fish resources. Copies of the resolution will be sent to key federal officials and members of Alaska's congressional delegation to emphasize the state's position on these critical fisheries management issues.