NOAA Fisheries on Thursday denied a request for emergency action to institute a king salmon bycatch cap of zero in Alaska's Bering Sea pollock fishery.
If it had been approved, the measure would have required the Alaska pollock fishery to shut down if any king salmon were caught as bycatch, which is the incidental catch of non-targeted species.
The Alaska pollock industry already has a limit on king salmon bycatch that ranges from 45,000 to 60,000 depending on fish abundance.
