NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING OF THE JOINT PROTOCOL COMMITTEE
BETWEEN THE BOARD OF FISHERIES AND THE
NORTH PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL

The Alaska Board of Fisheries (board) Joint Protocol Committee with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (council) will meet on Friday, October 16, 2026 beginning at 8:30 am. This committee is composed of three board members from the board and three members from the council. Tom Carpenter (chair), Märit Carlson-Van Dort, and Mike Wood are the three board members on this committee. The committee will be receiving presentations on and discussing:

• Pelagic and non-pelagic trawl fisheries operating in state waters in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska
• Federal fishery management measures in effect to minimize adverse impacts of trawl fisheries (e.g., closed areas, and gear modifications including salmon excluders)
• Statutory requirements for assessing the impacts of Council-managed groundfish fisheries on habitat, and tools the Council uses
• Ongoing research on understanding pelagic trawl gear impacts (Gear Innovation Initiative), operationality of bottom contact sensors, and other innovations
• Council actions underway related to habitat (EFH 5-year review) and bottom contact (pelagic trawl gear performance standard)

This meeting will take place at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Anchorage in the Kenai/Denali meeting rooms on the 2^nd floor. The address is 820 W 7th Avenue. The public will have an opportunity to provide in-person testimony to the committee during this meeting.

The meeting will also be livestreamed and can be accessed online at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89752081977

Written public comments can be submitted for this committee meeting. Comments are due no later than Friday October 9 at 5:00 pm. Written comments can be submitted through the council’s website at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/6150.

The meeting agenda and all other relevant meeting documents will be posted as they become available, at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/6150.  

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation to participate in this meeting, please contact Art Nelson at (907) 267-2292 by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday October 14, 2026 to make any necessary arrangements.

For more information about the meeting, contact Art Nelson, Board of Fisheries Executive Director at art.nelson@alaska.gov or 907-267-2292.

September 29, 2026