The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association is an alliance of small boat, commercial fishermen committed to sustainable fisheries and thriving coastal communities. Our members support science-based fisheries management through collaborative research, advocacy and innovation. We work to safeguard ocean health and improve the economic viability of small boat fishing. For our members, commercial fishing is more than a livelihood; it’s a way of life.
Founded in 1978, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) has successfully represented longline fishermen in securing sustainable access to healthy halibut, sablefish and rockfish stocks.
ALFA spearheaded efforts to eliminate foreign fishing on sablefish and rockfish stocks during the 70s, supported an aggressive rebuilding schedule for depleted sablefish stocks during the 80s, and lead the battle to eliminate trawling from Southeast Alaska waters during the 90s. During the 90s ALFA also supported the implementation of an Individual Quota system for North Pacific halibut and sablefish stocks, successfully campaigning for measures to protect the independent, community-based fleet critical to the economic health of Alaska’s coastal communities and, ultimately, the resource on which it depends.
ALFA was instrumental in forming the Halibut Coalition in 1998, an umbrella organization uniting longline fishermen, processors and consumers in protecting longline access to halibut stocks. ALFA continues to actively promote resource and industry health, supporting sustainable fishing quotas and historic access to carefully managed stocks.
ALFA has developed and been a participant in many research projects to address fishery management and ecological issues in Southeast. These include helping launch the Southeast Alaska Sperm Whale Avoidance Project, and advancing Electronic Monitoring as an alternative to observers for small boats in Alaska.
Other projects, past and present, include developing a voluntary logbook program for sablefish vessels (allowing fisheries data to be incorporated into the sablefish apportionment formula), testing light weight seabird avoidance devices appropriate for small longline vessels, developing low bycatch gear for underutilized rockfish species, developing a real time bycatch reporting network to decrease bycatch in the halibut fishery, and developing identification aids to help processors correctly identify rougheye and shortraker rockfishes.
You don’t have to be a longliner to be a part of ALFA’s work: we encourage all fishermen and land-dwellers to get in touch and get involved in our efforts to preserve our fisheries and our oceans for future generations.
