NOAA Turns Accidental Alaska Catch Into Food Bank Meals
Published Date: 5/20/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) renewed permits for SeaShare, a nonprofit that donates Pacific salmon and halibut caught accidentally during Alaska groundfish fishing. This means SeaShare can keep distributing these fish to food banks and hunger relief groups from May 2026 through May 2029. Fishermen, nonprofits, and food banks benefit, with no new costs but a continued boost to fighting hunger using fish that would otherwise go unused.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Fishermen: Donatable Bycatch Continues
If you are a fisherman (self-employed), you can continue to have Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut caught incidentally during groundfish trawl fishing in the Alaska exclusive economic zone donated through the SeaShare program from May 20, 2026 through May 21, 2029. This lets those incidentally caught fish be distributed to hunger relief organizations instead of being discarded, with no new costs under the renewed permits.
Food Banks Keep Receiving Donated Fish
If you run, work with, or rely on hunger relief agencies or food bank distributors, SeaShare is authorized to distribute Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut donated from incidental catches in Alaska groundfish trawl fisheries from May 20, 2026 through May 21, 2029. The renewed permits allow continued supply of donated fish to food banks and hunger relief groups without imposing new costs under the program.
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