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A sea lion jumps over the line of the Northern Star\u2019s seine net on July 7, 2024. (Marc Lester \/ ADN archive)<\/p>\nA sea lion jumps over the line of the Northern Star\u2019s seine net on July 7, 2024. (Marc Lester \/ ADN archive)<\/p>\n
The White House this month issued an executive order to support the sportfishing industry by, among other things, paving the way for increased harvests of sharks and pinnipeds, including sea lions and seals.<\/p>\n
The order specifically aims to help saltwater anglers, offshore boaters and charter operators \u2014 an industry in Alaska that, with its copious fish populations, generates thousands of jobs and more than $1 billion in economic impact, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.<\/p>\n
If all of its provisions are enacted, fishing groups say, the directive could improve fish abundance in Alaska by reducing predation by marine mammals. It could also lead to potential conflicts with federal laws that currently protect the animals. <\/p>\n
With the stated goal of \u201crestoring American saltwater angling and recreation,\u201d a $1.2 trillion national industry, the order<\/a> signed by President Donald Trump on Sept. 17 lays out various steps to aid anglers, including modernizing data collection, expanding mobile reporting and incorporating real-time catch information.<\/p>\n It orders state and federal agencies to collaborate more and says officials should take the economic value of recreational fishing into greater account in federal fishery decision-making. <\/p>\n Agencies should \u201ctransition habitat restoration metrics toward production-based goals\u201d under the order.<\/p>\n Habitat restoration projects are typically measured by the amount of habitat restored rather than fish population size and other indicators of an ecosystem\u2019s health, said John Chu, chief spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s fisheries division, or NOAA Fisheries. <\/p>\n \u201cThis shift ensures restoration efforts are enhancing fish populations and providing more recreational opportunities for the outdoor community,\u201d Chu said by email.<\/p>\n The executive order directs NOAA to work with private companies to develop new methods of detecting marine mammals. Strong detection could potentially reduce ship strikes and marine mammals\u2019 ability to interfere with commercial fishing gear or catches. <\/p>\n While the order also aims to fast-track artificial reef and habitat creation, the provision that\u2019s caught the attention of marine conservation advocates deals with sharks and pinnipeds. <\/p>\n A section dubbed \u201cmanaging predators\u201d calls on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to create an interagency task force to tackle \u201crising rates of shark and pinniped depredation.\u201d<\/p>\n Lutnick must work with his counterparts at the State and Interior departments to actively address international and domestic barriers to \u201csustainable shark fisheries\u201d to the extent possible under the law, according to the order. <\/p>\n While Alaska waters are home to multiple shark species<\/a>, three are most common: Pacific sleeper sharks, salmon sharks and spiny dogfish. Great white sharks sometimes show up in Alaska along with blue sharks and six-gill sharks, according to NOAA.<\/p>\n State eyes revised marine mammal protections Besides sharks, Alaska also has abundant populations of Steller sea lions and seals, although the western population of sea lions is listed<\/a> under the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n Sharks, sea lions and seals are known to prey on popular fish species targeted by sport and commercial fishermen, namely salmon and halibut.<\/p>\n Seals like to munch on juvenile out-migrating salmon as well as returning adults. Other predators targeting salmon include salmon sharks, Steller sea lions and orcas, according to the Department of Fish and Game\u2019s top official. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is evidence that marine predators eat more salmon than are harvested by humans,\u201d Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said by email. <\/p>\n He didn\u2019t cite the source of such evidence. But research<\/a> has indicated that in some areas along the West Coast and Alaska, marine mammals, especially orcas, consume more chinook salmon than humans harvest.<\/p>\n Vincent-Lang said he sees \u201cmuch opportunity\u201d in the executive order for Alaska, particularly in terms of managing marine predators. <\/p>\n \u201cMarine predation is a significant issue in Alaska. We see a need to revise the Marine Mammal Protection Act to manage marine mammals as a functional part of the ecosystem rather than for their optimal population number,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Animals like sea lions and seals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act<\/a>. With some exceptions, the 1972 federal law bars the hunting, harassment, collection or killing of marine mammals in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. Alaska Native people are exempt from the restrictions for the most part.<\/p>\n \u2018Designed to increase shark culling\u2019<\/p>\n The executive order is being slammed by shark lovers<\/a> and marine ecosystem activists.<\/p>\n Alaska-based ocean advocate Rick Steiner is among them. Steiner compared the shark and pinniped provision to Alaska\u2019s controversial and often-litigated predator control programs<\/a> that kill wolves and bears to boost prey populations like moose and caribou. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly designed to increase shark culling, essentially, both internationally and in U.S. waters,\u201d said Steiner, a retired University of Alaska professor. \u201cOnce this interagency task force establishes its policies on sharks and such, it could be that charter boats would start targeting sharks and retain them onboard.\u201d<\/p>\n Steiner believes it\u2019s conceivable that the administration could greenlight the killing of marine mammals by boat owners for interfering with commercial or recreational fishing operations.<\/p>\n The executive order is one more example of the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cideological disdain for conservation, science, regulation and the law,\u201d he said by email.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AFQHVQG6NNGNZGY4IRUI3JL7GM.jpg\")
Steller sea lions rest on an ice floe 100 miles northwest of St. Paul Island in January 2022. (Loren Holmes \/ ADN archive) <\/p>\n