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As halibut decline, Alaska Native fishers square off against industrial fleets
The tiny fishing fleet from St. Paul is losing the fight for halibut, up against factory ships that throw away more of the valuable fish than the Indigenous fishers are allowed to catch.
Halibut are the primary target for Indigenous fishermen in parts of Alaska. Populations are declining, leaving less fish to go around, especially as factory trawlers are scooping them up with the other fish they catch.Photograph by Danita Delimont, Alamy
ByMiranda Weiss
Email
Each year in mid-June, Father John, dressed in long black robes, heads to the small boat harbor on St. Paul, a tiny island of 500 souls in the middle of the Bering Sea. It’s the start of the fishing season, and the Blessing of the Fleet is a community affair, an opportunity to give best wishes to the fishermen heading out into the unforgiving northern waters in search of halibut.