NOAA is seeking public comment for a rule that will restrict the use of "hired skippers" to fish IFQ's of halibut and sablefish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska in a move by the agency to preserve the region's owner-operator fleet.
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery got underway last week with two openings March 27 and 28 that scooped up nearly half of the 11,549-ton quota.
The two openings combined produced a catch of 5,700 tons of very ripe, “excellent quality” herring, with roe counts averaging between 12.3 and 15.9 percent.
The fleet of 48 seine boats took some time off to allow processors to catch up, but then were given another opportunity March 30.
A new plan is being crafted by federal managers for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries that will reduce bycatch by trawlers, and it will very likely result in a catch share plan. Now is the time for fishing residents to make sure the new program protects their access to local resources and sustains, instead of drains, their coastal communities.
Currently, the plan includes trawlers in the Central Gulf and both trawl and pot cod gear in the Western Gulf.
Halibut fishing in Alaska will open March 23, and this year, like the last, Southeast Alaska fishermen will see a slight uptick in their allowable catch.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council took preliminary steps toward action on a number of issues at its February meeting, including revising the definition of a fishing guide. Currently, the federal definition requires that a customer and guide be on the same boat. According to enforcement and staff reports, this has lead to an issue in Southeast Alaska where some businesses are circumventing charter regulations by using more than one boat. A client rents a boat, while the guide goes out in a different vessel and provides help to the customer.
Charter-boat anglers in the heartland of the Alaska halibut fishery will get at least one more year of good times. Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia, this week, the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) voted to follow the lead of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and maintain a two-fish-per-day limit for charter and other anglers in what’s known as Area 3A.
Harvesters at the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s annual meeting returned to their discussion of bycatch today, ultimately passing motions that ask the commission to take serious steps toward reducing bycatch in the Pacific.
The International Pacific Halibut Commission will meet in Victoria, British Columbia, Jan. 21 to Jan. 25 to set catch limits and review its management strategies.
The Boat Company filed documents in Alaska District Court on December 21, challenging the restructured monitoring program developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service for federal waters off the coast of Alaska.
Depending on their quarry, some commercial fishermen working Alaska waters can expect a productive year in 2013, while others will face tighter limits.
Pollock harvesters heard good news at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Anchorage Dec. 5 to 11. The total allowable catch, or TAC, for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock was set at 1.27 million metric tons, about a 4 percent increase versus the 1.22 million metric ton harvest for 2012.
Pollock harvesters heard good news at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Anchorage Dec. 5 to 11. The total allowable catch, or TAC, for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock was set at 1.27 million metric tons, about a 4 percent increase versus the 1.22 million metric ton harvest for 2012.
A restructured groundfish and halibut observer program, aimed at improving fisheries management and minimizing bycatch, commences in January with a two-month deployment for selected vessels rather than the initial three-month plan.
Halibut catches could be cut by 33 percent next year if proposed numbers get the nod by the International Pacific Halibut Commission next month. That would mean a coast wide harvest of just 22.7 million pounds for fisheries in California, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Alaska's share of the halibut catch would be 17.4 million pounds, down from about 25 million this year.
