Tag Archives: charter operators

New halibut catch share plan included in federal bill

Charter operators in the Gulf of Alaska will soon be able to buy halibut quota from willing commercial fishermen. That’s after funding was included for a new catch-sharing program in the federal omnibus budget bill, passed at the end of last month. Seward’s Andy Mezirow is on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and has been a champion of the program for a while. He said it’s a long time coming. The program was vetoed by President Donald Trump in his final weeks in office and had to go through the Congressional approval process — twice. >click to read< 14:37

Rec Fishers, environmentalists join forces in NT debate (attack) over impact of finfish trawling

89914-004-FA5DC9A7Amateur fishers have banded together with charter operators, environmentalists and some commercial fishers to raise an alarm about the ecological and social impacts of finfish trawling in the Northern Territory. The unusual alliance has been drawn together as stocks of some of the Territory’s most-prized fish species dwindled. The groups – which have often been at odds with each other – have come together with the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) to raise their concerns.,, Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the NT (AFANT) chief executive Tristan Sloan said AFANT had received reports of damage in the Timor Reef from finfish trawling, and likened it to the “maritime equivalent of two … bulldozers and a length of chain dragging along the bottom, dredging up all the coral”. Read the rest here 11:27