Tag Archives: Gulf of Alaska trawlers

Cotten, council get a bycatch reduction plan earful from Gulf of Alaska trawlers

01middlecouncil-trawl-bycatchAn administrative push to keep fishing jobs in coastal communities is butting heads with the trawl industry claiming they provide the jobs in the first place. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will continue studying a bycatch reduction plan unpopular with Gulf of Alaska trawlers. The option, known as Alternative 3, would allocate individual bycatch caps to groundfish vessels in the Gulf of Alaska rather than the target species. The council is making changes at the fleet’s insistence. The council passed a series of chinook salmon bycatch limits and halibut bycatch reductions in 2011 and 2012, leading to bycatch-related shutdowns of the trawl fleet. Read the rest here  13:23

More Catch Shares – NPFMC adds options to Gulf of Alaska bycatch package

no_bullshit_hardhat_sticker-r292a06754eb14e5d84d299ecaac82d10_v9waf_8byvr_512The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has added an alternative to the ongoing redraft of the Gulf of Alaska bycatch management plan. The council now has a broad array of options, including 100 percent observer coverage for Gulf of Alaska trawlers, cooperative catch shares, individual catch shares of both groundfish quota and bycatch caps, and reductions in overall bycatch caps. The plan aims to slow the “race for fish” that accompanies derby-style, open access fisheries, where vessels compete with each other to catch as much as possible within the season dates.  Read the rest here 15:23