Search Results for: halibut bycatch
Federal judge to rule on reduction in trawler halibut bycatch
A U.S. District court judge is expected to issue a decision this spring on a lawsuit filed by the Groundfish Forum challenging a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decision setting abundance-based limits on halibut bycatch in the Amendment 80 Bering Sea trawl fishery. The Groundfish Forum, based in Seattle, filed its complaint with the U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Dec. 19, challenging the new halibut bycatch rules that were first adopted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and subsequently approved by NMFS. On Feb. 29, the Halibut Defense Alliance intervened on the side of NMFS over concerns about the number of halibut taken as bycatch by Amendment 80 vessels in the Bering Sea, saying the limits on halibut bycatch would ensure more equitable access to halibut fisheries. The alliance is a broad coalition of commercial harvesters, charter operators, processors and community organizations representing halibut-dependent communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. more, >>click to read<< 19:52
Bering Sea trawl fleet files lawsuit over new halibut bycatch limits
A trade association representing the Bering Sea bottom-trawl fleet filed a lawsuit this week in federal court, arguing that new halibut bycatch limits are unfair and unlawful. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council in December 2021 approved a new halibut bycatch quota system based on annual surveys of the valuable flatfish. Instead of the current fixed limits, a new abundance-based system means that when halibut stocks are low, bycatch caps could be cut by up to 35%. Based in Washington state, Groundfish Forum — representing five companies and 17 bottom-trawl vessels — sued the National Marine Fisheries Service on Tuesday in response to the new limits, which are set to go into effect Jan. 1. Attorneys argue that the trawl fleet was unfairly singled out by the new rules that could result in “drastic economic consequences.” more, >>click to read<< 08:04
Bering Sea fishermen press NPFMC on halibut bycatch
After years of deliberations, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is inching toward a decision on whether to tie halibut bycatch limits in the Bering Sea to abundance indices. The action, known formally as Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands halibut abundance-based management, or ABM, is intended to reduce bycatch of halibut in the Bering Sea by the Amendment 80 trawl fleet when the fish stocks are lower. The Amendment 80 fleet is a group of catcher-processor vessels that are allocated a portion of groundfish harvest. Each year, the fleet is bound to a hard limit on how many halibut they can take as bycatch, known as the prohibited species catch, or PSC limit. >click to read< 08:34
Bush Caucus urges reduction in halibut bycatch caps
Five members of the Alaska Legislature’s Bush Caucus have asked Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang to advocate for a reduction of halibut bycatch caps during the virtual North Pacific Fishery Management Council now underway. “Millions of pounds of halibut are discarded as bycatch every year,”,,, The Bush caucus noted that halibut fishermen lose a portion of their annual allocation of halibut every year due to the currently high bycatch caps. >click to read< 08:27
Halibut bycatch increases as council considers cod options
Data released preceding the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s upcoming interim meeting shows that almost all the regulatory areas of Alaska from Southeast to the Bering Sea — areas 2C through 4E, respectively — caught more halibut as bycatch in the 2019 season than they did in 2018, with the exception of area 4B, which covers the western Aleutian Islands. Coastwide, from California and British Columbia through the Bering Sea, bycatch increased by more than 1.5 million pounds,,, >click to read< 15:48
Time to rethink halibut bycatch regulations
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is meeting in Homer, A major item up for discussion is Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Halibut Abundance Based Management (BSAI Halibut ABM).,, Directed halibut users are often small-scale fishermen harvesting halibut one hook at a time. Many operations are family owned and contribute to the livelihoods of captains, crews, vessel owners, and communities throughout Alaska. Therefore, if we want small boat fisheries to remain viable and to support sustainable fishing practices and economic opportunities for Bering Sea and Aleutian Island fishing communities, we need to design management plans to do that. By Josh Wisniewski >click to read< 22:32
Social media post criticizes Trident Seafoods, Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet for halibut bycatch
A fisherman based out of Homer posted images on social media of halibut bycatch headed for the grinder at Kodiak’s Trident Seafoods processing plant. The post got a lot of attention online and sparked criticism of Trident, the Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet and a body that regulates the commercial fishing industry. Trident is the largest primary processor of seafood in the United States and is heavily invested in Alaska. “We’re a company built by fishermen for fishermen and we don’t just buy pollock or cod or crab or salmon or halibut, we buy everything that we can sustainably harvest and feed the world with. Halibut is a very important part of our business,” said Lumsden. Longtime fisherman Erik Velsko says if Trident really cares about halibut and sustainability some things need to change. >click to read<18:59
Secretary of Commerce adopts halibut bycatch cuts
The Secretary of Commerce adopted Amendment 111 to the Magnuson-Stevens Act on Wednesday, which cuts halibut bycatch limits for groundfish trawlers. The amendment aims to reduce the bycatch in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes the measure will reduce the overall amount of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands by 361 metric tons compared to 2014, or nearly 800,000 pounds, freeing up more of the lucrative fish for the directed halibut fishermen in the central Bering Sea. Read the rest here 07:38
YEAR IN REVIEW: Federal agenda dominated by halibut bycatch concerns
Halibut 
dominated the federal fisheries process in 2015, with each sector fighting over reduced allocations. Directed halibut fishermen in the North Pacific have watched their quotas drop while the trawl industry prosecuting Bering Sea groundfish has had a relatively static bycatch limit for 20 years. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council governs bycatch while the International Pacific Halibut Commission governs directed removals, and the two have not coordinated on the decline in harvestable halibut biomass. Read the article here 08:38
Halibut Bycatch: a Disappointing Update
On June 9th (10th?), Alaskan halibut fishermen, who have seen their individual quotas cut by up to 70% over the last ten years gathered to watch the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC or North Pacific Council) vote on reduced halibut bycatch caps for trawl fleets fishing in the Bering Sea. Fact sheets from ALFA, stories from KCAW, NPFMC’s Environmental Assessment, and our previous blog post all describe the conservation fight over halibut, but here are a few crucial bullet points as a reminder: Read the rest here 12:03
NPFMC must strike a better balance on halibut bycatch – Charlie Wilber
This commentary is written for all those who appreciate halibut. If you eat halibut, catch halibut, or have an interest in a healthy halibut resource you need to be aware of what happened at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Sitka this past week. Simply put, halibut stocks in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) area are down, and the problem is slowly affecting all of us. Read the rest here 11:07
NPFMC cuts halibut bycatch limit by 25% – Nobody’s happy!
The council had a series of options for cuts of as high as 50 percent in the limit for the trawl fleet. Sam Cotten, proposed a 35 percent cut that he called “a bare minimum, maybe even a bit below.” But Cotten’s motion was amended to a 25 percent cut by Bill Tweit, a Washington council member, who called it a “strong first step” that he said would be followed by more steps to tackle the halibut bycatch. Cotten’s motion was amended to a 25 percent cut by Bill Tweit, He was interrupted by hoots of disagreement from hook-and-line fishermen who attended the meeting and had pushed for a much higher bycatch cut. Read the rest here 07:19 Bering Sea halibut bycatch cut leaves both trawlers and halibut fishermen unhappy, Read the rest here 07:26 Council cuts halibut bycatch in Bering Sea, Read the rest here 07:34
Fishermen give emotional testimony on Halibut bycatch caps at Sitka meeting, resumes at 12:00 Eastern, Listen live
“I mean, why is their family more important than mine?” Balovich asked. “Why are their kids more important than mine? Why is their boat more important than mine? Why is their crew more important than mine?” Trawlers echoed that argument. “Why is a crew member on a directed halibut boat more important than a crew member’s livelihood on a trawl boat?” said Heather Mann, of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. “It’s not. It’s not more important.” Read the rest here Listen Live at adobe connect 11:47
OP-ED: Fears Mount over NPFMC halibut bycatch quota vote
I have been an Alaskan since 1996. I live and work in Dutch Harbor and have built a labor and equipment company providing services to the Amendment 80 vessels. The North Pacific Management Council is meeting in June to decide whether to adjust the Amendment 80 fleet’s allowable halibut by-catch. The Council’s decision is likely to cost Alaskan jobs. We have been providing longshore services either directly or indirectly since 1998. Our company has grown from a few hard working Alaskans to a little over 120 employees. Read the rest here 18:37
Halibut bycatch cap reduction should reflect what we know about the resource
As a fishery scientist who has worked for more than 20 years with trawl fishermen to reduce salmon, crab and halibut bycatch, I find the recent rhetoric around proposed North Pacific Fisheries Management Council changes to the cap very frustrating. In particular, I hear media campaigns underwritten by environmental NGOs claiming, “It’s been 20 years since the halibut bycatch cap was last reduced,” implying that this has created a conservation issue. Read the rest here 14:28
It’s time to reduce Bering Sea halibut bycatch
The summer season is upon us and for many Alaskans this means fishing for one of the state’s most prized species — halibut. During the first week in June, federal fishery managers have an important opportunity to take a stand for those of us in Alaska that value and depend on the halibut resource. At their meeting in Sitka, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will vote on measures to reduce the amount of halibut that can be wasted as bycatch in other fisheries. Read the rest here 21:23
Halibut bycatch issue: A poster child for complex fisheries policy in Alaska
What a conundrum. How does the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council respond to the proposed 50 percent reduction of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery requested by halibut fishermen in the region, without significantly impacting the Amendment 80, Trawl and Freezer Long Line vessels in their stead? Regardless how you look at it or what your personal involvement in any of the above fisheries is, major policy shifts in any of the multiple fisheries in the Bering Sea can absolutely impact,,, Read the rest here 12:08
2 Alaska fisheries council representatives disqualified from voting on halibut bycatch
In a move that throws a curveball into the volatile halibut bycatch issue, two Alaska representatives have been disqualified from voting when the matter comes before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council when it meets June 1-9 in Sitka. Simon Kineen and David Long both must recuse themselves because of their employment by groundfish companies, creating a financial conflict of interest. Ironically, both had voted on the side of halibut small boat fishermen in December. Read the rest here 07:56
Seattle-based trawlers facing prospect of 50% halibut bycatch cut – Whopping salmon harvest, and A new, safer Vicky
Many Alaskans are speaking out against the more than 6 million pounds of halibut dumped overboard each year as bycatch in trawl fisheries targeting flounder, rockfish, perch, mackerel and other groundfish — not pollock., Whopping salmon harvest – In all, Alaskans are bracing for a huge season — state managers project a harvest of 221 million salmon, a whopping 39 percent higher than last year., A new, safer Vicky – Few fishermen go to sea without their Vickies — the small, sharp Victorinox Swiss Army knife used for everything that needs a quick cut. Read the rest here 16:15
Unalaska city council ducks halibut bycatch issue
When Mayor Shirley Marquardt goes to bat for the industrial fishing fleet in the struggle over halibut bycatch next month in Sitka, she won’t be speaking on behalf of the Unalaska City Council. The city council did vote to pay her way to the meeting, but avoided the halibut bycatch issue. The fish versus fish battle puts halibut one side, facing off against yellowfin sole, turbot, flounder and other flatfish, and Pacific ocean perch, sold mainly in Asia by the Seattle-based distant water fleet. Read the rest here 18:46 This revealing article has miraculously, disappeared!
GUEST COMMENTARY: Bering Sea halibut bycatch cuts critical for conservation
I’ll also be considering what’s coming up after I return to homeport — the June convening of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Sitka. There the Council will take final action on the proposed reduction of halibut bycatch caps in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, or BSAI, region.This decision point comes after a decade of steady stock decline, during which time the directed halibut fishery quota in the BSAI has dropped by 63 percent. Halibut fishermen in the hardest hit region — the Central Bering Sea — are facing closure Read the rest here 13:12
Movement grows in Alaska against halibut bycatch
Across the state, letters and resolutions supporting the reduction of halibut bycatch caps in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) fisheries are surfacing — calling attention to a widespread and diverse movement for change. As directed halibut fisheries in the Bering Sea have reached crisis-level lows, bycatch limits on that same species remains at its decades-long level of 7.3 million pounds. Despite some voluntary bycatch reductions by the fleet, BSAI fisheries killed and discarded seven times more halibut (animals, not pounds) in 2014 than the directed fishery landed in that same region. Read the rest here 19:32
Alaskan Coastal legislators support halibut bycatch cuts
The Alaska legislature’s coastal representatives sent a letter to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council expressing support for 50 percent halibut bycatch cap reductions for the groundfish fleet in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. “Over the past decade,” the legislators wrote, “more than 62 million pounds of halibut has been caught, killed, and discarded as bycatch in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands. During the same period, landings of halibut as the target species have declined from an already alarmingly small 52 percent,,, Read the rest here 11:27
From the Fleet – Setting the Record Straight on Bering Sea Halibut Bycatch, Ludger Dochtermann, Kodiak
We, as Alaska Longline Fishers, are joined by Washington State halibut fishermen who also fish Alaskan waters. In 2012, statewide, 2,009 residents and 565 non-Alaskans held halibut quotas for Alaska waters; and 1,168 crew, as well. Thousands more are deckhands. Many longliners fish the Area 4 districts, waters of the Bering Sea, where the trawl bycatch problem is at its worst. In 2012, 308 Alaskans held 14.8 million pounds, and 186 non-Alaskans held 18.2 million; on average, the non-Alaskan holdings averaged twice what Alaskans held per person. Co-written by Stephen Taufen, Groundswell Fisheries Movement Read he rest here 11:46
Fishermen’s Finest delivering petition against halibut bycatch decreases to Washington state governor
The petition includes 23,000 signatures, which the company gathered in 17 days, supporting its aim of convincing the governor to stop the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) from imposing proposed decreases — ranging from 10% to 50% — to the halibut bycatch allotment for Alaska groundfish fleets. “This reallocation will cause a handful of Alaska fishermen to gain an additional $44 million over the next ten years but will cause the loss of $1.2 billion and 4,900 jobs in the Washington state fishing and shipbuilding industry,” the company says in a petition. Read the rest here 16:29
Halibut bycatch tough to manage
A lot has changed in Alaska since commercial vessels began fishing for halibut off the coastline in 1888, but in almost 130 years, halibut has remained a staple of the state’s fishing economy and culture. Along with salmon and crab, no species of fish captures the Alaskan imagination and fills Alaskan pocketbooks more than halibut. So it comes as little surprise that the Bering Sea fishery’s estimated 4.5 million pounds of halibut bycatch in 2014 has lot of people concerned. Read the rest here 18:18
Tradex 3-Minute Market Insight: Controversial Halibut Bycatch Reductions; Stock Scarcity Closes Golden King Crab Fishery
After speaking to a few Alaska trawl boat groups, some feel the recent decisions by IPHC are unfairly weighted on the trawl fisheries The Golden King Crab is the most abundant species of crab in their Alaska range; however, the closure announcement comes as a result of abnormal and EXTREMELY low harvests this season. Watch the update here 09:31
Alaska groundfish fleets face big blow from halibut bycatch proposals
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fleets are staring down at what could be a shocking blow to revenues next year. The North Pacific Fishery Management (NPFMC) is considering halibut bycatch allocation reductions for BSAI groundfish fleets ranging from 10% to 50%, with a final vote slated for its June meeting. As the potential impacts of this blow begin to sink in, one company — three-decade old Fishermen’s Finest — has already assessed the damages, and they’re not pretty. Read the rest here 16:39
NPFMC to review 50 percent cut on halibut bycatch
Halibut harvests have been on the decline in the Bering Sea for several years. But the amount that trawlers and catcher-processors are allowed to take incidentally has stayed the same. Now, fishery regulators have agreed to consider stiffer limits on halibut bycatch. Read the rest here 16:08
Had it with high halibut bycatch? Tell the NPFMC by May 26
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