Alaska needs a major halibut bycatch reduction, by David Bayes
I’ve watched as longline and charter halibut allocations have declined steadily, and have long awaited the day when regulators would hold trawlers accountable for their waste. 
Though the halibut stocks in the Bering Sea may seem unimportant to Anchorage and the Peninsula, the Northeastern migration of growing halibut means problems that begin in the Bering Sea will soon enough carry through to our area. Though the Bering Sea is a remote region, what precedent does Alaska set by allowing this blatant abuse of one of our most valuable and symbolic resources? Read the rest here 11:11
Just a few questions. I trust these are Mid-Water Trawlers, are the Bottom of the Doors shiny? Thus they’d be tending Bottom instead of up in the Water Column, which Mid-Water would imply. What is the Observer coverage? Is the Halibut catch higher at Night? Finally did NOAA/NMFS or the Commerce Dept. provide low interest FINANCING for these Vessels and they want to make sure they get their MONEY back? The latter is causing blindness or lack of Law Enforcement in other Fisheries. I’m sure there are a few current and/or retired State EPOs’ on loan to NMFS O.L.E. could shed light on this…
S.B.H. You should post this at the original site. Would be good to see discussion.
Hey Alaskagal, thanks for the comeback. I checked things out there. It looks like Facebook only and I have no desire to join FB. If you’d like Cut and Paste my Comment. Then direct them here so they can see where I’m coming from. Best to ya Gal…