Gulf of Alaska fishermen to council: don’t experiment with our fisheries
A majority of Gulf of Alaska groundfish trawlers will voluntarily suspend fishing in order to attend the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, Oregon the first week in February. They are concerned that the recent State of Alaska proposal to restructure their fisheries would seriously harm their livelihoods and the economies of their fishery dependent communities. “This is really quite unique,” said Julie Bonney, executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank based in Kodiak, Alaska, in a press release. “Fishermen agreeing to stand down, essentially losing income, in order to make this trip to provide their input demonstrates just how important this change in management is to the fishing industry.” Read the article here 08:28
This is irrational. Rationalizing bycatch? The false narrative of ending the “race to fish” is bullshit. The processors dictate delivery dates. This is catch shares.