Tag Archives: Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association
Massive losses predicted from Bering Sea crab closures
While other crab stocks have been declining in the North Pacific for years, the snow crab fishery’s collapse is doubly shocking for the industry. Not only is it one of the larger crab fisheries by volume in Alaska, it has also gone from booming and healthy to overfished and collapsing within five years, with little warning or clear explanation. Fishermen who made investments in permits and boats less than five years ago are now looking at bankruptcy. Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, the trade organization representing the industry, has estimated the direct financial losses at about $500 million. Adding in the ripple effects to the economy, that estimate rises to about $1 billion. >click to read< 07:50
Crab crash: Effects of collapsed Bering Sea crab stocks are being felt far beyond the fleet
The crash in Bering Sea crab stocks is translating to serious impacts for fishermen and communities across the Western Alaska coast. From the top, the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is closed entirely this season for the first time since the 1990s, while the Bering Sea snow crab total allowable catch was reduced by nearly 90 percent. In the meantime, fishermen who depend on crab are dealing with the fallout of those cuts this year. Gabriel Prout of Kodiak was waiting out a storm in the Akutan harbor last week, after finishing up his snow crab season. The F/V Silver Spray, the vessel he owns with his father and brothers, was only able to go out for 100,000 pounds of snow crab. Of that, they only caught about 75,000 pounds because the fishing was so slow; they traded the rest of the quota for bairdi and headed south. >click to read< 17:39
NPFMC ties limits on Bering Sea trawlers to halibut abundance
The council that manages fishing in federal waters voted to link groundfish trawl fishing in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands to halibut abundance today. The action caps, at least for now, a six-year debate about curbing halibut bycatch in Alaska. For many who have been following that debate, the decision comes as a surprise, since it’s expected to deal what trawlers say is a crushing blow to their fishery. >click to read< 09:10
Central Gulf of Alaska halibut catch limit cut
Halibut catch limits for 2020 have been trimmed overall by seven percent by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, with the Central Gulf of Alaska, Area 3A, allocated a harvest of 7.05 million pounds, down 12.53 percent from 8.06 million pounds in 2019. The largest area percentage cut was for Area CDE, the Bering Sea, where the quota was cut 15.20 percent, from 2.04 million pounds to 1.73 million pounds. Area 4A, in the Aleutians, likewise received a 14.55 percent cut, from 1.65 million pounds in 2019 to 1.41 million pounds for 2020. >click to read< 12:03
Alaska fish fight over community development riches turns nasty – Alaska Dispatch
Divvying up the fish,,,,A case for change,,,,,$54 million in pollock,,,,A positive face,,,,,On the attack,,,,,Profitable halibut fishing,,,,,http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/alaska-fish-fight-over-community-development-riches-turns-nasty?page=full
