Tag Archives: declared a disaster
From fish traps to factory trawlers — A ‘back to the future’ look at Seattle’s fishing industry
An advertiser-sponsored article in the Seattle Times gushed “Wild Alaska pollock’s fishing fleet is based right here in Seattle although all of the fish are caught in U.S. waters off of the coast of Alaska. This fishery benefits the economic growth of the entire region, including the North Pacific Fishing Fleet.” That includes 300 commercial fishing vessels of which 226 fish in Alaska. Many of the boats are huge catcher-processors — factory trawlers — that target pollock, cod, rockfish, flounders and other “groundfish” species. Alaska pollock alone is a 3 billion-pound fishery worth roughly $2 billion. And every year, the Seattle trawlers take home up to 76% of the value of ALL groundfish caught in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. It’s not a new scenario. Starting in 1885 and until Alaska became a state in 1959, Seattle companies used big traps to catch salmon throughout the territory. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:55 By Laine Welch
NOAA shielding key legal document – “That information is attorney-client privileged!” Ciaran Clayton, NOAA’s director of communications
The legal document underpinning the decision of NOAA’s regional administrator against easing the 77 percent cod limit cuts seen as a death knell for the industry starting May 1 will not be shared with the public, the agency has advised the Times. According to NOAA officials, the office of NOAA General Counsel Lois Schiffer submitted a legal brief to Gloucester-based Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard last month that gave the legal reasoning behind his decision against allowing the Northeast groundfishery, declared a disaster in September by the acting commerce secretary, to be allowed a second year of interim emergency relief from extreme cutbacks in Gulf of Maine cod. Read more
