Halibut Bycatch
Dear Editor: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s dismal decision last week on halibut bycatch sacrificed conservation and community to corporate profits. The council voted to reduce Bering Sea halibut bycatch caps by 21 percent, a reduction that sounds significant but actually allows future Bering Sea bycatch to be 1 percent higher than 2014 levels. Why the discrepancy? Trawl bycatch has been below bycatch caps in recent years, an accomplishment facilitated by sharp declines in halibut abundance.
Since 2000, the Bering Sea halibut “exploitable biomass” – fish over 26 inches in length – has declined from over 200 million pounds to 40 million pounds; directed fishery limits have been reduced from 14 million pounds to 3 million pounds – both approximately 80 percent reductions. Meanwhile bycatch caps remained unchanged and bycatch mortality declined by a mere 17 percent. Small fish, which traditionally leave the Bering Sea nursery grounds for the Gulf of Alaska and points south as three-, four- and five-year-olds, failed to appear. In short, the river of halibut that once flowed from the Bering Sea is being drained at the source.
ALFA will treat the council’s decision as reason to redouble efforts to protect the halibut resource and Alaska’s fishing communities. As we plan our next steps, I want to express the deep appreciation of our association for everyone who wrote letters or gave testimony in support of bycatch reductions. Commercial, sport, charter and subsistence fishermen from across the state were united in a common commitment to protecting resource and community. Sitka residents joined forces with Alaskans from Savoonga to Ketchikan to demand bycatch reductions. I was proud to be part of this community, and I know I speak for all ALFA members in saying a very grateful thank you.
Linda Behnken, Executive Director
ALFA
