October 16, 2014 — Catch shares in the Gulf of Alaska are one step closer after the North Pacific Fishery Management Council asked for analysis of an alternative structure to reduce bycatch and end the race to fish.
After more than a day of staff reports and public testimony on a possible Gulf of Alaska trawl bycatch management program, the North Pacific council on Oct. 12 unanimously agreed to a motion asking for formal analysis of a program that would allocate pollock and Pacific cod harvest privileges to trawl fishermen participating in voluntary cooperatives.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell, who represents the state on the council, made the motion for action; it was amended by other council members before passing unanimously.
The motion does not provide a precise direction for the program, instead calling for more information on a variety of ideas that have been brought forward in stakeholder discussions over the past year.
The motion identifies pollock and Pacific cod as target species, and halibut and king salmon as prohibited species catch. Under a second option, the council will also receive analysis of rockfish as a target species. Gulf rockfish is already managed under a catch share program It also asks for analysis of several other secondary species including sablefish, several species of rockfish, and skates.
The program has been discussed as a way to provide tools to reduce bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska, and the analysis will look at several ways to do so, including reducing prohibited species catch limits for king salmon and halibut, shifting the annual pollock fishing season so that it occurs earlier in the year, when there is typically less king salmon bycatch, and allowing trawlers to use pot gear instead of trawl nets.