September 24, 2014 — It looks like there could be a lot more Pollock in the Bering Sea than compared to last year. NOAA released a statement Wednesday noting that the preliminary survey results indicate a nearly 60-percent increase in walleye Pollock biomass.
The announcement was initially made during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Plan Team meeting in Seattle. Fishermen and others shouldn’t anticipate that the increase in biomass will result in a significant increase in the catch limit for Pollock. That’s because of the annual 2-million metric ton cap on all groundfish species harvested in the Bering Sea. The increase in Pollock biomass was detected during a couple of survey’s this summer.