April 9, 2014 — Kodiak seiners will be scooping up pollock in their nets starting this week.
You heard right. Seiners have a chance to test the waters to determine if a directed pollock fishery makes sense for that type of gear in the Gulf.
Except for a small jig fishery, the only pollock fishery in state waters (out to 3 miles) is at Prince William Sound, where trawlers this year have an 8.5 million-pound catch.
"The initial seine opportunity will just run from April 11 through June 8 so we don't overlap with salmon season. And during that time the harvest will be limited to 500,000 pounds," said Trent Hartill, a groundfish manager for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak. Pollock weigh three to four pounds on average.
The proposal for the trial pollock fishery got the nod in January from the Alaska Board of Fisheries to operate under a special commissioner's permit, Hartill said.
"The purpose of that permit is to test the efficacy of seine gear in catching pollock," he explained. "If it's successful, it will provide information for the Board to determine whether they want to pursue a full-blown fishery or move in whatever direction they desire."
Roughly 190 salmon seiners operate out of Kodiak, and Hartill said there is lots of interest in pollock. The dock price in town is 12-14 cents per pound.
"This is the time when they will have to actually get some gear wet. We may have quite a few that come forward and we may have no vessels," he said. "April 11 is the deadline to sign up, so we'll see."
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