Saving Seafood

Secretary of Commerce approves measure to reduce Bering Sea halibut bycatch

January 20, 2016 — The following was released by the NOOA Alaska Regional Office:

The Secretary of Commerce has approved a fishery management plan amendment to reduce halibut bycatch in four sectors of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. NOAA Fisheries anticipates the amendment will reduce the actual amount of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands by approximately 361 metric tons compared to 2014. It may also provide additional harvest opportunities in the directed commercial, personal use, sport, and subsistence halibut fisheries.

In recent years, the International Pacific Halibut Commission – the joint U.S.-Canadian body charged with management of Pacific halibut – has determined that the exploitable biomass of halibut has declined, particularly in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. This decline has resulted in reductions to the catch limits for the directed commercial halibut fishery in Area 4, in particular Area 4 CDE in the eastern and northern Bering Sea.

Groundfish fisheries–which seek to catch species like pollock and yellowfin sole–regularly encounter halibut as bycatch during their fishing operations.

In response to declining commercial catch limits for the directed commercial halibut fishery, in June 2015, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended reducing halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. The council’s recommendation was Amendment 111 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

Amendment 111 reduces the overall Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limit by 21% to 3,515 metric tons (mt). The PSC limits are reduced by specific amounts for the following groundfish sectors:

  • Amendment 80 sector by 25% to 1,745 mt;
  • BSAI trawl limited access sector by 15% to 745 mt;
  • BSAI non-trawl sector by 15% to 710 mt; and
  • Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program (CDQ sector) by 20% to 315 mt.

The Secretary approved Amendment 111 after determining that it is consistent with the national standards in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

NOAA Fisheries will publish a final rule for the measure this spring, which will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. For more information, visit NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional website.

 

 

Largest US fishery (Alaska Pollock) proves it’s sustainable, again

January 14, 2016 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Seattle, WA – The largest fishery in the U.S. and the largest certified sustainable fishery in the world1, Alaska Pollock has again achieved re-certification to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. This science-based standard is the world’s most credible and recognized standard for environmentally sustainable wild-caught seafood. The Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Pollock fisheries have been certified to this standard since 2005.

Alaska Pollock is among the top five most consumed fish per capita in the U.S2. Its mild flavor and flaky texture make it popular for consumers around the world. Primary markets for Alaska Pollock products are the U.S., Europe (where it is Germany’s most consumed fish) and Japan. The U.S. and Europe are the main markets for fillet-type products, which are used for fish and chips, fish tacos, fish sandwiches and fish sticks. Japan is the principal market for Alaska pollock surimi, which is used as the primary ingredient in a wide range of surimi seafood products (kamaboko).

Jim Gilmore, At-sea Processors Association, the fishery client for the Alaska Pollock reassessment emphasizes, “We are proud to be one of the 10 fisheries globally to be certified as meeting the MSC’s rigorous sustainability standard three times. Alaska Pollock continues to earn among the highest certification scores of any fishery in the MSC program. This re-certification reaffirms the Alaska Pollock industry’s continued leadership in responsible fishing.”

The 2016 Alaska Pollock season will begin on January 20. A federal fishery advisory body, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, recommended to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce a precautionary 1.34 million metric ton annual quota for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, which is several hundred thousand tons less than federal fishery scientists determined can be sustainably harvested. The Gulf of Alaska Pollock fishery is set at 257,872 metric tons, a 30% increase from the 2015 quota and within the safe harvest level determined by federal fishery scientists. 

Pat Shanahan, Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, the marketing trade association for Alaska Pollock said: “The fishery management system is known for its conservative management practices, so these quota increases indicate an exceptionally healthy Alaska Pollock fishery in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Seafood buyers and consumers can rest assured that Alaska Pollock is one of the world’s largest and most sustainable fisheries.”

The internationally recognized blue MSC ecolabel will continue to assure consumers that Alaska Pollock products can be traced back to a certified sustainable source. 

Brian Perkins, MSC regional director – Americas, said: “The MSC’s vision is for oceans to be teeming with life for future generations. Alaska Pollock has successfully created and maintained new markets, especially in the U.S. and Europe, over the past decade. We are extremely pleased to see this fishery succeed in the MSC process yet again.”

The independent assessment of the Alaska Pollock fisheries was conducted by MRAG Americas, an accredited third-party conformity assessment body. MRAG Americas assembled a team of fishery science and policy experts to evaluate the fishery according to the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard: the health of the stock; the impact of fishing on the marine environment; and the management of the fishery. The MSC process is open to stakeholders and all results are peer reviewed.

Pacific cod eating seabirds, study shows

November 9, 2015 — You could call it revenge on the birds.

While many marine birds are well known for their skills at diving into the sea to pluck out fishy meals, there is now solid evidence that some Pacific cod have turned the tables on the avian species.

The practice came to light a few years ago when seafood workers in Dutch Harbor noticed that some of the cod they were processing came with extra features — partially digested birds in the fish stomachs.

Scientists from the Alaska SeaLife Center and University of Alaska have now examined remains of 74 birds collected from cod stomachs in 2011 and have some findings described in a study published online in the journal Marine Ornithology.

The bird remains come from cod caught in the Aleutian Islands region, off Cape Sarichef in Unimak Pass, using trawl and pot gear. The fish were processed at the UniSea plant in Dutch Harbor; the plant froze the bird remains and sent them to the scientists for analysis.

There have been other known cases of big fish eating small seabirds elsewhere in the world, the new study says, and past surveys by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have turned up, in very rare instances, bits of birds inside cod. In one case, a NOAA researcher found a murre foot in a cod stomach.

But the evidence from Dutch Harbor appears to be the first documentation of Pacific cod making a practice of eating birds, said study co-author Tuula Hollmen, science director at the SeaLife Center and an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News

 

Aleutians monument fought as threat, derided as ‘straw man’

September 29, 2015 — Alaska Congressman Don Young and other Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee this morning attacked the idea that President Obama might create a marine national monument around the Aleutian Islands, with unknown effects on the fishing industry. But the administration has given no sign it’s considering the notion.

At a subcommittee hearing, Congressman Young said a marine national monument around the Aleutians would be terrible for the fishing industry.

“I’ve watched this over and over: The creeping cancer of the federal government overreaching,” Young said. “The worst managers of any resource is the federal government. They do not manage. They preclude.”

The idea of protecting the waters of the Aleutian Chain came from environmentalist and retired UAA professor Rick Steiner. Last year, he proposed a massive marine sanctuary, covering all the federal waters of Bristol Bay and thousands of miles of the Bering Sea. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration killed the idea, saying it lacked local support. That seemed to be the end of it, except that Steiner launched an online petition telling President Obama he should create an Aleutian national monument instead. (Under the Antiquities Act, the president can just declare a monument on his own.) Steiner’s plea to Obama, on thepetitionsite.com, has attracted more than 100,000 supporters, many from foreign countries. Steiner was not invited to the hearing to defend his idea.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media