A difficult fought against against fight by stakeholders of Alaska s halibut
resourceto limit the incidental harvest in the valued fish requires a
stepforward, in the move calculated by federal fisheries managers to giveGulf of
Alaska groundfish fisheries time to adjust. The knowledge before the North
Off-shore Fishery Management Council atKodiak at June 21 came after extensive
testimony mostly for, butalso against trading in convey a fifteen percent
reduction in the tons ofhalibut taken yearly in Gulf of Alaska groundfish
fisheries.Beneath the motion passed a ten-1 election, the bycatch reduction
willbe implemented at seven percent in 2014, then 5 % in 2015 and 3percent in
2016. More than 1,500 people signed onto instructions asking the council forthe
reduction in the bycatch quota, mainly in the face ofdeclining halibut stocks
plus a lack of the normal size thesucculent flatfish. The motion approved a
fifteen percent reduction in bycatch inside the trawland hook and line gear
inside the catcher vessel fleetAnd a 7percent reduction in bycatch inside the
freezer-longliner catcherprocessor watercraft. Jonathan Warrenchuk, an ocean
investigator with Oceana, a conservationgroup dedicated to protection around the
world s oceans, mentioned thephased in approach would be a surprise. It's pretty
apparent,situation a Band Aid, he mentioned. The halibut resource lookslike it's
at risk and managers are generating big cuts. but thecuts were needed now. They
weren t even considering a big numberto begin with.
This can be a lot of a
contract. Still, Warrenchuk calculated any time fully in place in 2016,
theaction would create home loan business over 300 metric tons ofhalibut yearly.
Linda Behnken, executive director in the Alaska LonglineFishermen s Association
in Sitka, plus a extended time advocate ofsharing lower to resource
sustainability among thestakeholders, thanked the council to consider
significant action toprotect our halibut resource. Behnken mentioned she was
speaking onbehalf in the longliner association, as well as the more than 1,500
sport,commercial, subsistence harvesters as well as other halibut clients
inAlaska who referred to as for decreasing the waste. That which you say is
always that at the moment it is important toreduce exploitation round the stocks
by all clients to guard thatrebuilding potential in the stock, she mentioned.
Behnken advised the council that inside the late eighties, when theprevious
halibut bycatch allowance was resolute for Gulf ofAlaska groundfish fisheries,
the commercial catch limit was 69million pounds. By 2012, the world Off-shore
HalibutCommission had, in many conservation efforts that belongs to them,reduced
the allowable commercial catch to 34 million pounds. 15 % can be a reasonable
compromise, she mentioned. This step might help safeguard the fitness of the
halibutpopulation as well as the jobs of thousands of business and
charterhalibut anglers inside our seaside cities who rely on halibut bending machinery,
mentioned Theresa Peterson, a fish harvester and Kodiak outreachcoordinator for
your Alaska Marine Conservation Council. Weapplaud the council to consider this
important starting point and welook toward the long term action by fishery
managers to furtherlimit bycatch for your extended-term health in the halibut
resource, she mentioned. The council, mentioned Alaska Commissioner of Fish and
Game CoraCampbell, is transferring to reduce bycatch for the extent
practicablegiven the issue the fleet is at now. The phased cutback inbycatch
limits is always to provide here i am in the gulf groundfish industryto adjust
to the reductions, she mentioned. Council chairman Eric Olson mentioned the
phased bycatch reduction wouldhelp incrementally however that tools should be
made to helpthe fleet deal with less halibut and the man wanted that discussion
wouldbegin quickly. Julie Bonney, executive director in the Alaska Groundfish
Data Bankin Kodiak , recommended a 5 year research plan to uncover what
iscausing losing the halibut biomass and size the halibut.She advised the
council to prevent bycatch reductions until thematter happen to be examined
further and tools made to reduce thebycatch busbar machine.
Developing a big cut round the trawl side will not increase theproductivity of
halibut stocks, she mentioned. The council also heard recommended amendments in
the own membershipto decrease the bycatch limits also to raise the phased
inapproach.
Council member John Henderschedt, of, Dallas, recommended
reducingthe bycatch limit by twelve percent, rather than fifteen percent,
whilecouncil member Bill Tweit, in the Washington Department of Fish andWildlife
offered an amendment for the motion to stretch the phasedin reduction in halibut
bycatch limits to four years, in order toallow more hours to develop tools in
reducing the bycatch. Both amendments not successful. The trawl fisheries are
actually under fire for several years because of thehuge nets they'll useThat
catch many fish aside from people they aretargeting. When people fish remain in
to the ocean,their mortality minute rates are minimal. National standards for
fishery conservation and management set downa volume of mandates for fisheries
managers to check out in allfishery management plans and then for any rules
promulgated toimplement such plans. Much mention within the Kodiak meeting
consists of individuals nationalstandards, particularly national standards 1, 8
and 9. The firstdirects that conservation and management measures
preventoverfishing while achieving, around the ongoing basis, the optimumyield
from each fishery for your fishing industry. National Standard 8 directs that
conservation and managementmeasures must consider the requirement for fishery
resourcesto fishing cities and lower adverse economic impacts onsuch cities.
National Standard 9 dictates that conservation and managementmeasures shall, for
the extent practicable, minimize bycatch and tothe extent bycatch can not be
avoided, minimize the mortality ofsuch bycatch. People have seriously anxiously
waited decades for responsive action busbar punching cutting bending
machine, saidKodiak s Peterson. Thirty-five cities in Alaska are with action
here. Wedo don't have the posh to sit down lower back and do nothing at all
whatsoever right now.
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