Here's the final motion the North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed regarding Gulf of Alaska halibut bycatch.
The action, subject to U.S. commerce secretary approval, would impose a 15 percent reduction in the annual halibut bycatch limit for the trawl and longline catcher vessel fleets targeting groundfish. The longline catcher-processor sector would see a 7 percent reduction.
The cuts would be phased in over three years, starting in 2014.
The council, meeting in Kodiak, passed the motion Friday on a 10-1 vote.
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13 comments:
Phrasing in cuts "over three years" is chicken crap management and, to top it off, we still have two years to wait before these cuts happen! A 15 percent cut in a whopper move right now would show wheither the cut works or not.
What do you expect from the Council which is run by those who benefit most from a high by-catch allowance? In order to even be on the council one must have a deep conflict of interest so that he or she can vote to enhance their own needs. The halibut fishery should be turned over to the State with regulations that give some teeth to the Board of Fish so it can stop this waste of the resource at the expense of so many who depend on it in some way or another.
we in b.c. are paying a high price for your govts. lack of concern over the huge bycatch and lack of a full observer program. concerned b.c. halibut fisherman,ron
Why don't you leave our cod alone, when you harvest your halibut.
at least have the balls to put your name down,ron
We need more watch over the Bering Sea Dragger fleet also, we fish halibut around St. Paul and St. George Island and have conflicts with these boats.... I personally fished an area then they showed up overnight our catch rate fell to sh!t the very next day!!!! Sure fish have tails and move but for crying out loud this is all we got!! Let us hunt for them not you draggers kill them.... Let me say we not fishing 50' boats either! Just trying to make a living!!
Pointing fingers don't help this issue one bit. The little guys are not the biggest problem - disharmony amongst the small time users is causing you guys to lose, lose big time.
For ron in b.c., it's only a matter of time and this whole bycatch issue, mainly the halibut and the king salmon, will have to be dealt with in the higher offices of both the United States of America and Canada. If the management councils are not giving the public satisfaction, then the leaders will have to step in. There is no avoiding the conflict this is causing.
Corporate greed tramples on individual greed everytime. Corporations have more money therefore more power to have the game played their way.
Who was the 1 in the 10-1 vote? Benson?
Here in 2C they whack us back 10-20% a year without regard for the consequences to families and businesses. Really onerous to suffer a 15% cut back over three years!
It sounds as if none of you even know what's coming...once the observers come for you, you'll be forced to look in the mirror. Maybe then you'll learn about your own fishery, you won't have time to point fingers.
If any of you are interested, check out the longline data & estimates that already exist- 60% bycatch isn't going to fly.
Rename it whatever you'd like, fish tossed over the side is bycatch.
Ps Bering sea guys have 200% observer coverage
To the person who asked who the "1" was in the 10-1 vote - yes it was Dave Benson. Several others said they were unenthusiastically voting for the motion as well.
"200% observer coverage" on a captain's schedule most likely.
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