The author, Kevin M. Bailey, formerly was a senior scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The publisher is the University of Chicago Press.
From the book description:
Bailey delves into the science, politics, and economics surrounding Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea, detailing the development of the fishery, the various political machinations that have led to its current management, and, perhaps most important, its impending demise.
Good. Books need to be written about the pollock and how it's fishery is killing off the King Salmon as Bycatch while a hundreds year old culture and tradition of the Western Alaska people is being destroyed.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that they are going to destroy the Salmon Culture of Western Alaska before they stop fishing pollock. "Money Changes Everything", Cyndi Lauper, 1983.
ReplyDeleteYou Salmon guys can rest assured that we will desimate the pollock fishery before we wipe out the Salmon. We are just that dumb!!!
ReplyDeleteBanning trawlers in the Bering Sea would greatly decrease the decimation of highly prized salmon, halibut and rockfish.
ReplyDeleteWe can just put villages, whole villages-every man, woman, and baby on a factory trawler.One per village. That way it wouldn't be salmon bycatch, it would be subsistence!
ReplyDeleteThe pollock man who called himself "dumb" could be just that but I disagree. The fishery supposedly has all these ocean scientists providing sound data to the NPFMC who in turn decides how much pollock they will be allowed to harvest season by season.
ReplyDeleteWell, they got the biggest salmon and halibut out of their way and now supposedly they are avoiding salmon schools with their "rolling hot spots" and now they are going to vamp up the Observer Program. All this is actually 30 years too late. The damage is already done and the damage will continue as long as we allow this fishery to continue.
I agree with Mr. Bennett, BAN TRAWLING in the BERING SEA. An act of Congress can do just that. Write to your Congress men.
If we approach this problem as rational humans that some of us are, we wouldn't be making stupid jokes which down plays the seriousness of the situation.
ReplyDeleteNo, let's stop jerking the village people around. It's oppressive. That is what 3rd world countries do to their poor and illiterate.
If we can send exploring machines to Mars like what is going on now, we can save the King Salmon. But, the crux of the problem lies with a handful of people with billions and billions of dollars in their hands vs a huge population of poor people in Western Alaska. Guess the plan is to keep them on the Welfare Train to No Where.
What's going on is absolutely disgusting especially for this day and age.
I have 2 cents to add here just for the somewhat vane desire to get my opinion out there. I used to be on killer whale research vessels in the Bering and on the Russian side, and after that, became a salmon troller and longliner in the Gulf. The pure waste and decimation that I saw in the Bering, Russian and American, from trawlers is the most awful scene of natural destruction and waste I have ever seen. Now I live in far northern Norway and before my current job unloaded autoliners and trawlers up here. They have already decimated, wiped out, their salmon and halibut here. The highly valued cod is on the downturn despite increasing catch quotas this year (??) and trawling is about the only show in town despite a relatively small, small boat fleet and of course autoliners. My years here in Norway have given me a glimpse into what is in store for Alaska and this saddens me on very profound levels. Its all backwards! The allocation should first and foremost consider native and subsistence harvesters. If trawling is not curtailed, banned or at least regulated at a reasonable level, Alaska, the Bering and the Gulf will become only rich memories and stories we tell to our children. A few people will become very wealthy, some politicians will be re-elected and become more powerful, some immigrants working on processors will have been paid pennies, some crewmen and women will earn a living and the fish will be gone. Then the drilling can start in earnest. I know we do not wasnt this, but then why are we letting it happen?
ReplyDeleteGreed. Pure unadulterated Greed.
ReplyDeleteWiping out resources in the way of extracting another is not responsible or considerate of the environment in general. Hold all resource harvesters accountable to the laws, rules and regulations right down to the periods! Fine them; shut them down; use every angle possible. The poor who live off of the land expects their rights to be protected by the resources managers. It's as simple as that!
ReplyDeleteBlogger @ 11:38 AM, 1/25 asks "..why are we letting it happen?".
ReplyDeleteFirst, we're not letting it happen. The regulators and the industry is letting it happen while they spoon feed the poor people of Western Alaska BS that stinks to the high heavens and back. Pollock promises for the future.
We need to start asking WHAT ABOUT NOW? before the King Salmon disappear off the face of the earth.