Alaska bycatch also is drawing attention from our neighbors in Canada.
In a report submitted ahead of the International Pacific Halibut Commission annual meeting in Anchorage, the province of British Columbia has this to say, in part:
The large trawl fisheries in Alaska experience high volumes of bycatch that impact many species that move between Canadian and U.S. waters. This includes over 157,500 salmon caught as bycatch in Alaskan fleets in 2023, of which over 35,500 were vulnerable Chinook salmon. Incomplete monitoring and Alaskan bycatch of halibut in trawl fisheries impact recruitment of juvenile halibut to the fishery as many halibut caught in industrial trawl nets do not survive release.
3 comments:
"hot topic of late"?
Go back and read old public comments on each NPFMC topic that pertained to halibut. It took a stupid Facebook page to finally get attention.
Canada is getting more and more pissed about the halibut bycatch waste that is depleting the stock from the Bering Sea nursery area all the way down the coast to California. Why the Canadian commissioners and fishermen have not demanded some big changes in Alaska bycatch takes is a travesty. And yes, it has been going on for years. NOAA and the NPFMC are so complicit with the Seattle-based trawl industry they will "discuss" and "analyze" and delay forever while millions of pounds of halibut are tossed over the side every year. Speak up for the damn fish, Canada.
Canada needs to start telling us how to manage our affairs; bycatch, mining, race relations — hell, why not let them vote for our president?
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