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Alaska commercial fishing news and notes
About me
- Deckboss
- I'm a journalist covering Alaska's commercial fishing industry. My real name is Wesley Loy. Reach me at wloy61@gmail.com.
Alaska commercial fishing news and notes
5 comments:
The same tired commentary on trawling we have heard before. At the Kodiak fisheries debates, one of the governor candidates said it best: "We have been following the science for decades and look where it has got us."
Commissioner, I thank you for your opinion. Being a lifelong Native fisherman of Alaska, I think you are spot on. A lot of us participate in multispecies fishing because that's what we do to survive. We also rely on subsistence. In your opinion letter you did an outstanding breakdown of what's been happening to either prevent or minimize bycatch or incidental catch. It's probably wishful thinking but I certainly hope this would help some people understand what is actually being done. Probably not but I certainly appreciate your opinion and thanks for your eight years of service representing all Alaskans. I'm sure it's not an easy job!
Nice to get the same lazy, conclusive, cookie cutter anti-trawl commentary. One compelling narrative about how we got here: the IPHC overharvested halibut for nearly a decade before fixing its models, then has allowed Canada to overharvest because the treaty is shit, all while cutting back on science and surveys. At the same time, halibut fishermen have opposed lowering size limits, resulting in 12 million pounds of discarded halibut a year. Observer coverage is under 7 percent. Southeast fishermen throw 59,000 dead chinook overboard every year, with zero observer coverage or accountability measures, and sport catch and release mortality on spawners is unmonitored. There's also that whole climate change thing.
I agree with the quoted statement. We've been reducing bycatch and limiting trawling since the '90s. Yet we're still here. Maybe it's time to look elsewhere for a solution.
Inconvenient truth:
2025 GOA halibut trawl bycatch 580,000 pounds
2025 GOA fixed-gear halibut discard mortality 1.8 million pounds
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