A big boost for Cook Inlet EEZ sockeye

The National Marine Fisheries Service has published a total allowable catch of 800,126 sockeye for this year's Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone salmon fishery.

That's well above last year's TAC of 492,100 sockeye.

This will be the second season fishing in the EEZ will operate under federal management, not state.

Limit set for Cook Inlet EEZ sockeye

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is recommending a total allowable catch of 800,126 sockeye this year in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone.

That's well above last year's TAC of 492,100 sockeye, which seems to make sense with forecasters calling for an excellent Cook Inlet sockeye run this year.

Cook Inlet EEZ salmon limits specified

The National Marine Fisheries Service today proposed 2024 catch limits for salmon in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone.

These include a total allowable catch of 492,100 sockeye.

For much more detail, see this notice published in the Federal Register.

The Cook Inlet conundrum

Cook Inlet salmon always has been been a troublesome topic, and this theme continued at the recent North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Seattle.

Federal officials, working under a court order, are preparing to take over salmon management from the state in the inlet's federal waters, or Exclusive Economic Zone.

At the meeting, council member Jon Kurland, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Alaska, offered a motion with 2024 total allowable catch levels for sockeye and other salmon species in the Cook Inlet EEZ.

Well, for a variety of stated reasons, the council's Alaska members — Rachel Baker, Angel Drobnica (council chair), John Jensen, Nicole Kimball, Andy Mezirow and Rudy Tsukada — declined to support the motion.

Voting in favor were Kurland and the members from other states — Washington's Kenny Down, Bill Tweit and Anne Vanderhoeven, and Oregon's John Seabourne.

Thus, the motion failed 6-5.

Where do the go from here?

NMFS will set the salmon TACs for the Cook Inlet EEZ.

How many Cook Inlet EEZ salmon?

With the feds poised to take over management of salmon fisheries this year in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone, we're beginning to get a sense of how many salmon will be available for harvest in the area.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is recommending a total allowable catch of nearly 1.3 million sockeye. For more detail, see this SAFE report, particularly Page 60.

This number is very preliminary. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to address the matter at its February meeting in Seattle.

Pollock power

The Bering Sea pollock fishery is enormous, and it will continue so next year.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting in Anchorage, has recommended a 2024 total allowable catch of 1.3 million metric tons — the same level as this past season.

Big bump for pollock

The Eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery is enormous — and it's expected to be even more so next year.

On Sunday, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council set a total allowable catch of 1.3 million metric tons, a 17 percent jump from this year's TAC.

Here's the council motion showing TACs for all Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish.

Council TACs are recommendations subject to U.S. Commerce Department approval.

King crab down, snow crab up

Fishery managers have announced a total allowable catch of 2.6 million pounds for the Bristol Bay red king crab season opening Oct. 15. That's a very poor quota, down 30 percent from last season.

Managers also have announced a TAC of 45 million pounds for the Bering Sea snow crab fishery, a 32 percent increase.

The Bering Sea Tanner crab TAC is 2.3 million pounds. The Tanner crab fishery was closed last season.

Cod trouble

As expected and feared, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has slashed the quota for Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska.

The total allowable catch for Gulf cod in 2018 is 13,096 metric tons, down 80 percent from this year's 64,442 tons.

The council is meeting through the weekend in Anchorage. Its quota recommendations are subject to U.S. commerce secretary approval.

Bering Sea snow crab TAC dips 19 percent

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today announced a Bering Sea snow crab total allowable catch (TAC) of just under 54 million pounds for the 2013-14 season.

That's down nearly 19 percent from last season's TAC.

Although the fishery is scheduled to open on Oct. 15, the industry traditionally waits until after the first of the year to take snow crab.

Red king crab TAC up; Tanner crab to reopen

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today announced the total allowable catch (TAC) for a couple of important Bering Sea crab fisheries.

The 2013-14 TAC for Bristol Bay red king crab is 8.6 million pounds, up 9.5 percent from last season.

The TAC for Bering Sea Tanner, or bairdi, crab is 3.1 million pounds. The fishery was closed last season.

The crab fisheries are scheduled to open Oct. 15.

However, the federal government shutdown could delay the start of the general fisheries.

That's because the National Marine Fisheries Service must issue individual fishing and processing quotas. And almost everyone in that agency is on furlough.

Ten percent of the crab TACs are reserved for harvest under the Community Development Quota program. The state issues CDQ permits, which therefore will not be delayed.

The season for lucrative council business

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council begins a seven-day meeting tomorrow at the Hilton hotel in downtown Anchorage.

The Christmas meeting is always a big one for the council, the time when catch limits are set for the coming year.

Looking over the packed agenda, three items stand out:

Halibut — The council will receive a report from the National Marine Fisheries Service that explains how the embattled halibut catch sharing plan might be saved — or simply killed.

Crab — The council has blocked out a full day to talk about lingering issues with "crab rationalization," including the theory — will Deckboss get in trouble for using that word? — that crewmen have taken a pay cut under the new management regime.

Groundfish — As already mentioned, the council will set the "total allowable catch" for important species in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. I'd be surprised to see much excitement here. Government scientists seem to have blessed a Bering Sea pollock TAC well in excess of 1 million metric tons, similar to what the industry enjoyed this past season. Another important Bering Sea target, cod, could see a decent increase.

Council actions are subject to U.S. commerce secretary approval.

Bering Sea snow crab quota surges by 64 percent

Yesterday brought bad news on Bristol Bay red king crab, historically the state's most valuable crab crop.

Today comes good news on another major fishery, Bering Sea snow crab.

The total allowable catch for the upcoming season is 88.9 million pounds, up 64 percent from last season's 54.3 million pounds.

The season opens at noon Oct. 15, but typically the fleet waits until after the first of the year to take most of the crab.

Here's a press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Bristol Bay red king crab quota cut nearly in half

The total allowable catch for the upcoming Bristol Bay red king crab season will be 7.8 million pounds.

That's a 47 percent cut from last season's TAC of 14.8 million pounds.

Here's a press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The fishery opens at noon Oct. 15.

The department says it'll announce the TAC for Bering Sea snow crab as soon as tomorrow.

Most Alaska groundfish catches to surge in 2011

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council this morning set the 2011 total allowable catch for pollock and other groundfish.

The limits are subject to final approval by the U.S. commerce secretary.

Here's a rundown of the major species, the catch limits and the percentage change from the 2010 limits.

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Pollock — 1.25 million metric tons, up 54 percent
Pacific cod — 227,950 tons, up 35 percent
Yellowfin sole — 196,000 tons, down 10.5 percent
Atka mackerel — 53,080 tons, down 28 percent
Pacific Ocean perch — 24,700 tons, up 31 percent

Gulf of Alaska

Pollock — 96,215 tons, up 13.5 percent
Pacific cod — 65,100 tons, up 9 percent
Arrowtooth flounder — 43,000 tons, no change
Pacific Ocean perch — 16,997 tons, down 3 percent
Sablefish — 11,290 tons, up 9 percent

Bering Sea crab quotas announced

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today announced catch limits for the Bering Sea crab fisheries opening Oct. 15:

Bristol Bay red king crab: 14.8 million pounds, down 7.5 percent from last season.

Bering Sea snow crab: 54.3 million pounds, up 13 percent from last season.

Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab: Fishery closed due to low mature female biomass. Last season's quota was 1.35 million pounds.

St. Matthew Island blue king crab: 1.6 million pounds, up 37 percent from last season.

And they're off! Well, not really

A trawler at Dutch Harbor. Jim Paulin photo

One of the world's largest seafood harvests by volume, the Bering Sea pollock fishery, opened at noon today.

The total allowable catch for the year is 813,000 metric tons, just a shade below last year's limit.

Time was, when the opening gun sounded, boats would start dueling at sea immediately for fish, bad weather be damned. That was during the bruising days of Olympic-style fishing.

Since 1999, we've been using a more genteel system with the fleet broken up into a handful of fishing cooperatives. Each boat within a co-op receives its own set share before the season starts, and crews can net the fish whenever they please.

Of course, nature dictates to some degree when the fishing is best.

In the winter, during what's known as the A season, trawlers target the pollock at a time when they're schooled up and ready to spawn. Thus, the female fish are full of roe that accounts for a big part of the fishery's value, often said to approach $1 billion.

Other top pollock products include fillets, used for goods such as fish sticks and the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich, and a protein paste called surimi that's fashioned into imitation crab and a slew of Asian specialties.

Pollock isn't the only game in town.

The Bering Sea trawl fishery for Pacific cod also opened at noon today. This is another huge and lucrative fishery, with a quota of 168,780 metric tons for the year.

Big improvement overall for Gulf catch limits

A reader asks what the North Pacific Fishery Management Council did over the weekend in setting the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) for Gulf of Alaska groundfish.

Here's a rundown of TACs for some of the main species, as well as the percent change from the current year.

Remember, the U.S. commerce secretary can adjust these figures, as the council merely makes recommendations.

Walleye pollock — 84,745 tons, up 69.8 percent
Pacific cod — 59,563 tons, up 42.5 percent
Arrowtooth flounder — 43,000 tons, no change
Pacific Ocean perch — 17,584 tons, up 16.4 percent
Sablefish — 10,370 tons, down 7.1 percent
Northern rockfish — 5,098 tons, up 16.9 percent

Council sets 2010 Bering Sea groundfish quotas

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council this afternoon set the 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) for pollock and other important groundfish species in the eastern Bering Sea, the nation's richest commercial fishing hole.

We saw no surprises in the final numbers, which are subject to a final OK from the U.S. commerce secretary.

Here are the main TACs and the change from the current year:

Walleye pollock — 813,000 tons, down a trace
Yellowfin sole — 219,000 tons, up 4.3 percent
Pacific cod — 168,780 tons, down 4.4 percent
Atka mackerel — 74,000 tons, down 3.1 percent
Pacific Ocean perch — 18,860 tons, up a trace

Bering Sea king, snow crab catch limits drop

Butter consumption to decline this winter. ASMI photo

The state Department of Fish and Game today announced total allowable catch limits for this winter's Bering Sea crab fisheries.

Here's a breakdown for the two main fisheries:

Bristol Bay red king crab: 16 million pounds, down 21.6 percent from last season.

Bering Sea snow crab: 48 million pounds, down 18.1 percent from last season.

The fisheries open at noon Oct. 15.