Three Alaska projects win innovation grants

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded a new round of grants from its Fisheries Innovation Fund.

Three grants are going to Alaska projects:

Every Halibut Counts: Reducing Halibut Discard Mortality
Grantee: Alaska Marine Conservation Council
Fisheries Innovation Fund Award: $55,000; Matching Funds: $56,232; Total Project: $111,232
The Alaska Marine Conservation Council will conduct a collaborative, industry-driven conservation initiative to reduce mortality of discarded halibut in the Alaska sportfishing sector by facilitating broad use of best practices for careful release. The project focus will be on top ports for recreational halibut harvest and discards in both Southeast and Southcentral Alaska stretching from Craig to Kodiak.

GPS Data Loggers as a Low-Cost Alternative to VMS
Grantee: Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association
Fisheries Innovation Fund Award: $110,000; Matching Funds: $181,500; Total Project: $291,500
The Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association will implement a two-stage field trial to fully evaluate and document the use of GPS data loggers as a low-cost alternative to vessel monitoring systems in Alaska's catch share halibut and sablefish fisheries. The project will be based in Sitka, with field testing conducted throughout Southeast Alaska.

Testing Electronic Monitoring on Small Fixed-Gear Cod Boats
Grantee: North Pacific Fisheries Association Inc.
Fisheries Innovation Fund Award: $127,400; Matching Funds: $120,000; Total Project: $247,400
The North Pacific Fisheries Association Inc. will field test an improved electronic monitoring system on small fixed-gear boats (pot and hook-and-line) fishing for Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska. A comparison of costs of electronic monitoring to costs of observers in this fishery will be made. The project will be based in Homer. Field tests will occur in the Gulf of Alaska, Western and Central regulatory areas.

Congress created the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in 1984.

To see the full press release on the 2013 Fisheries Innovation Fund grants, click here.