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Halibut Bycatch
Updated January 15, 2012
Take Action to Reduce 5 Million Pounds of Halibut Wasted as Bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska- Comments Needed by Jan. 24th!
While commercial and recreational fishermen have experienced dramatic cuts in their harvests over past years due to declines in the exploitable halibut biomass, the limit on halibut bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska has not been changed since 1989. Currently there is a halibut bycatch limit of 2,300 metric tons (mt) in the Gulf of Alaska—or just over 5 million pounds!
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (the Council) is finally considering reductions in the bycatch (or PSC – prohibited species catch) in the Gulf of Alaska. At their upcoming meeting in Seattle Jan. 30 – Feb. 7, the Council will conduct an initial review of halibut bycatch reduction options. In either April at their meeting in Anchorage or in June at their meeting in Kodiak, the Council will take final action on halibut bycatch (or Prohibited Species Catch/PSC). The Council is currently considering a range of reductions from 5-15% for the trawl and hook and line fleets in the Gulf of Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council continues to work towards reducing the halibut bycatch limit, and it is critical that they continue to feel pressure to make meaningful reductions .
Fishery managers need to hear from all halibut stakeholders in order to stimulate action to reduce this waste of our precious halibut resource. Letters to Council members for the upcoming meeting in Seattle are needed by Tuesday, January 24th.
Background
Halibut populations in the Gulf of Alaska have varied dramatically in recent years. While the overall biomass is high, the exploitable biomass—the portion of the halibut population that is available for harvest has declined by 50% over the past decade and growth rates have also declined. Commercial, sport and subsistence fishermen have been severely impacted by these cuts. The same halibut on which our fisheries and communities depend are caught as bycatch in the trawl and hook and line fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska. Designated a “prohibited species,” these halibut cannot be retained and must be returned to the water, many of them dead, to prevent any vessel from profiting from wasteful fishing practices.
Currently there is a halibut bycatch limit of 2,300 metric tons (mt) in the GOA—or just over 5 million pounds. Only dead halibut count towards the cap and a formula which assigns a mortality rate to each gear type and target fishery is used to determine how many halibut caught as bycatch count towards the cap each year. This total limit exceeds the combined guideline harvest level (GHL) for the sport halibut fisheries in southeast (2A) and southcentral (3A) Alaska which together totaled over 4.4 million pounds in 2010.
Each halibut caught as bycatch is a direct loss to the halibut spawning biomass (key to determining commercial and sport fishery limits) and yield for the directed halibut fisheries. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), which manages the directed halibut fisheries, estimates that each pound of bycatch results in lost yield ranging from .9 lbs. to 1.1 lbs depending on the region. This means 1 pound of halibut caught as bycatch results in 1.5-1.7 lbs. of lost spawning biomass. Because the IPHC manages the halibut fisheries based on the biomass of the halibut stock, bycatch has a direct impact on all halibut fishers.
The recent declines in exploitable halibut biomass in Alaska are disturbing, and are having an array of negative impacts on Alaska’s fishermen and communities. Fishermen who participate in directed halibut fisheries have been facing reductions in their harvest for years—yet the fisheries that cause mortality to halibut as a waste have continued to operate under the same limits since 1989. This inequity needs to be addressed immediately.
The Council is currently considering a range of reductions from 5-15% for the trawl and hook and line fleets in the Gulf of Alaska. Even a 15% reduction is far less than the over 50% reduction the commercial halibut fishery in 2C, 3A and 3B has taken from 2002-2011, and the reductions which the charter sector in 2C has faced.
What You Can Do to Reduce Halibut Bycatch
Send a letter. If you can’t make it to Council meetings in person, send a letter beforehand. See talking points below of suggestions for points to make in your letter.
Letters must be received by Tuesday, January 24 by 5:00 pm Alaska time to be included in Council member packets for the February Seattle meeting. Letters should indicate they are “Re.: Agenda item: C-2 Halibut PSC “and should be addressed to:
605 West 4th Avenue, Suite 306 Anchorage, AK 99501-2252North Pacific Fishery Management Council
*Letters should be submitted via fax to (907) 271-2817
**If you do not have a fax you can email your letter to halibut@akmarine.org and AMCC staff will deliver your letter.Contact North Pacific Fishery Management Council members and the Governor’s Office
Visit the NPMFMC website for a list of NPFMC members or more information on the measures being considered to reduce bycatch: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/ . Also call Governor Sean Parnell and let the State of Alaska know how you feel about wasting our precious and valuable fish as bycatch. To reach the Governor’s office dial (907) 465-3500 or email governor@alaska.gov.
Talking Points
Letters do not have to be long or complex. Making the point known that you strongly support action to reduce halibut bycatch now is the most important. Discussing how halibut is vital to you and your community and how continued waste of the halibut resource could affect your business, livelihood and/or community is also helpful.
Other points to consider making:
- As a stakeholder of the halibut resource (describe your stake), you strongly support reductions in halibut bycatch (halibut PSC) in the Gulf of Alaska.
- The Council should reduce bycatch by the maximum amount being considered—15%. This reduction is still insufficient and further reductions to halibut bycatch levels should be made in the future.
- It is time for the Council to take action and reduce the halibut bycatch limit for the Gulf of Alaska. Action should not be delayed for any reason.
- Fishermen who participate in directed halibut fisheries have been facing reductions in their harvest for years—yet the fisheries that cause mortality to halibut as a waste have continued to operate under the same limits since 1989.
- The exploitable biomass—the portion of the halibut population that is available for harvest—has declined by 50% over the past decade.
- This inequity needs to be addressed immediately and halibut bycatch must be reduced NOW.
Future Opportunity for Comment
Additional opportunity for comment will occur again before final action in April or June. But don’t delay- comments are crucial at this meeting to keep the Council on track to reduce halibut bycatch. Stay tuned to AMCC’s website and look for enews updates on what happens at the upcoming meeting and how you can help in the future. You can also find us on Facebook or contact our staff to become more engaged.