Community Protections, Bycatch Reduction Move Forward for Analysis
Earlier this week, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (the Council) wrapped up another long meeting at the Anchorage Hilton. The Gulf of Alaska trawl bycatch management program (aka catch shares) dominated the agenda, with over 30 people providing testimony to the Council. At this meeting, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell made a motion to move forward with a formal set of “alternatives” or options for analysis and the Council voted unanimously in favor of this motion. This is an important step, as it frames the Council’s choices as they move forward with developing this program.
After hours of public testimony and 100 letters supporting the move, the Council included reductions for Chinook salmon bycatch in the pollock fishery (up to 25% reduction) and halibut bycatch for all trawl fisheries (up to 15% reduction) as options for analysis. Given the deteriorating condition of Chinook salmon and halibut stocks, including bycatch reduction up front is critical, and this makes additional bycatch reduction beyond the status quo a key decision point.
The Council also included a Community Fishing Association and an Adaptive Management Program as options under a separate option – Alternative 3. Alternative 3 provides for a 5-15% allocation to either a Community Fishing Association or an Adaptive Management Program. AMCC has been working with Gulf of Alaska community residents to develop and support a Community Fishing Association. Including these options provides for meaningful ways to protect coastal communities from negative impacts in a catch share program and offers a novel approach to ensure coastal communities retain access to the resource outside their doors.
Finally, the Council also added options for requiring active participation (either through ownership of a vessel or participation in the fishery) to purchase a trawl license or catch history and to continue to hold it. This provides a key mechanism for ensuring that those who hold licenses/catch history (quota) are active participants in the fishery, rather than allowing non-active participants to hold quota and charge lease fees for others to fish it.
All of these changes are merely options for analysis at this point, and there is a long road ahead before the Council makes any decisions about selecting one alternative or another. Keeping the pressure on to ensure that the final program reduces bycatch and protects coastal communities is critical. The Council is scheduled to take this agenda item up again in April 2015 in Anchorage.
The Council also discussed the observer program and approved changes for 2015. Starting in 2015 vessels from 40 to 57.5 feet will be in the “trip selection” pool and will be required to register all fishing trips with NMFS – watch your mailbox for more information on how to register. They also moved forward with development of the Bering Sea Fisheries Ecosystem Plan, tasking the Ecosystem Committee with developing goals and objectives.
Full motions from the Council meeting are available via links from the Council agenda here. The Council’s newsletter describing these actions in greater detail is posted here.
For more info:
GOA Trawl Bycatch management: Alaska Journal of Commerce Fishermen’s News Online, including a quote from AMCC’s Theresa Peterson
Observer Plan: Alaska Journal of Commerce
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