Commission cuts halibut harvests

KODIAK -- A lot less Pacific halibut will be crossing the docks this year.

On Friday, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which oversees fisheries in the United States and Canada, reduced the 2011 coast-wide catch limit to 41 million pounds, a 19 percent drop. Alaska's share of the catch will be 32.5 million pounds, down from 40 million last year.

"Of course, they cited the ongoing concern with the decline in the size at age and declining catch rates coast wide. There's a lot of fish out there; they just don't seem to be growing and recruiting into the fishery," said Doug Bowen with Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer.

"The commissioners commented that the halibut are the smallest size at age in the history of the fishery," he added during a phone call from the annual meeting.

There are lots of theories as to why the fish are growing so slowly. Most point to competition for food from the abundance of small halibut, as well as voracious arrowtooth flounder, which blanket the Gulf seafloor. More predation by burgeoning cod and pollock stocks might also be a factor.

Southeast longliners will take the biggest hit -- a 47 percent cut to just 2.3 million pounds.

For the biggest fishing hole in the Central Gulf, the catch is slashed 28 percent to just over 14 million pounds.

Halibut catches in the Western Gulf will decrease from 10 million to 7.5 million pounds.

Only fishing areas along the Aleutians and Bering Sea will see slight increases.

In other actions, the commission imposed a 37-inch size limit on the sport charter sector in Southeast, which has exceeded its catch limit every year since 2004. Commissioners said the size limit may be lifted when catch shares go into effect next year.

The proposals to allow filleted halibut aboard charter vessels or house boats went down in flames due to enforcement concerns. The commission plans to begin a project focusing on reducing halibut bycatch in other fisheries to get an accurate accounting of all removals. Due to expressed concerns over its perceived "ad hoc" management style, the commission will review its own performance over the coming year.

Bowen said it was a tough meeting but there was general agreement that the health of the halibut stocks comes first.

"Several commissioners said it was the most difficult meeting they had ever participated in and they were forced to make very tough decisions," he said. "But people agreed that drastic measures need to be taken so we can get a handle on this and get these catches down to where the stocks can rebuild."

The halibut fishery opens March 12 and ends Nov. 18.

SURIMI SPREADING

Pollock, Alaska's biggest fishery, got under way Jan. 20 in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. More than 3 billion pounds of the popular whitefish will be harvested from Alaska waters this year, accounting for 30 percent of U.S. seafood landings.

Many people are not aware that pollock is valued for three products: fillets, roe and surimi. Surimi, which means ground meat in Japanese, is a protein-packed, ready-to-eat item shaped and flavored to taste like crab, shrimp or other seafoods.

Surimi production from Alaska last year reached nearly 230 million pounds, an increase of more than 19 percent. Nearly 205 million pounds of the surimi pack was exported, a whopping 30 percent increase over 2009. Market analyst Ken Talley said foreign wholesalers paid $1.27 a pound for Alaska pollock surimi, up nearly 12 percent.

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist. Her Fish Radio programs can be heard on stations around the state. Her information column appears every other Sunday. This material is protected by copyright. For information on reprinting or placing on your Web site or newsletter, contact msfish@alaska.com.


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