Fishing vessels with longline, pot and jib capability are gearing up for the start of the lucrative pollock, Pacific cod and other groundfish fisheries that open Jan. 1 in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Trawl vessels begin their harvests Jan. 20. The fisheries employ hundreds of workers in harvest and processing, and are valued in the millions of dollars.
While the North Pacific Fishery Management Council adjusts annually the individual catch limits for each species, the total allowable catch remains at 2 million metric tons for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. For the Gulf of Alaska, the total harvest allowed for all groundfish species always varies. For 2006, that total is 292,776 metric tons.
The quotas for some species are seasonally apportioned to allow for harvests early in the year, during the mid-summer and in the autumn. At times, flatfish and Pacific cod harvests are shut down early when vessels exceed the allowable amount of halibut, which may be caught incidentally, said Jane DiCosimo, a groundfish expert with the council.
At its December meeting in Anchorage, the council noted that, overall, the status of groundfish stocks continues to appear favorable in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The overall amount of pollock is up 37 percent over 2004 estimates, due in part to the number of new pollock that entered the fishery in 2000. The council also saw stability in the sablefish and yellowfin sole fisheries, while Greenland turbot remained low in abundance. The numbers of arrowtooth flounder in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are peaking, and an increase was noted in the amount of Atka mackerel.
None of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island groundfish stocks are overfished or approaching an overfished condition, the council said.
The council lowered the allowable catch of Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands from 206,000 metric tons in 2005 to 194,000 metric tons in 2006, anticipating a decrease in abundance over the next three years. In turn, the council increased the allowable harvest of pollock, yellowfin sole and arrowtooth flounder. The adjustments pushed the pollock harvest allowed in the eastern Bering Sea from 1.479 million metric tons to 1.485 million metric tons. The yellowfin sole harvest went from 90,686 metric tons to 95,701 metric tons, and the arrowtooth flounder harvest from 12,000 metric tons to 13,000 metric tons. Several adjustments were made as well in other groundfish species quotas.
In the Gulf of Alaska, the council noted that Pacific cod, Dover sole, flathead sole, arrowtooth flounder, Pacific Ocean perch, rougheye rockfish, northern rockfish and dusky rockfish are above the target size, but that the abundance of pollock and sablefish are below target stock size.
The council lowered the allowable harvest of pollock in the Gulf of Alaska from 85,190 metric tons allowed in 2005 to 80,390 metric tons in 2006. The sablefish catch also was lowered, from 15,940 metric tons in 2005 to 14,840 metric tons for 2006. Adjustments were also made in allowable harvests for several other species.
A complete list of all allowable harvest quotas for all groundfish species in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and details on other council action on groundfish is available on the council's Web site at fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc.
Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.
