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"It gets excitement going early in the year, and if farm-raised halibut gears up in the future, it allows fishermen to grab a market foothold early in the season. It's something the fishermen really want," said John Van Amerongen, editor of the Alaska Fisherman's Journal.
The IPHC, which includes three commissioners each from the United States and Canada, set a total coast-wide (Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia and Alaska) harvest of 73.67 million pounds, down 4 percent from 2004. Alaska always gets the lion's share and its harvest share is up slightly to 59.2 million pounds, compared to 58.9 million last year.
A proposal to allow halibut taken as bycatch by trawlers to be retained and donated to food banks was denied for the second time "with regret" by the IPHC. The plan, offered by the Kodiak-based Alaska Food Coalition, called for 50,000 pounds of dead halibut to be retained in fisheries through 2008 by a group of pre-arranged local trawlers and processors. The halibut would be frozen and packaged and distributed by the coalition's food bank network throughout Alaska. The program would mirror a similar "bycatch to food banks" program that has been operating successfully for several years out of Dutch Harbor, with the blessing and support of federal fishery managers. However, it does not include halibut.
People who attended last week's IPHC meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, said fishermen from Canada and Washington spoke out strongly against the food bank proposal. "They felt it was opening the gate to retention of halibut by draggers, and they had a deep line in the sand - if not a trench filled with gasoline - and they did not want the regulations to go beyond that," Van Amerongen said. "There were also some technical problems, such as observers didn't want to make the final call on if a halibut was indeed dead enough to butcher and send to food banks rather than throw it over the side," he added.
Ultimately, the decision to allow the experimental program falls under the purview of federal regulators. However, they seldom go against decisions made by the IPHC. One Kodiak resident said a strong movement is growing to take the Food Coalition's case before the North Pacific Council to seek its approval. A group from Kodiak will ask state legislators to introduce a resolution supporting the plan. "What makes more sense: To dump dead halibut over the side, or to get it into the mouths of hungry Alaskans? It's a no-brainer," said an irate Kodiak Islander, who asked to remain unidentified. For more information, contact Trevor Jones at (907) 486-2391 or by e-mail at kbmak@ptialaska.net. Also check out www.alaskafood.org.
Here are the 2005 halibut catch limits in millions of pounds: Southeast Alaska (2C) 10.93; Central Gulf (3A) 25.47; Western Gulf (3B) 13.15; Aleutian Islands (4A) 3.44; Tip of Aleutian Islands (4B) 2.26; Bering Sea regions (4C, D, E) 3.99. The halibut fishery runs through mid-November.
Clams nix toxins
The popular East Coast quahog (pronounced CO-hog, it is the largest of the littleneck clams) is the newest hero in the fight against the deadly toxin, botulism. Botulism is a lethal muscle relaxant that makes it a potential weapon in bioterrorism. Researchers in New England injected the quahogs with enough toxin to kill 1,000 people - with virtually no effect on the clams. The surrounding water became cloudy, indicating the clams were secreting a protective mucous.
Seafood.com reports that the Department of Homeland Security is funding a study to determine how the clams remain impervious to the toxin. Researchers believe the antidote is an agent in the quahog's blood, and they are trying to identify exactly what it is that neutralizes the deadly poison. The discovery could provide an antidote for humans.
Eat fish, see better
The miraculous omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may help prevent macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in older Americans. Presently, it is untreatable but studies show eating just two fish meals a week can lower the risk of developing the disease (omega-3 supplements also do the trick). Macular degeneration accounts for 54 percent of blindness in white Americans, and 45 percent of visual loss in the general population.
Herring watch
Roe herring harvesters at Togiak (Bristol Bay) will compete for smaller catches this year. The state announced a quota of 16,467 tons, down 35 percent from last year and about 13 percent less than the actual catch. It will be split between seiners (11,527 tons) and gillnetters (4,940 tons). The announcement reportedly surprised people, who were anticipating a harvest of more than 20,000 tons. "Staff felt the recruit classes of herring were not as abundant as expected in subsequent returns. This lowered the historical biomass estimates, which resulted in a reduced 2005 forecast," managers said.
The lower harvest also reflects an effort to closer match catches with processing capacity in the Togiak region.
Kodiak-based freelance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at msfish@alaska.com.
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