Welcome   Sponsored By
Subscribe | Register | Advertise | Newsletter | About us | Contact us
   


Image: NOAA / FIS

The myth of ´mid-water´ in the Alaska Pollock Fishery

Click on the flag for more information about United States UNITED STATES
Wednesday, June 07, 2023, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

The following is an excerpt from an article published by Alaska Fish News:

The sustainability of the pollock fishery fishery has been globally celebrated, but the ecosystem around this fishery is in peril. How is it assessed? Trawl surveys!

Source: AMCC

AMCC report outlines how “mid-water” nets from the “largest food fishery on the planet” contact the seafloor, harm essential habitats.

A February 2023 report by the Alaska Marine Conservation Council outlines the findings in a North Pacific Council report from last April that revealed for the first time that pelagic, or mid-water, trawl nets contact the seafloor on average from 40% to 80% of the time, with rates up to 100% on factory ships, also called catcher/processors.

Some Background: When the 2021 red king crab fishery was cancelled last October for the first time in 25 years, the NPFMC tasked its staff to prepare a discussion paper.

Among the topics was to “Provide the best available information on bottom contact by pelagic (mid-water) trawl gear and the impact it may have on Bristol Bay red king crab stocks (BBRKC).”

The paper also revealed that the federal government applies its rules differently to on-bottom (non-pelagic) and pelagic (mid-water) gears.

It is the first time the amount of bottom contact by mid-water (pelagic) trawl gear has been put in writing. But former NPFMC chair, Stephanie Madsen, admitted that it is an uncomfortable fact that many have known about (and brushed under the rug) for decades.

“It is an estimate” and “not proven.”

 

“It has been know all along by many.”

Stephanie Madsen, AK Bycatch Task Force member, Director of AT-Sea Processors Association, former NPFMC chair raising eyebrows at a Nov. 7, 2022. Bycatch task force meeting.

Below is a report titled The Myth of “Mid-water” in the Alaska Pollock Fishery by Michelle Stratton, Fisheries Scientist and Marissa Wilson, Executive Director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. Footnotes have been omitted for brevity but can be found here in the full report.

Introduction

The Alaska Marine Conservation Council is dedicated to protecting the long-term health of Alaska’s marine ecosystems which sustain vibrant fishery-dependent communities. Our members include fishermen, subsistence harvesters, marine scientists, small business owners and diverse fishing families. Our ways of life, livelihoods and local economies depend on the sustainable fishing practices that contribute to healthy ecosystems.

Fisheries management in Alaska is often referred to as the “gold star” standard. Sustainability is written into Alaska’s constitution, and the identity of its diverse and productive fisheries. But how sound is this designation? This paper discusses current policies and practices within the Alaska Pollock Fishery, with focus on trawl gear contact with the seafloor.

Source: AMCC

Government, industry and certification institutions have consistently described pelagic trawl gear as fished off the bottom, or “mid-water”, with minimal or no interaction with seafloor habitat and benthic animals. Analysis recently highlighted at the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, however, indicates that this fishery — the largest food fishery on the planet — contacts the seafloor on average from 40% to 80% of the time, with rates up to 100% on factory ships. [Continues...]

Author: Laine Welch | Alaska Fish News | Read the full article by clicking the link here

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media


 Print


Click to know how to advertise in FIS
MORE NEWS



Lenguaje
FEATURED EVENTS
  
TOP STORIES
Clipfish challenges in Brazil: Port bureaucracy stops millions worth
Brazil More and more clipfish containers are being stopped in Brazilian ports. - Complicated regulations make market access challenging, to say the least, say Norwegian exporters who risk large losses. Bra...
Catches in the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea
Russia Fed. Situational update as of 03/24/2024 Source: Stockfile FIS Sea of Okhotsk (pollock) According to OSM data in the Sea of Okhotsk, pollock catch (industrial and coastal fisheries) as of March 24, 20...
Productive Development of the Fishing Activity
Peru Fishing Sector Bulletin - January 2024 The landing of hydrobiological resources registered a negative interannual variation of 62.7%, as a result of the lower landing of fishing resources for indirec...
NGO Sues UK Government Over International Fishing Quotas
United Kingdom Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health, has launched legal proceedings over the government’s decision to set fishing opportunities, for more than half UK st...
 

Maruha Nichiro Corporation
Nichirei Corporation - Headquarters
Pesquera El Golfo S.A.
Ventisqueros - Productos del Mar Ventisqueros S.A
Wärtsilä Corporation - Wartsila Group Headquarters
ITOCHU Corporation - Headquarters
BAADER - Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud. Baader GmbH+Co.KG (Head Office)
Inmarsat plc - Global Headquarters
Marks & Spencer
Tesco PLC (Supermarket) - Headquarters
Sea Harvest Corporation (PTY) Ltd. - Group Headquarters
I&J - Irvin & Johnson Holding Company (Pty) Ltd.
AquaChile S.A. - Group Headquarters
Pesquera San Jose S.A.
Nutreco N.V. - Head Office
CNFC China National Fisheries Corporation - Group Headquarters
W. van der Zwan & Zn. B.V.
SMMI - Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Co., Ltd. - Headquarters
Icicle Seafoods, Inc
Starkist Seafood Co. - Headquearters
Trident Seafoods Corp.
American Seafoods Group LLC - Head Office
Marel - Group Headquarters
SalMar ASA - Group Headquarters
Sajo Industries Co., Ltd
Hansung Enterprise Co.,Ltd.
BIM - Irish Sea Fisheries Board (An Bord Iascaigh Mhara)
CEFAS - Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
COPEINCA ASA - Corporacion Pesquera Inca S.A.C.
Chun Cheng Fishery Enterprise Pte Ltd.
VASEP - Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers
Gomes da Costa
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. (Headquarters)
NISSUI - Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. - Group Headquarters
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization - Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (Headquarter)
Hagoromo Foods Co., Ltd.
Koden Electronics Co., Ltd. (Headquarters)
A.P. Møller - Maersk A/S - Headquarters
BVQI - Bureau Veritas Quality International (Head Office)
UPS - United Parcel Service, Inc. - Headquarters
Brim ehf (formerly HB Grandi Ltd) - Headquarters
Hamburg Süd Group - (Headquearters)
Armadora Pereira S.A. - Grupo Pereira Headquarters
Costa Meeresspezialitäten GmbH & Co. KG
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Headquarters)
Mowi ASA (formerly Marine Harvest ASA) - Headquarters
Marubeni Europe Plc -UK-
Findus Ltd
Icom Inc. (Headquarter)
WWF Centroamerica
Oceana Group Limited
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. - Headquarters
Friosur S.A. - Headquarters
Cargill, Incorporated - Global Headquarters
Benihana Inc.
Leardini Pescados Ltda
CJ Corporation  - Group Headquarters
Greenpeace International - The Netherlands | Headquarters
David Suzuki Foundation
Fisheries and Oceans Canada -Communications Branch-
Mitsui & Co.,Ltd - Headquarters
NOREBO Group (former Ocean Trawlers Group)
Natori Co., Ltd.
Carrefour Supermarket - Headquarters
FedEx Corporation - Headquarters
Cooke Inc. - Group Headquarters
AKBM - Aker BioMarine ASA
Seafood Choices Alliance -Headquarter-
Austevoll Seafood ASA
Walmart | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Supermarket) - Headquarters
New Japan Radio Co.Ltd (JRC) -Head Office-
Gulfstream JSC
Marine Stewardship Council - MSC Worldwide Headquarters
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Headquarter)
Genki Sushi Co.,Ltd -Headquarter-
Iceland Pelagic ehf
AXA Assistance Argentina S.A.
Caterpillar Inc. - Headquarters
Tiger Brands Limited
SeaChoice
National Geographic Society
AmazonFresh, LLC - AmazonFresh

Copyright 1995 - 2024 Seafood Media Group Ltd.| All Rights Reserved.   DISCLAIMER