Changes to Halibut Fishery in the Bering Sea Being Considered by North Pacific Council The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council moved forward on a regulatory amendment to allow Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups to lease halibut IFQ during times of low abundance. The issue has been before the council since December 2015; last week the 11-member panel selected a preferred alternative for further analysis. The action taken by the Council to allow CDQ groups to lease IFQ is seen as a stop-gap measure only in times of severely low abundance and until the Council completes their work on shifting the management of halibut bycatch from a set Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) to an Abundance Based Management (ABM) scheme. The trū Shrimp Company will build a $50-million shrimp production facility near Luverne Bay Harbor, in Minnesota. trū Shrimp Company raises shrimp in above ground closed containment facilities and is an affiliate of Ralco, a family owned multinational feed company. “What is happening in Minnesota has not been done anywhere in the world. We are creating an industry that will supply the world with safe, clean and abundant shrimp. There are 1.6 billion pounds of shrimp consumed annually in the U.S. and 80 percent of it is imported largely from Southeast Asia,” said Michael Ziebell, President, and CEO of the trū Shrimp Company. In other news, Gulf red snapper fishing in federal waters will be extended to September according to a deal that was struck between federal fishing authorities and state officials. The Department of Commerce will re-open the 2017 recreational season for 39 weekend days and holidays in federal waters for the remainder of the summer. The Gulf States agreed to alter their fishing season to just the weekends in state waters. This is the first time in a decade that the feds and the states have agreed to align the private angler red snapper fishing seasons. In some related news, we run a few reaction pieces from the red snapper decision. A notice from the Department of Commerce acknowledges the extension to the season in federal waters will slow the recovery of the Gulf red snapper stock. Meanwhile, a couple of industry groups that oppose the deal want to know how the feds will attempt to curb overfishing by the recreational sector given the longer fishing season. Finally, Blue North Fisheries' $40 million, 191-foot fishing vessel Blue North features technology that aims to reduce the stress placed on Pacific cod caught in Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. The ship is designed to catch Pacific cod using bottom longlines. The catch method has earned a green "best choice" rating from Seafood Watch. It also utilizes a stunning table to render fish unconscious before processing. The shipbuilders were inspired by well-known livestock animal scientist Temple Grandin in constructing the Blue North to catch cod using humane methods.