Alaska Council members ask NMFS for emergency relief on halibut bycatch
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Peggy Parker - December 23, 2014
The latest Halibut stock numbers discussed at the IPHC meetings in December represented a potential crisis for halibut in the Bering Sea, as the directed fishery levels were too low to support the small boat fishery and keep plants operating. As a result, at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting last week, there was a motion to ask NMFS to undertake emergency action to adjust Bering Sea Halibut bycatch, so as to allow the directed halibut fishery to economically operate. But the motion failed by a vote of 5-5. This week six members of the 11-member North Pacific Fishery Management Council, who would constitute a majority if the vote were held again, sent a letter to the agency asking for emergency relief.
The sixth Alaskan was Ed Dersham, who was absent from the meeting and the vote, undergoing a critical organ transplant. Mr. Dersham, recovering from surgery, signed the letter along the other five Alaskan Council members.
The dramatic scenario began in early December, when the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), released preliminary “harvest advice” for the 2015 season. The bi-lateral group, made up of three Canadian commissioners and three from the U. S., manages halibut stocks from California to Alaska.
Their catch advice is based on...
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