Letters: How Alaska's Amendment 80 Fleet Has Managed Halibut Bycatch
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] Opinion by Capt. TJ Durnan - February 16, 2015
Folllowing is a letter to the editor by Capt. TJ Durnan, skipper of the the F/V Constellation a member vessel of the Amendment 80 fleet. Capt. Durnan writes about the measures the fleet has taken to reduce its halibut bycatch levels. Capt. Durnan's letter is in response to some scrutiny the Amendment 80 fleet has faced with the halibut bycatch issue currently before the International Pacific Halibut Commission and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. - MR
With halibut catch by all sectors of Alaska's fishing industry coming ever more into focus, and a disproportionate amount of scrutiny being directed at a very few 'Amendment 80' boats, it's time that this small fleet's story is told from the perspective of the pilothouse.
I started my time in Alaska's fishing industry in 1991, a kid fresh out of school. I worked in several different small and large boat fisheries before arriving in my current spot on the Constellation, an Amendment 80 vessel, in 2002. Just about everybody in our fleet shares a similar story-a lifetime spent fishing, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
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