How electronic monitoring is changing the Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery

摘要

The pollock fishery in the Gulf of Alaska is unique in many ways.The pollock fishery in Alaska's Bering Sea is rationalized, which means each vessel/permit holder is allocated a certain amount of catch for the season. But the Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery is open access, with every vessel racing against the others for catch.The pollock fleet also fishes in the waters where Chinook salmon feed before returning to inland rivers to spawn. Traditionally, vessels must discard 100 percent of the Chinook and other prohibited species incidentally caught - known as bycatch. The goal is to minimize impacts to these commercially and culturally valuable species. The pollock fishery has a very low rate of bycatch (less than 1 percent). Additionally, there is a cap on Chinook bycatch. When it's met, the fishery for pollock is closed.