Bering Sea Chinook bycatch info
yak2you2
2009-02-10 13:18:16
Bering Sea Chinook Salmon Bycatch Environmental Impact Statement can be found here;
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/
Public Comment Period Extended
Please provide written comments by February 23, 2009. Written comments should be submitted through mail, facsimile (fax), or email to, Robert D. Mecum, Acting Administrator:
NMFS Alaska Region
P.O. Box 21668
Juneau, AK 99802
Fax: (907) 586-7557
Email: SalmonBycatchEIS @noaa.gov
NOTE: When submitting fax or email comments, include the following document identifier in the comment subject line: Salmon Bycatch EIS.
Ocean Gold
2009-02-10 20:58:07
I agree, but this is just one small issue with king salmon the sleepers are how many fish are being caught by the winter charter fleet out of Homer/Seward? The port sampling has been stopped since 2000 and the charter fleet has grown ten fold. We got the last sampling data a few months ago for pre 2000 a lot of the charter catch is from Southeast hatcheries back then. What is the bycatch of kings in the Kodiak rock fish trawl fleet? Last year there was a huge spike in bycatch, where were they from?
A-c-c-o-u-n-t-a-b-l-i-t-y is the answer :!:
yak2you2
2009-02-10 22:27:29
Ok, I'm into it, how do we put a tourniquet on these other outfits?
I don't think you could call 122,000 king salmon killed and dumped over the side in one winter a small issue though. All of these are important issues, but the Bering Sea drag fleet is BY FAR the worst offender, we should start right here. Every other boat has an observer, so nobody even knows what the real figures are. I have heard that when an observer is on board the draggers will generally fish a different area than when an observer isn't on board, what's that tell you?
These guys are absolutely decimating Alaska. They catch something like 800,000 chums every year too, the villages of western Alaska have been ruined by them. Who knows what other species are being destroyed by them?
Not to sound like Robin Hood, but if these guys weren't owned by the big money outfits that they are, and busily buying off all the right politicians, they would have been shut down long time ago.
What I don't understand is where's the media??? They are strip mining the North Pacific, and nobody seems to care.
It absolutely gags me to hear them boast about how much better their doing when they get their king salmon by-catch levels down to 68,000 or so. That's more than our entire winter quota!! I was reading an article in the latest Pacific Fisherman in which a representative from the city of Dutch Harbor was boo-hooing that the new hard caps of 60,000 king by-catch were going hurt the economy of Dutch. P-L-E-A-S-E !! You guys are sitting on a mountain of blood money you can't figure how to spend all of that was sucked from your fellow Alaskan communities. It truly is unconscionable in my book.
mswkickdrum
2009-02-11 16:56:39
This is the big one for me too. That is just WAY TOO MUCH fish caught that they aren't supposed
to catch for nothing serious to be done to change the situation. They need a lower HARD CAP.
When they hit the limit, they're done fishing. Can you imagine if the SE salmon fleet was catching
almost 80%? of their limit of polock as "bycatch"?!?! They would have the whole salmon fleet chained up to
the dock and the National Guard would be there for enforcement. There are thousands of commercial
salmon boats in SE, how many trawl dragger/processers are there? 30? 70? The salmon fleet is
too spread out and like independant truckers, not in much unity. How many times, other then
bristol, have you heard of fishermen on strike....for five hours. There just isn't the political
pointed strength and economic political strenght to give the "trawl machine" much heat. Maybe
if everyone you know who's concerned about this, chimes in to the commision it could make
a change. CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN/SENATOR/GOVENOR ETC! This will have to come up
from the docks if its going to be heard. AND in big numbers to not be dismissed as "environmentalists".
People on the commision need to hear from senators etc. "doesn't this seem a little unfair?" We
will never get enough $ to have a bigger lobbyist. Not to mention the "cogs in the wheel" of
communities and businesses that live off the giant beast affraid to loose their seat on the
gravy train.
And yes, the charter fleet HAS to become a limited entry. I was AMAZED to find out that up in
Alaska it isn't. Down here in WA it is just like any other commercial license that is limited entry.
The idea that someone can just have their captain's lic. and fill out some forms, pay a fee
and take people to fish is nuts. How is the dept of fish going to keep that regulated? Sure,
I can just hear a "guide" saying "well we do it like this so the rules don't really apply to us......
if the fish is cleaned and cut up in the cooler then......." That is nuts.
MSW
Salty
2009-02-11 19:27:57
I wrote a long comment on this but then I think I deleted it. Good to see some passion.
I have been working off and on, mostly off lately, trying to curtail the Bering Sea Trawl by-catch since I got appointed to the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council Advisory Panel in 1978. I served 8 years on the AP. During that time we "Americanized" the Bering Sea Trawl fishery and along the way made a couple of huge "mistakes" in my opinion. Some of us fought the trawl interests as hard as we could. I remember saying I would rather have foreign trawlers with full observer coverage than "American" trawlers without observers. I was soundly rebuked for being unAmerican, unpatriotic, etc. by Council members and others.
One of the biggest errors, even though we fought hard was that American Trawlers were allowed into the Halibut Conservation no trawl zone north of the Penninsula. We did win one battle on a close vote to prohibit the American trawlers from being allowed to keep and sell herring in the Bering Sea. They really wanted those herring. Can you imagine the King Salmon by-catch if the trawlers were targeting herring schools?
In the 90's when I was working for the Alaska Marine Conservation Council we helped get the trawls off of the bottom in the Bering Sea Pollock fishery, one of the biggest, by volume, fisheries in the world. United Fishermen of Alaska Board voted unanimously to support this regulation. Since then numerous trawl groups have joined UFA and I doubt we could ever get a similar proposal by them.
Also in the 90's the Alaska Longline Fisherman's Association, under the leadership of Linda Behnken and others, helped get a groundfish trawl prohibition through the Council east of 140 (SE Alaska) in Federal waters. The Alaska Board of Fisheries also prohibited groundfish trawling in the State Waters of SE Alaska except for a little beam trawling, largely for bait, in areas where they beam trawl shrimp. So, SE Alaska is arguably the largest groundfish trawl free zone in the world.
In my opinion the trawl industry interests made a brilliant move in the early 90's when they set up the system where on-shore native groups get a piece of the off-shore trawl fishery. Millions have been pumped into western Alaska villages through these Community Development Quota's. While that is good it has also effectively co-opted the on shore native concerns about the trawling in the Bering Sea. I know there are still some protests and an occasional resolution but the millions have served as a pacifier.
I have had the opportunity to view hours and hours of trawls being towed along the bottom and submarine video of what the bottom looks like after trawls have been towed along the bottom. I also have had the opportunity to view hours of video of what coral and sponge forests look like off of SE Alaska. I have visited with the biologists who have spent hundreds of hours in Submarines. I did this to make three short videos for the Alaska Marine Conservation Council showing the effect of trawls on the bottom. I have stood face to face with furious trawl skippers who were not happy with the videos.
It is my opinion after looking at the devastation to coral and sponge beds after being impacted by a trawl that bottom trawling should be banned almost everywhere. For certain in virgin areas that have not been carefully surveyed to map the coral, sponge, and other benthic life. It should be outlawed, shelved, committed to the dust bins of history. If we can't figure out a way to harvest these fishery resources without a trawl then we should let them go.
There is an absolutely beautiful sponge forest in 70 fathoms off of Kruzof. The sponges are a variety of red, brown, and white colors. Some are several feet high and several feet in diameter. Fish and crabs and shrimp are all over these creatures. There are amazing forests of red coral all along the SE coast down to 90 or more fathoms. I have seen video of big halibut and rockfish in the coral. Thank god we got the trawlers out of this area.
Ocean Gold
2009-02-11 19:50:33
No it's NOT a small issue, but during the last council meeting this was on the table and the only person that testified against the bycatch was Don Westlund a charter/hand troller from Ketcikan. Please send in comments!
My understanding is that (not to defend the draggers at all, but ) the trawl fleet in the BS is at min 100% observed or more, some are required by law to have up to three observers on board. Over the last five years we have been learning way too much about the halibut bycatch and have talked to the observers, the laws themselves can be much of our problems not the draggers. In most cases the draggers can't throw fish over until they are checked by the observers and in my understanding they can't throw any king salmon over at all. They are working on and being some what sucsessful at techniqes and net designes to let the salmon out of the nets
Alaska - NOAA Fisheries Service to Analyze Salmon Bycatch Reduction in Bering Sea
NOAA Fisheries Service, in consultation with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, announces its intent to prepare either an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on measures to minimize non-Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea. The proposed action would replace the current Chum Salmon Savings Area in the Bering Sea, and the specific exemption to the area closure, with new regulatory closures, salmon bycatch limits, or a combination of both. The agency will accept written comments from the public to determine the issues of concern and the appropriate range of alternatives for analysis.
Comments may be sent to ChumSalmonBycatchEIS@noaa.gov until March 23, 2009. For more information, please read the Federal Register notice.
PS the bycatch is not thrown over the side, all the salmon are brought in to be donated to charity's and retirment homes etc. when they are of marketable or usable.
yak2you2
2009-02-11 22:02:04
Nice to see I'm not the only one who is passionate about these issues. While we are discussing ocean practices that need to cease, let me add one more gear group to the list. For years now, the sea floor off the shores of Yakutat has been getting bulldozed by transplanted East coast scallop draggers. Nobody can seem to prove it, but about the time they showed up, all of our crab stocks disappeared. Just one sight of their boats and crews tells the whole story. The boats, bleeding rust and oil, look exactly like something a pirate would be proud to own. Then there's the crew. Most crews are kind of uniform, not these guys. They take whatever they can get. Tall and skinny, short and fat. I'm serious, I saw a boat full of them get off once, one guy was missing an eye, another had a bad cough like he might have had turberculosis, it was a real sight. I remember another time when the state troopers came to town to meet one dragger, took ever single man except for the captain away in cuffs for various felony warrants.
I shudder to think of what else besides our crab they've destroyed. I love eating scallops, but I've sworn them off for now.It's 2009, is raking and dragging a log chain the best we can come with to harvest the ocean?
Yak2you,
This last season I observed a scallop dragger working from Cape Fairweather to Lituya on about the 30 fa edge for two days continuously (day&night). It was during the second king opening (mid-August). I shudder to think of the amount of king salmon, halibut, and other species laying along that bottom. I'm assuming that a scallop trawler is dragging a trawl along the bottom, correct? I'm curious if any observers are required for scallop trawlers. Also, do you know what sort of trawl setup they use? After the trip I did check with the ADF&G and confirmed that it was a registered scallop dragger during the tail end of the scallop season.... As Salty mentioned I had thought that trawling was not allowed in SE Alaska.
yak2you2
2009-02-16 07:42:44
some of their gear consists of a long trawl stocking with a solid metal rake with fingers that drag in the mud several inches deep. The rake spans the whole leading bottom edge of the tunnel, others have otter doors, but out ahead of either of these conglomerations, is a fancy piece of hardware known as the tickle chain, which is about a 3" in diameter log chain that drags across the bottom ahead of the tunnel entrance to scare up the scallops off of the bottom and into the bag. Scallops aren't like other bi-valves in this respect. They can squirt a water jet and move around a few feet at a time. I've seen sonar images of the bottom where draggers have done this, and the rake marks are clearly visible where they've tilled the bottom into neat little rows. They destroy ABSOLUTELY everything in their path.
I don't know about observers, I've never seen one get off the boat when the circus crew makes their usual mad dash to the nearest liquor store, But that doesn't mean anything. I think dragging and trawling are classified differently, though they shouldn't be. I don't know why, but obviously what they're doing is still legal. I can't understand why every single environmental group and fisherman's organization there is isn't dogging these guys out of existence. I'm no environmentalist by any means, but you don't have to be see what they are doing is terribly, terribly wrong.
Hi,
I only have a comment regarding unity and political cohesiveness that was briefly mentioned in the discourse below. My brother came up to Sitka to fish this past summer and I introduced him to many of our finest and not-so -fine skippers and crewmembers from many of our fisheries. He has only fished Bristol Bay previous to this past summer troll season in Sitka. My brother is a very observant and intellectual guy and is not in touch at all with fisheries politics. He is, however, been a factory worker his entire life and is very knowledgeable regarding worker's rights and political action on the labor union front. After only a few weeks in Sitka, he commented that ,"There is absolutely no political cohesiveness in the fishing fleet. Everyone seems to be out for themselves and only a small few are taking action for a great many. It is the commercial fishermen themselves that are hurting themselves the most by taking no action and only complaining at the docks or at the bar. "
I DID make him aware of ATA and ALFA and similar organizations, but being a former political grassroots activist myself, I know that the ones who are actually involved and take action are a minor committed few and the burn-out rate is high. I have always given great respect and regard to those fisherman and activists out there who are committed and doing something (EJ, JF, LB, DF, SF...). How can we get all involved? How can we get fisherman to occassionaly look beyond the bottom dollar and attend meetings, write letters, take action, communicate with each other to make the fleet cohesive in thought AND action? It is a massive mountain to climb, but I believe that with more voices and a bigger entity positive action can occur. When I was young I learned that to scare the bear away from my camp I had to look bigger and growl and roar.
Finally, on another note, how many of you trollers participated int he POP Test Fishery that Dan F. and others had put together? If we could get some trollers to change gear for a slow period of coho fishing and land some POP on Shrimp and Fly gear, the landings alone could be enough to ward off the trawlers who are constantly trying to navigate their way back into the GOA.
Dragging and Trawling DOES have to be curtailed somehow.
kingquota
2009-02-22 09:33:38
Hi all ,
I usually do not comment or at least try not to comment on other areas other than the one that specifically concerns me and mine. But since it is about King Salmon and we just usually give an educated guess about where they are from, I guess I will make an exception.
I ran accross the average poundage of the kings going into the Yukon River and I know that one year the average pound per King was a whopping 38#. Now the reaason I am saying that is out of the Yukon Kings being caught as a by-catch and the large numbers equals out to one hell of a lot of pounds. Not only that how do the draggers keep the kings fresh or how do they handle them to last until they get back to port? Are they reporting just the most recent caught? What of the early kings? Does antone check to see what charities they deliver to. It seems to me that maybe those charities may have an Fisheries, Inc. at the end of their delivery point. If so that number of kings delivered under the table could greatly affect our market price and keep it down. Something is keeping the price down for the winter kings anyway. One year it is $10 plus and the next it is less than $8. How are we to know unless an full investigation takes place.
Yak2you2, Wish you were on our side instead of the dept's. You have some good points in this post and are not afraid to speak of them. When I heard you speak the simular ideas of the Dept when you talk about our attempt to open the Spring Kings for Yakutat. Even when Yakutat has a petition of 126 people signing it, along with the 26,000 plus members strong Central Council T & H unanamously passed in convention Resolutions,(4 lines and King Salmon Quota) and the strong letter of support from the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe of the previous T & H resolution. Then there is the Resolutions from the City and Borough of Yakutat that was passed in a meeting unanamouslybecause the inferred it was too weak and should be strengthened. Don't forget the resolution from the Yak-Tat Kwaan, Inc. that also passed a resolution in favor of to re-open our King Salmon for the months of May and June. I am putting this on the troller talk just to remind you that you are a troller that resides in Yakutat and are in Sitka on Yakutats behalf. Not the Dept nor the ATA. I mean you no harm unless you talk against the Petition, resolutions and letter of support. If you have, all those you talked to will know you have talked against your Yakutat peoples wishes. I personally wish that you have not. Say hello to salty for me and to all you trollers I hope you are shaking up the board and dept. Don't shake the big Kings tho' :mrgreen: wish I was there.