3-Billion Pounds of Pollock Targeted

Jay Barrett/KMXT
The largest fishery in the nation kicked off on Sunday. The Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska pollock season is now underway, with a total allowable catch of 1.39-million metric tons – which is about 3-billion pounds.
That figure is 3.8 percent higher than last year’s TAC. Alaska pollock accounts for approximately 30 percent of all U.S. seafood landings by weight each year.
The A-Season started Sunday and runs through June 10th. It’s more lucrative due to the high percentage of roe during the winter. The B-Season runs from June 10th to November 1st.
Deck Boss Blogger Wesley Loy points out that only 132 vessels are registered to participate, but some are the largest of their types in the world. There are 108 trawlers, 21-catcher-processors, or factory trawlers, and three “motherships,” which tender the trawl fleet and process the catch at sea.