Among the roughly one hundred proposals on the Alaska Board of Fisheries agenda at its upcoming meeting next month are a handful focused on further restricting or closing the state-managed pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound. Now, a Kodiak organization is trying to drum up support for local trawlers, and oppose the proposals 14, 15, 16, & 17.
Four proposals brought by two separate organizations could significantly restrict or even shut down the Prince William Sound pollock fishery. But the final decision lies with the Board of Fisheries, which oversees management of state waters, at its meeting next month.
Fifteen vessels from Kodiak participate in the region’s pollock fishery. Earlier this month, Julie Bonney, the head of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, a Kodiak-based trade organization that represents trawl catcher vessels and processors, requested the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly and Kodiak City Council send a letter to the Board of Fisheries opposing the proposals. Here's what she said to the Borough Assembly on Nov. 21 about how the Kodiak community is dependent on the pollock fishery.
“I think when you understand how heavily regulated the fishery is and what the proposals are about, then you’ll realize that it’s really not a good outcome for the fishery or for the participants," Bonney told the Borough Assembly.
But as of Tuesday, Nov. 26, neither local government had taken formal action on Bonney’s request and it’s unlikely both will. That afternoon the City Council was scheduled to hold a special session to discuss and possibly approve a letter to the Board of Fisheries but canceled due to a lack of quorum.
The letter Bonney drafted for the municipal governments cited the Kodiak Island Borough’s small severance tax of .00925 cents and the 7% city’s sales tax, along with the State of Alaska Fishery Business tax that generates revenue for both the borough and the city.
Three of the four proposals Bonney referenced were brought by the Chenega IRA Council, a federally recognized tribal government. The other was submitted by the Alaska Outdoor Council, which is a group of sportsmen's clubs.
One of the proposals submitted by Chenega would close the pollock trawl fishery because of suspected damage to the ecosystem in Prince William Sound. Recorded bycatch data from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game shows trawlers catch thousands of rockfish, squid and Chinook salmon annually, along with other species like sharks.
According to the information submitted with its proposal, the Chenega IRA Council said shortraker rockfish are being caught as bycatch by Pollock trawlers and this indicates the fishery is dragging its nets on the bottom rather than the midwater where the fishery should be trawling.
The Alaska Outdoor Council brought forward the other proposal to close the Pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound, unless no part or attachment to pelagic trawl gear contacts the seafloor habitat and there is no bycatch of king salmon.
The Chenega IRA Council said another proposal it submitted would be a way to ensure the amount of bycatch doesn’t increase when the guideline harvest level [GHL] increases. Proposal 15 also requested that any bycatch be brought back to port and turned into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game instead of being discarded.
The proposals come on the heels of an abrupt shut down of the Central Gulf of Alaska pollock fishery, after an unprecedented amount of Chinook salmon was incidentally caught by Kodiak trawlers in September. The final proposal the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank is opposing, proposal #17, would strictly require 100% onboard electronic observers across the Pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound.
In response to the proposed crackdown in Prince William Sound, Bonney said the fishery already has enough regulations in place to curb bycatch.
“The fishery is heavily regulated already, both in terms of bycatch, both for rockfish and for salmon," Bonney said. "And then the department [ADF&G] has the ability to put at-sea observers on the platforms any time they want.”
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game seems to agree with Bonney, as it submitted comments in opposition to all four of the proposals that would further restrict or close the pollock trawl fishery in Prince William Sound. The department said in part, “emergency order authority provides the department with the tools necessary to adjust the bycatch limits by species or assemblage within the 5% limit set in regulation.”
The Board of Fisheries is scheduled to begin deliberations on these proposals on Dec. 12 in Cordova. The meeting begins with staff reports on Dec. 10 and the full meeting could last through Dec. 16.
Kodiak’s municipal governments, and members of the public, can submit comments to the Board of Fisheries until midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
