The Prince William Sound pollock fishery, the only state-managed pollock trawl fishery in Alaska, opens on Jan. 20. This will be the first season where all Chinook salmon bycatch has to be retained. The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved the change in December.
Registered fishermen will be able to harvest just over 9 million pounds of pollock this season, spread across three sections that make up the Prince William Sound fishery.
Typically, once 60% of the harvest was caught in one of those sections, then the Alaska Department of Fish and Game would close that section. But this year, the department won’t have to do that, after another Board of Fisheries rule change.
As far as bycatch goes, state regulation requires that for every 1 million pounds of pollock caught, no more than 50,000 pounds can be another species like rockfish, or shark and squid. All rockfish and Chinook salmon must be retained and then surrendered to the department, regardless of if an overage happens.
Bycatch limits for this season’s 9 million-pound-quota specifically require the fishery be shut down if 45,500 pounds of rockfish, 1,152 individual Chinook salmon, or 405,860 pounds of shark, squid or other species are caught.
About 15 Kodiak boats are expected to participate in the Prince William Sound fishery according to a letter submitted by the City of Kodiak to the Board of Fisheries last month. For Kodiak, this Prince William Sound fishery is estimated to bring in approximately $1 million in dockside value, along with the Kodiak Island Borough’s small severance tax of .00925 cents which is applied to the ex-vessel fish price, and the 7% city’s sales tax that applies to all purchases within city limits.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a Dec. 30 announcement that this year’s pollock fishery could feature high fishing effort and the need to monitor bycatch more closely. The state may then open and close fishing opportunities more frequently during the season through weekly or daily fishing periods.
The pollock trawl fishery opens on Jan. 20. Those wanting to participate must register with the department by 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 13.
