Fisheries flummox: Halibut bycatch and shrinking budgets

Alaskans are being asked to weigh in on two tough issues: budgets and halibut bycatch.

First, the state Board of Fisheries and Board of Game are seeking cost-cutting ideas for both of the panels and state agencies that provide information to the boards.

Both boards have seven members serving three-year terms.

The Fish Board's role is to conserve and develop fishery resources for the state's subsistence, commercial, sport, and personal use fisheries. It includes setting policy for managers, as well as fishing seasons, bag limits, fishing methods, and allocation decisions.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is responsible for management based on the decisions.

A day-long meeting Dec. 9 at the Egan Center in Anchorage will solicit budget-cutting ideas from the public.

"Just based on the normal meeting schedules that the boards have, we don't even have enough at status quo in terms of a budget to meet their needs," said Glenn Haight, executive director of Fish and Game Board Support, adding the meeting focus is on fiscal year 2017, which starts in July 2016.

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The combined meeting costs vary, said Haight, but are roughly $500,000. That includes travel expenses of $200,000 to $230,000 for members of 60 to 70 active advisory committees to both boards.

One idea floated at a recent work session, Haight said, is to extend the current regional three-year meeting cycle to four or five years. That would save $100,000.

"Some would say there is already too much time between meeting cycles and further delay would make it harder to make regulatory changes, and would cause more … emergency petitions," Haight said. "Others say extending the meeting cycle to five years is good for a business because it provides a more stable environment for planning."

Another idea is to reduce the number of regulatory proposals, or streamline the review process by Fish and Game.

"Between both boards, there are upwards of 400-500 proposals each year. If there was a way to reduce the number of proposals, or to at least streamline the review efforts by the boards, that would save a lot of money by division staff, and they are the ones who are sustaining significant budget reductions," Haight explained.

Written comments should be emailed to dfg.bof.comments@alaska.gov by Dec. 4. An online option will be posted to accept comments long after the December meeting.

Halibut bycatch comments sought

Federal fishery managers want Alaskans to comment on a proposed rule, Amendment 111, to reduce halibut bycatch in Bering Sea and Aleutian Island groundfish fisheries.

The rule would reduce the overall annual halibut trawl bycatch limit from 9.7 million pounds to 7.7 million pounds, a 21 percent drop. It also would reduce the bycatch taken by hook and line boats by 15 percent to 1.5 million pounds.

By contrast, the statewide sport catch limit in 2015 was 2.7 million pounds, divided among anglers in Southeast and the central Gulf of Alaska, according to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

"This action is expected to provide additional harvest opportunity and revenue for the commercial halibut fishery in the regional management area. It could also benefit the commercial, personal use, sport and subsistence fisheries there and elsewhere in Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest as halibut migrate southward," NOAA officials said.

Comments can be made to the Sustainable Fisheries Division in Juneau or via the federal e-rulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov through Dec. 28.

On a related note, the industry will get a first peek at proposed halibut catches for next year when the commission meets Dec. 1-2 in Seattle. Final decisions will be made at the annual meeting set for Jan. 25-29 in Juneau.

Groundfish jobs

Alaska's seafood industry puts more people to work than oil and gas, mining, tourism and logging combined, and the numbers continue to grow, largely due to increased catches of groundfish, primarily pollock and cod.

According to the November issue of Alaska Economic Trends by the state Department of Labor, fishing employment grew by 0.7 percent in 2014, boosted by 350 jobs in groundfish harvesting, an increase of nearly 25 percent. Gains were made in every month of the year, with employment records set in March and December. Groundfish jobs in Kodiak increased by nearly 17 percent.

By weight, groundfish dominates Alaska's fisheries. Last year groundfish accounted for 84 percent of the total catch by weight, up 11 percent from 2013. Nationally, Alaska's catch accounted for nearly 65 percent of the entire U.S. groundfish harvest.

Other report highlights show Southeast Alaska's share of harvesting jobs declined 2 percent in 2014, and the Alaska Panhandle still had the highest percentage of industry employment in the state. Southeast's Dungeness crab fishery gained 29 jobs, for nearly a 20 percent growth.

Overall, Alaska crab harvesting gained 12 jobs — or about 2 percent.

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The Aleutians and Pribilof Islands ranked second, followed by Southcentral (including Prince William Sound) and Kodiak.

Anchorage is home to more skippers than any other Alaska community. Nearly 2,200 commercial fishing permit holders live there.

GMO salmon, sriracha, trash fish

"Trash fish," growing sentiments against genetically modified fish and greater use of spices from around the world are some top trends for U.S. seafood restaurants in 2016. That's according to Chicago-based Technomic, a research and consulting firm servicing the food and food-service industry.

Consumers' anti-GMO stance may cause U.S. restaurants to shy away from featuring GMO salmon, approved this week by the Food and Drug Administration. Because the FDA found "no material differences between an engineered and a normal salmon, the agency does not require the fish to be labeled as engineered," according to The Associated Press, in restaurants or stores. "That means once the salmon reaches stores, consumers may not even know they are eating them."

But Technomic said American seafood lovers already have convinced most of the major U.S. grocery chains to commit to not selling genetically modified salmon, and diners may urge restaurant chains to follow suit.

"Whatever the science says, many consumers have made up their minds: No genetic tinkering with their food," Rita Negrete, senior editor at Technomic, wrote in a recent blog post.

What's called the "sriracha effect" will lead restaurants to more frequently pair seafood with spicy flavors from around the world.

And the trend towards using "trash" fish, or underutilized species, is drawing increasing raves. Chef's Collaborative began sponsoring "trash fish dinners" a few years ago, raising chef and consumer awareness of less-familiar fish taken as bycatch in their regions. Many chefs also use suppliers such as Sea to Table, Dock to Dish and individual fishermen.

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"The cost is attractive, and it's a very simple way for these restaurants to feel like they are making a difference with a positive sustainable impact," said Justin Boevers of FishChoice, which provides an online sustainable seafood sourcing tool.

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based commercial fishing columnist. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.

Laine Welch | Fish Factor

Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based journalist who writes a weekly column, Fish Factor, that appears in newspapers and websites around Alaska and nationally. Contact her at msfish@alaskan.com.

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