Halibut fishery to start later

Halibut fishery to start later, catch cut


LAINE WELCH
FISHERIES
Published: January 17th, 2009 10:27 PM
Last Modified: January 17th, 2009 02:10 AM
KODIAK -- Alaska's halibut fishery will get off to a later start and fishermen will haul in fewer fish this year.

The catch limits for waters ranging from the West Coast and British Columbia to the Bering Sea were announced Friday by the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Alaska halibut catch was set at 45.6 million pounds, down from 50 million last year:

• 5.02 million pounds for longliners in Southeastern. They were bracing for a 30 percent cut to 4 million pounds.

• 21.7 million pounds for Alaska's biggest halibut hole -- Area 3A, the central Gulf. That's down about 1 million pounds.

• 10.9 million pounds for Area 3B, the western Gulf. That's the same as last year.

• 2.55 million pounds for Area 4A, the Aleutians, a cut from last year.

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• 1.9 million pounds for Area 4B of the Bering Sea, a small increase.


• 3.46 million pounds for Areas 4C, D and E, an increase.
The halibut fishery will open March 21. Last year it started March 8.

"The processors argued for a later opening so they could get rid of some frozen inventory," said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. "Most of the fishermen wanted an earlier opening date so they could get more fresh fish to market, but it was a compromise."

SIZING UP THE CREW
A project aimed at compiling labor data on Alaska's fishing crews is gaining traction as a mix of state and federal agencies get down to business this week.
It's estimated that about 20,000 crew members work on Alaska's fishing grounds each year, but they're self-employed workers, so the state collects no wage reports on them.

"All we know is that someone buys a crew license. We don't know if they fish, what they fish for, how many fisheries they participate in, for how long -- any of that kind of stuff," said Geron Bruce, deputy director of the state Commercial Fisheries Division.
"You can't really estimate the total economic impact of commercial fishing unless you know something about the earnings and employment patterns for the crew members, who are such an important part of the work force," he added.

"It makes it difficult for both harvesters and communities to apply for economic assistance or benefit from other state and federal programs," echoed Mike Catsi, director of the Southwest Alaska Municipal League. The league has championed the crew counting effort and helped get a $150,000 appropriation from the Legislature last year to jump start the project. The federal government, which co-manages several of Alaska's largest fisheries, is also providing funding.

Individual crew members want to document their participation in certain fisheries so that if the government doles out shares of the catch they can get their share, Bruce said. Many Alaska fisheries have been divvied among boat owners and, in some case, processors and even communities.

"It's a great idea," said Tyler O'Brien, a Kodiak fisherman. "But a lot of guys won't want to provide any information because they don't want a paper trail for the IRS."
Deckhand Isaac Milligan said, "All the fish passes through our hands. We need to be given credit for our contributions, even if some fishermen don't want to be counted."
The crew data could be collected via fish tickets or electronic landing reports already in place. Bruce said the next step is to form a 15-member advisory committee that represents a cross-section of Alaska fisheries, from small skiffs on the Yukon to big Bering Sea crab boats.

"And we really need to broaden the discussion to include more regions," said Bruce. "Basically, it has been focused in Kodiak and the Aleutians areas, but for many other regions, it's not even on their radar screen."

Jan Conitz of Juneau has been named project leader. At its meeting Wednesday, the committee will consider data collection options to present to the stakeholders group this spring.



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