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"Minority Report (Component 7.3): A seven member minority wanted a maximum rollover of 50% and a six member minority preferred a rollover of 30%. The Rockfish Program claims to reduce halibut bycatch and seafloor contact. The rockfish fishery has achieved these goals. However, if 100% rollover provision of unused halibut prohibited species was rolled over, it would undermine the fundamental intent of MSA (Magnuson Stevens Act) in reducing bycatch, thus something less than a 100% rollover is required. The minority believes that the majority choice of 75% is too high. Bottom trawl time and associated impacts to the habitat have significant impacts to the habitat around Kodiak Island in the fall. In order to provide some level of net benefit to the nation, a portion of halibut savings should truly be realised and left in the water. PSC allocations based on pre-program usage (should be the rule?) A 30% to 50% reduction fulfills commitments to reduce bycatch/halibut impacts while achieving program goals. Signed: Theresa Peterson, Jeff Farvour, Becca Robbins Gisclair, Chuck McCallum, Tim Evers, John Crowley."
------
"Component 16): A minority believes that a hard sunset for the entire rockfish pilot program is important. Both ten year and fifteen year sunsets were supported by the minority. The first line of the problem statement is: "The intent of this action is to retain the conservation, management, safety, and economic gains to the extent practicable..." and it is notable that the program has achieved the benefits of a rationalised fishery without giving away the 'property rights' of the fishery.
"The Rockfish Program began as a two year pilot program which was extended through an act of congress. In complying with the reauthorized MSA is has undergone fundamental changes such as no processor association. This program is part of a piece meal attempt to rationalize fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska in allocating a small rockfish fishery along with valuable secondary species. We have no idea what things will look like tens years down the line; especially with the number of Council agenda items addressing bycatch issues with crab, salmon, and halibut on the horizon. A program duration will create incentives to keep the program working so Council may choose to continue the program and the fleet will not have the expectation that the program will exist in perpetuity.
"All that is required for a limited access program to deliver the benefits of a rationalized program is that there be a meaningful quantifiable limit or a set quota on the amount of fishery resource that can be harvested. The public has zero incentive to design programs in such a way as to maximize the bottom line asset value of the resource quota. Quite the opposite, in fact, because the greater the value of the quota, the greater the negative impact on communities through higher barriers to entry into the fishery Limited program duration can serve to achieve the benefits of rationalization while delivering adequate business stability and trying to keep the barriers to new entrants lower than would otherwise be the case. Signed: Theresa Peterson, Becca Robbins Gisclair, Chuck McCallum."
Keep yer flippers wet.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Summer Time, Salmon Time
While there are things here on the horizon that could use a flogging, summer time means salmon time and the information resources that support this blog are out chasing fish. News is that observers will now be required on vessels under sixty feet and we will perhaps get some better data on the bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska. There will be few surprises, however, as selective gear types will for the most part still be selective and the less selective gear (read trawls) will remain less selective. It is tragic how we have to prove gravity over and over and the disbelievers keep calling it rumor. Planning sessions are being scheduled for the implimentation of more complete observer coverage. We all must engage in steering this process so that we get the truth about what goes on out there. The days of hiding huge takes of sealions by trawlers may be over. (Did you hear about the fin whale killed in the cod end? Didn't think so.) There are no more king crab so there are no more red bags (cod ends bulging with crushed Paralithodes camtschaticus). But decks covered in king salmon and or juvenile halibut and cod ends bulging with crushed tanner crab are still happening, and being unobserved, and like the oil escaping from the BP well, "if it don't surface, it just ain't there," right? And very like the BP spill, the unified command of NMFS, the NPFMC, ADF&G, and so on, just can't get off their support of "a blind eye for the big guy"...trawlers and, for the most part, foreign owned processing interests who continue to support the gaming of the observer program. Yes, the gaming of the data, of the testimony, of the unseen catches, of the missed observations, the skewed sampling, the skipper's sleight of hand, like BP's oil spill keeps the true magnitude of the damage out of sight and out of mind. What evidence?
Things can change for the better. Keep your cameras ready (and hidden) and we will get your eye on stage to make a difference. Get engaged with the restructuring of the observer program. They won't do this again for a very long time. Your involvement will help get it right. Okay, maybe not right, but a helluva lot better. It could happen.
If you haven't read this entire blog, may I suggest you do so? What is posted here is not spoiling, needs no refrigeration, and for the most part is not time sensitive. When you are done you will be much better informed about the hidden truths about trawling and bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska.
Until later. I have to go catch fish. A sealion has to eat too, right?
Keep yer flippers wet.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
"Flatfish trawlers cut bottom contact by 90%!"
Can you imagine anyone with even half a brain to make such a statement? Well, the Marine Stewardship Council did, making them almost too preposterous. It is like an absurd comedy. Except it is an outrage. This is an act of intentional deception and truly deserves a lawsuit. MSA has indeed certified filthy flats as a sustainable fishery. By such action they have helped destroy the validity of that very word...sustainable is now most officially a greenwash word, a salesman's pitch, a perversion of truth. It would be laughable if it didn't mean now there is a stronger market potentially for flats and that trawlers will continue to trash the resources around Kodiak with hard on the bottom flat fish trawling. Crab stocks, halibut, corals, and the general benthic habitat will suffer. Until overwhelming pressure by commercial fishermen, charter fishermen, sportfishermen, and the general public are brought to bear upon our representatives in government to call a halt, these destructive practices will continue. Write your letters, friends, speak your mind while we still have some healthy resources left in the Gulf of Alaska to worry about.
Keep yer flippers wet.
Keep yer flippers wet.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
$$$ MSC to Certify Filthy Flats! $$$
---
News is that the Marine Stewardship Council is about to certify GOA flatfish as sustainable and green. Unbelieveable! This is an affront to common sense! Flatfish trawling in Kodiak (GOA) is dirty, dirty, dirty...the worst! Crab bottom, halibut bottom, WTF! 28% halibut death for arrowtooth delivered and this from official NMFS records as witnessed by observers! Filthy Mar Pacifico! A nearly worthless flatfish targeted to get the bycatch and in so doing destroying invaluable halibut.
In the infamous video below you can watch crew sort dead and dying halibut to keep a few flatfish. http://www.tholepin.blogspot.com/2009/10/filthy-video-of-halibut-waste.html This is exactly the kind of behavior that MSC is going to certify as sustainable and green. Unbelieveable and worthy of condemnation. Sustainable indeed. How shortsighted can they get? Don't they believe their own eyes?
Obviously this is a $green$ organization. Pay them your $green$ and they will give you anything you want! If these crooks had any conscience, it was purchased long ago. Give it up people...you are totally compromised. I see they are getting this through the door before the observer restructuring can get its legs (although I have serious doubts that we can put an end to the sophisticated gaming that will go on even if it gets restructured).
While I do not have any faith that sense and reason can trump money, let these people know that their British bullshit is just that. We need to pull down the Marine Stewardship Council as corrupt as is the Marine Conservation Alliance, where they probably get some of their money. Certainly MSC is getting their money from the same origins...trawler and processor profits off the destruction of the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere, where dirty unsustainable fishing practices rule.
Shoot them your emails protesting the certification of GOA flatfish. Outrageous!
objections@msc.org
If you do not send them a message, you can not complain that they did not listen to you. You can be sure that the trawlers will be writing (their bosses will enforce that) as directed by the whitefish trawler association.
Keep yer bloody flippers wet.
News is that the Marine Stewardship Council is about to certify GOA flatfish as sustainable and green. Unbelieveable! This is an affront to common sense! Flatfish trawling in Kodiak (GOA) is dirty, dirty, dirty...the worst! Crab bottom, halibut bottom, WTF! 28% halibut death for arrowtooth delivered and this from official NMFS records as witnessed by observers! Filthy Mar Pacifico! A nearly worthless flatfish targeted to get the bycatch and in so doing destroying invaluable halibut.
In the infamous video below you can watch crew sort dead and dying halibut to keep a few flatfish. http://www.tholepin.blogspot.com/2009/10/filthy-video-of-halibut-waste.html This is exactly the kind of behavior that MSC is going to certify as sustainable and green. Unbelieveable and worthy of condemnation. Sustainable indeed. How shortsighted can they get? Don't they believe their own eyes?
Obviously this is a $green$ organization. Pay them your $green$ and they will give you anything you want! If these crooks had any conscience, it was purchased long ago. Give it up people...you are totally compromised. I see they are getting this through the door before the observer restructuring can get its legs (although I have serious doubts that we can put an end to the sophisticated gaming that will go on even if it gets restructured).
While I do not have any faith that sense and reason can trump money, let these people know that their British bullshit is just that. We need to pull down the Marine Stewardship Council as corrupt as is the Marine Conservation Alliance, where they probably get some of their money. Certainly MSC is getting their money from the same origins...trawler and processor profits off the destruction of the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere, where dirty unsustainable fishing practices rule.
Shoot them your emails protesting the certification of GOA flatfish. Outrageous!
objections@msc.org
If you do not send them a message, you can not complain that they did not listen to you. You can be sure that the trawlers will be writing (their bosses will enforce that) as directed by the whitefish trawler association.
Keep yer bloody flippers wet.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Network Releases Report Assessing Needs for At-Sea Observers
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"The Marine Fish Conservation Network recently released Meeting the Information Demands of 21st Century Fisheries: A Needs Assessment for Fisheries Observer Programs, a report that explains the need for more federally funded at-sea observers. At-sea fisheries observers are a central pillar of the National Marine Fisheries Service's national bycatch strategy and the catch data they collect is critical to the success of efforts to end overfishing. The report shows that significant increases in funding of fisheries observer programs are needed to support the information needs of fisheries managers and it recommends other changes to expand observer coverage and maintain public access to data."
Read it at : http://www.conservefish.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=12&id=136&Itemid=332
Well, it is an okay report, but like so many things written by bystanders to the industry it is full of comfortable half truths. "Observer coverage varies widely by region and fishery, from levels of 30 to 100% in most Alaska groundfish fisheries..." Garbage in, garbage out. Too general, not accurate and completely oblivious to the gaming that goes on within the industry. Frankly, I can't worry about how messed up the other regions are, because right here in the Gulf of Alaska, things are not pretty. 30% observer coverage is a goal, is heavily gamed by players so that the data gained is distorted and inaccurate. That data ends up being used to forecast and regulate and is mostly erroneous. Huge gaps exist in the catch and bycatch data. High-grading and wastage are rampant. If a fish dies in the cod end and there is no one there to see, is it really there? Not according to the NMFS. Only occassionally does a brave soul step forward and record the waste, as has been seen here on these pages.
So Marine Fish Conservation Network, nice try, but no you didn't get it right. The system is far more broken than you can imagine. Please try again. Your brush is far too wide and general to have much use. Put a finer point on it. 100% observer coverage must be part of any real plan to manage fisheries, at least until we really know what the hell is going on out there. Make it a rolling 100% coverage. A couple years for each fishery to ground truth what is really going on. Rumor is just not admissible in court. 'They'll never kill all the buffalo." Think again.
Keep yer flippers wet.
"The Marine Fish Conservation Network recently released Meeting the Information Demands of 21st Century Fisheries: A Needs Assessment for Fisheries Observer Programs, a report that explains the need for more federally funded at-sea observers. At-sea fisheries observers are a central pillar of the National Marine Fisheries Service's national bycatch strategy and the catch data they collect is critical to the success of efforts to end overfishing. The report shows that significant increases in funding of fisheries observer programs are needed to support the information needs of fisheries managers and it recommends other changes to expand observer coverage and maintain public access to data."
Read it at : http://www.conservefish.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=12&id=136&Itemid=332
Well, it is an okay report, but like so many things written by bystanders to the industry it is full of comfortable half truths. "Observer coverage varies widely by region and fishery, from levels of 30 to 100% in most Alaska groundfish fisheries..." Garbage in, garbage out. Too general, not accurate and completely oblivious to the gaming that goes on within the industry. Frankly, I can't worry about how messed up the other regions are, because right here in the Gulf of Alaska, things are not pretty. 30% observer coverage is a goal, is heavily gamed by players so that the data gained is distorted and inaccurate. That data ends up being used to forecast and regulate and is mostly erroneous. Huge gaps exist in the catch and bycatch data. High-grading and wastage are rampant. If a fish dies in the cod end and there is no one there to see, is it really there? Not according to the NMFS. Only occassionally does a brave soul step forward and record the waste, as has been seen here on these pages.
So Marine Fish Conservation Network, nice try, but no you didn't get it right. The system is far more broken than you can imagine. Please try again. Your brush is far too wide and general to have much use. Put a finer point on it. 100% observer coverage must be part of any real plan to manage fisheries, at least until we really know what the hell is going on out there. Make it a rolling 100% coverage. A couple years for each fishery to ground truth what is really going on. Rumor is just not admissible in court. 'They'll never kill all the buffalo." Think again.
Keep yer flippers wet.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Dirtiest Bottom Trawlers 2010...Simply Criminal
***
These are samples from official prohibited species reports available on the NOAA website: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/2010/pscinfo.htm
***
Worst Non Pelagic Trawlers in the Gulf of Alaska for Halibut
No.1: Feb 6, 2010 F/V Coho fishing cod 47% bycatch of halibut, 2 observations
No.2: Mar 27, 2010 F/V Mar Pacifico fishing arrowtooth 28% halibut, 1 observation
No.3: Mar 27, 2010 F/V Golden Fleece fishing cod 24% halibut, 4 observations
No.4: Feb 6, 2010 F/V Hickory Wind fishing cod 15% halibut, 1 observation
All halibut bycatch is dead and all tanner crab too, with more tanner crab not recovered to the deck crushed by the trawl and killed. This is PSC. Prohibited Species Catch. It may not be retained and is thrown overboard. Less than 30% of trawler time has an observer on board. These observers are kept busy with sampling work and often are unaware of the bycatch. So this is only the tip of the iceberg, a hint of the destruction going on in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea.
Worst Trawlers in the Gulf of Alaska for Chinook
No.1: F/V US Intrepid 385 Chinook killed, 17 observations
No.2: F/V Vaerdal 311 Chinook, 20 observations
No.3: F/V Ocean Alaska 284 Chinook, 16 observations
No.4: F/V Sea Mac 245 Chinook, 5 observations
No.5: F/V Leslie Lee 227 Chinook, 8 observations
No.6: F/V Marathon 151 Chinook, 3 observations
These are samples from official prohibited species reports available on the NOAA website: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/2010/pscinfo.htm
***
Worst Non Pelagic Trawlers in the Gulf of Alaska for Halibut
No.1: Feb 6, 2010 F/V Coho fishing cod 47% bycatch of halibut, 2 observations
No.2: Mar 27, 2010 F/V Mar Pacifico fishing arrowtooth 28% halibut, 1 observation
No.3: Mar 27, 2010 F/V Golden Fleece fishing cod 24% halibut, 4 observations
No.4: Feb 6, 2010 F/V Hickory Wind fishing cod 15% halibut, 1 observation
All halibut bycatch is dead and all tanner crab too, with more tanner crab not recovered to the deck crushed by the trawl and killed. This is PSC. Prohibited Species Catch. It may not be retained and is thrown overboard. Less than 30% of trawler time has an observer on board. These observers are kept busy with sampling work and often are unaware of the bycatch. So this is only the tip of the iceberg, a hint of the destruction going on in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea.
Worst Trawlers in the Gulf of Alaska for Chinook
No.1: F/V US Intrepid 385 Chinook killed, 17 observations
No.2: F/V Vaerdal 311 Chinook, 20 observations
No.3: F/V Ocean Alaska 284 Chinook, 16 observations
No.4: F/V Sea Mac 245 Chinook, 5 observations
No.5: F/V Leslie Lee 227 Chinook, 8 observations
No.6: F/V Marathon 151 Chinook, 3 observations
Getting complicated here, because the latest stats by NMFS have drastically changed since last week. They must be tweaking the data to make it more palatable. Just like the sea lion data that we can't see until Balsinger launders it to make it more acceptable to the players. It is after all, a game. Like Wall Street, NMFS is playing with the numbers and the stats so things don't look as bad as they are. When the whole thing collapses, it won't matter who we blame. The deed will be done.
Keep yer flippers wet.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
What Happened To The Halibut, Dad?
---
Well, Child, people didn't take care of them and they were all killed. It was a sad day when the largest, most magnificent fish in the North Pacific Ocean were destroyed by men who didn't care what they caught in their trawls.
Well, Child, people didn't take care of them and they were all killed. It was a sad day when the largest, most magnificent fish in the North Pacific Ocean were destroyed by men who didn't care what they caught in their trawls.
---
But, Dad, why didn't you stop them?
But, Dad, why didn't you stop them?
---
I tried, Child, but we couldn't get the rule makers to see the importance of taking care of the Ocean and the fish that we depend upon. They let too many baby halibut get killed by the trawlers and didn't see that those little fish were the future. Now all we have left are the pictures of those big flat fish. See that king crab on the wall there? That's what happened to them, too.
I tried, Child, but we couldn't get the rule makers to see the importance of taking care of the Ocean and the fish that we depend upon. They let too many baby halibut get killed by the trawlers and didn't see that those little fish were the future. Now all we have left are the pictures of those big flat fish. See that king crab on the wall there? That's what happened to them, too.
*** 
Trawl bycatch in January 2010 (note size of halibut)
Trawl bycatch in January 2010 (note size of halibut)The eagles are feasting on king salmon, crab legs lie scattered about.
IPHC data shows...
- In the Gulf of Alaska, approximately 80% of halibut bycatch is trawl caught
- Approximately 60% of GOA total halibut bycatch are U32 (under 32 inch)
- This effects the resource in two ways: (see graphs below)
- Loss of spawning potential (lost egg production)
- Reduced yield to directed setline fishery
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Keep yer flippers wet.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
ADF&G Excuses Trawler Bycatch of King Salmon
Listen to ADF&G's Suzanne Schmidt excuse Kodiak trawler bycatch for the decline of Kodiak king salmon. It's okay, Schmidt, we are used to ADF&G representatives excusing trawler excesses.
www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1697&Item=2
While Kodiak trawlers might not be the only reason for king salmon decline, they are certainly contributing to the low return numbers required for escapement. So far the trawlers have taken three times the escapement goal for the Karluk or twice the Ayakulik. A limit on the amount of king salmon that trawlers can waste needs to be implimented. Remember the numbers of king salmon shown as bycatch are projections based upon very limited observation. The actual numbers of king salmon and other PSC species is likely far higher. Rumors on the waterfront are that some very high catches of king salmon have been taken on the west side and these were unobserved. We need 100% observer coverage for the GOA. King salmon caught around Kodiak Island are from all over the Pacific, so trawler bycatch around Kodiak affects the entire region. But when they are trawling right out in front of the king depleted Karluk, the conclusions seem obvious. If a man comes into the police station covered in blood and reports there has been a murder, wouldn't he be suspect, you think?
Keep yer flippers wet.
www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1697&Item=2
While Kodiak trawlers might not be the only reason for king salmon decline, they are certainly contributing to the low return numbers required for escapement. So far the trawlers have taken three times the escapement goal for the Karluk or twice the Ayakulik. A limit on the amount of king salmon that trawlers can waste needs to be implimented. Remember the numbers of king salmon shown as bycatch are projections based upon very limited observation. The actual numbers of king salmon and other PSC species is likely far higher. Rumors on the waterfront are that some very high catches of king salmon have been taken on the west side and these were unobserved. We need 100% observer coverage for the GOA. King salmon caught around Kodiak Island are from all over the Pacific, so trawler bycatch around Kodiak affects the entire region. But when they are trawling right out in front of the king depleted Karluk, the conclusions seem obvious. If a man comes into the police station covered in blood and reports there has been a murder, wouldn't he be suspect, you think?
Keep yer flippers wet.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Run the Natural Gauntlet and Get Hammered in Trawl
Wiggy,
"Remember that the "499,400 pounds wasted" mainly consists of sublegal halibut. These fish have run the natural gauntlet and won...only to get hammered in a trawl.
"They have made it through the most vulnerable stages of development. They are no longer subject to the high natural predation once they have reached ping pong paddle size and they would have likely made it to legal size if not for the trawlers.
"So...that 499,400 pounds represents a helluva lot more pounds and value if left trawl free. Makes the wasted value even more disgusting."
Signed,
A Fisherman
Keep yer flippers wet.
"Remember that the "499,400 pounds wasted" mainly consists of sublegal halibut. These fish have run the natural gauntlet and won...only to get hammered in a trawl.
"They have made it through the most vulnerable stages of development. They are no longer subject to the high natural predation once they have reached ping pong paddle size and they would have likely made it to legal size if not for the trawlers.
"So...that 499,400 pounds represents a helluva lot more pounds and value if left trawl free. Makes the wasted value even more disgusting."
Signed,
A Fisherman
Keep yer flippers wet.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Halibut and Chinook Wasted This Week
Go to www.fakr.noaa.gov/2010/car120_goa.pdf and see what the trawlers are doing to our precious resources this week. Chinooks are closed to fishing on the famous Kodiak Island rivers (not even catch and release!) but the trawlers have killed 8920 fish since the first of the year, 2049 alone just this last week! Shame and horror. Kiss the king salmon good bye on Kodiak. Thank you Kodiak pollock trawlers. Remember, the Marine Stewardship Council has certified pollock as sustainable...to hell with the king salmon! "No PSC (Prohibited Species Catch) Limits apply to salmon in the Gulf of Alaska," according to the NOAA site. Why the hell not?
The king salmon that would have returned to various southwestern Alaska rivers, would have been high priced prizes for well heeled guided sports fishermen and women. Their commercial value in southwestern Alaska is negligible. But they are hugely valuable to the tourist industry. Their looming extinction in Kodiak rivers is yet another tragedy we can chalk up to the Kodiak trawlers.
Halibut? No problem. Only a half million pounds killed so far, 499,400 pounds wasted. But the good news is only 55,000 pounds wasted last week. I am reminded that that loss of halibut should include their spawning potential. So not only have these fish been wantonly wasted, but their potential progeny have been eliminated as well.
Value of the halibut, about $2,122,450 exvessel wasted so far this year. But only $233,750 this week. Commercial fish value. Sports value, perhaps a bit more. Spawning value, priceless.
Show up at the NPFMC next week and let them know that the Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) is too high. Write a letter to the Anchorage Daily News, call your state and federal representatives, demand real change in the way the trawl industry continues to pound down our resources.
Keep yer flippers wet.
The king salmon that would have returned to various southwestern Alaska rivers, would have been high priced prizes for well heeled guided sports fishermen and women. Their commercial value in southwestern Alaska is negligible. But they are hugely valuable to the tourist industry. Their looming extinction in Kodiak rivers is yet another tragedy we can chalk up to the Kodiak trawlers.
Halibut? No problem. Only a half million pounds killed so far, 499,400 pounds wasted. But the good news is only 55,000 pounds wasted last week. I am reminded that that loss of halibut should include their spawning potential. So not only have these fish been wantonly wasted, but their potential progeny have been eliminated as well.
Value of the halibut, about $2,122,450 exvessel wasted so far this year. But only $233,750 this week. Commercial fish value. Sports value, perhaps a bit more. Spawning value, priceless.
Show up at the NPFMC next week and let them know that the Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) is too high. Write a letter to the Anchorage Daily News, call your state and federal representatives, demand real change in the way the trawl industry continues to pound down our resources.
Keep yer flippers wet.
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