The sustainability of the pollock fishery fishery has been globally celebrated, but the ecosystem around this fishery is in peril. How is it assessed? Trawl surveys!

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The sustainability of the pollock fishery fishery has been globally celebrated, but the ecosystem around this fishery is in peril. How is it assessed? Trawl surveys!
Proposed changes would rein in bycatch; Opponents include AK CDQ groups who say reg changes will cause “industry chaos.”
Media hoopla runs high for the first fresh fish but prices plummet at retail.
Crabbers, pot cod fishery working on gear modifications and other reforms to reduce crab bycatch. Trawlers? Nope.
Alaskans say causes of orca decline more likely from toxins, pollution, vessel traffic and habitat loss in Puget Sound, which judge ignored.
Elsewhere, herring is canned, smoked, filleted, brined – in AK, it’s mostly valued only for the eggs at $0.12/lb. The bulk of the catch is discarded.
“Seattle is home to the fleet that harvests one of the most sustainable proteins in the world, Wild Alaska Pollock.” says promo.
One NPFMC member called the lack of W.AK salmon “unimaginably devastating” and “a humanitarian crisis.” The result? Months of more discussions…
“Traditional and other fishermen are bearing the burden of conservation while the pollock trawl fleet continues with business as usual.”
Lawsuit aims to hold the gov’t accountable for its “lack of action, lack of urgency” and “business as usual deliberate and ineffective management style as our people suffer and our waters are forever harmed.”