Alaska’s Bering Sea pollock fishery is in line for a quota increase in 2011.
The National Marine Fisheries Service recently reported that the Bering Sea pollock biomass has more than doubled, jumping from about 4.6 million metric tons in 2010 to 9.6 million metric tons for 2011. As a result, federal scientists on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Island Groundfish Plan Team are expected to recommend a 2011 quota of 1.2 million metric tons.
The council will vote on the quota at its meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, from 6 to 14 December.
This is good news for the Bering Sea pollock fishery, which has endured two consecutive years of quota cuts. In 2010, the quota totaled 813,000 metric tons, the lowest in 32 years. The fishery produced almost 1.5 million metric tons annually between 2002 and 2006.
“The scientists predicted this upturn last year. It is gratifying to see that sticking with the science pays off,” said Dave Benton, executive director of the Marine Conservation Alliance in Juneau, Alaska.
“For the last two years, we unequivocally supported reduced harvest levels as recommended by the scientists. Now, even though the biomass has doubled, actual allowed catches will only increase by about one-third,” noted Benton. “That is OK with us. These conservative measures are how we have done business in Alaska for roughly 30 years. It’s why we have sustainable fisheries for the long haul.”
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