The global groundfish supply is about to get a bit tighter.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council this week recommended a 42 percent cut in the Pacific whiting quota this year, to 184,000 metric tons. Last year's whiting catch exceeded 322,000 metric tons valued at more than $50 million.
The council attributed the proposed quota cut to a sharp drop in the species' spawning biomass to record low levels. The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to approve the recommendation.
The Pacific whiting fishery is one of the United States' largest groundfish fisheries and a key piece of the global groundfish supply, which includes Alaska pollock, Argentine hake and New Zealand hoki. Much of the whiting harvested by U.S. and Canadian trawlers is processed into frozen fillets and surimi.
News of the whiting quota cut comes as the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock fishery rides out an 18.5 percent reduction in this year's quota, to 815,000 metric tons. This is the fishery's lowest quota in 30-plus years, when the fishery became federally managed.
However, federal scientists project the pollock biomass to rebound in the coming years (the 2006 year-class is said to be particularly strong).
In the meantime, expect whiting and pollock prices to trend upward. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports Alaska pollock blocks were holding steady until late last year, when they jumped from about USD 1.93 (EUR 1.50) per pounds to USD 2.00 (EUR 1.55).
The Pacific whiting harvest opens in mid-May with the at-sea processing fishery, followed by the primary shoreside fishery in mid-June.
March 12, 2009
