Chinook Bycatch Shutters Central Gulf of Alaska Whitefish Fishery
An unprecedented bycatch of some 2,000 Chinook salmon prompted NOAA Fisheries to shut down the whitefish fishery in the Central Gulf of Alaska on Sept. 25, leaving some 50,000 tons of pollock in the water and presenting the makings of economic disaster for Kodiak.
Salmon are a prohibited species catch in the whitefish trawl fishery.
Two trawlers that caught the bycatch in their nets immediately stopped fishing when they realized the bycatch and alerted the other 17 boats in the fleet to avoid the area, so based on available information, those vessels were compliant with federal regulations, NOAA Fisheries officials said.
NOAA Fisheries was continuing to evaluate the data as it became finalized by the observer program to determine if additional in-season management actions were...