NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
January 17, 2008
Sheela McLean, Public Affairs
(907) 586-7032
Salmon Bycatch EIS Under Way
The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the Alaska Region of NOAA Fisheries are getting ready to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on measures to reduce the incidental catch of salmon by trawl vessels fishing for pollock in the Bering Sea.
Chinook and chum salmon bycatch in the pollock fisheries has increased significantly in recent years. Reducing and controlling salmon bycatch is one of the most important issues being discussed by the Council this year.
In 2007, NOAA Fisheries implemented management measures that give the pollock industry more flexibility to move their fishing operations to avoid areas of high salmon bycatch. As a follow-up to this action, the Council initiated this EIS analysis of alternatives to further address salmon bycatch. These alternatives include implementing new salmon area closures or establishing bycatch limits that would close the pollock fisheries once the limit is reached.
"The Council is looking at the current regulations and limits on salmon bycatch for the pollock fisheries,” said Doug Mecum, Deputy Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region. “The Council will be evaluating the possible effects of new regulatory closures and salmon bycatch limits."
"This is the scoping period for the upcoming EIS. We’re asking now for written comments from the public on the issues, including potential impacts and alternatives that should be considered in revising salmon bycatch management," said Mecum.
The public comment period for scoping on the EIS ends February 15.
Instructions for submitting comments and more detail can be found at www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/bycatch/default.htm
Any regulation changes will be designed to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem, ensure the long-term conservation and abundance of salmon, and to provide maximum benefit to fishermen and communities that depend on these resources.
Analysts will evaluate potential effects on salmon stocks and other components of the marine environment. Social and economic impacts also will be considered, including the effects that salmon bycatch management measures would have on pollock fishermen and on people who rely on commercial, subsistence, and recreational salmon fisheries.
For further information, contact Gretchen Harrington at 907-586-7228 or gretchen.harrington@noaa.gov
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources through scientific research, management, enforcement, and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, please visit our websites at: www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov or at: www.afsc.noaa.gov
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.