Waste of rockfish, cod charged

Details in this press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

Visit our companion blog The Brig for lots more fisheries enforcement news.

Kodiak processors fail in rockfish challenge

Deckboss trusts you recall how Kodiak processors sued the federal government challenging the Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program.

The processors were miffed the program omitted processor shares.

Well, the lawyers have made their arguments, and the judge has ruled.

Processors lose.

Here's the order granting the government summary judgment.

Processor shares end, rockfish prices soar

Fishermen are getting dramatically higher prices for Gulf of Alaska rockfish.

In 2011, one major processor, Trident, paid 12 cents per pound for northern rockfish delivered to its Kodiak plant, and 10 cents per pound for pelagic shelf rockfish and Pacific Ocean perch.

This year, Trident is paying 27 cents for all three species of rockfish.

And what accounts for this huge rise in prices?

It isn't higher demand for rockfish. The reason is that the forced linkage between vessels and specific processors went away this year.

Now vessels are free to deliver their catches to any processor in Kodiak. As a result, processors this year are bidding up the price.

Deckboss takes his information from this declaration by Trident's chief legal officer, Joe Plesha.

The declaration was filed in the federal lawsuit Trident and three other processors — North Pacific, Ocean Beauty and Westward — are pressing against federal fishery regulators to try to reinstate the old system of tying boats to particular plants.

The processors say that without these linkages, ensuring a steady share of rockfish to each plant, the companies inevitably will bid against each other to such a degree that all of the value of the fish will go to the fishermen.

Conflict expands over rockfish catch shares

As expected, more fishing vessel owners are asking for a say in the big rockfish lawsuit Kodiak processors have brought against federal fishery regulators.

United Catcher Boats, a Seattle-based trawl association, today filed this motion to intervene in the case.

This declaration from UCB executive director Brent Paine also was filed with the court.

A new player enters rockfish legal fray

Fishermen's Finest Inc. is seeking to intervene in the lawsuit major Kodiak processors have filed against the federal government over the new Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program.

As you will recall, the processors argue the program is unlawful because it created shares only for fishing vessel owners.

Seattle-based Fishermen's Finest operates two large and well-known trawlers in Alaska, the American No. 1 and the U.S. Intrepid.

In its motion to intervene, Fishermen's Finest argues that if the processors win, the company would lose valuable quota.

What's more, a processor victory "would upend the rationalization process for many fisheries in the North Pacific," the motion says.

Rationalization means cutting up a fishery into individual shares. Fishery managers in Alaska have embraced rationalization as a way to alleviate safety and other problems that arise when boats "race for fish."

The processor lawsuit strikes at a burning policy question: Should the government award shares only to fishermen, or should processors receive them too?

While Gulf rockfish is not among Alaska's largest or richest commercial fisheries, it's apparent the rockfish lawsuit could turn into a titanic legal battle.

Deckboss hears we are likely to see more fishing vessel owners file to intervene in the case.

Litigation update

Here's a quick update on a couple of big court cases brought against federal fishery regulators.

First, processors challenging the new Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program have filed this amended complaint in federal court in Seattle.

You will note that International Seafoods is no longer listed as plaintiff. Now it's just Trident, Westward, North Pacific and Ocean Beauty taking on the feds.

Second, the state as well as several industry groups on Monday signaled they will appeal their recent defeat in the Steller sea lion case.

They contend the National Marine Fisheries Service lacks justification for imposing extensive fishing closures in the Aleutians to protect the endangered marine mammals.

Processors sue over new rockfish program

Five major processors with plants at Kodiak are suing the federal government over the new Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program.

The plaintiffs are Trident, Westward, North Pacific, Ocean Beauty and International.

The 21-page lawsuit accuses federal regulators of failing to do proper environmental studies before adopting the program.

The real issue, however, is who controls the fish.

Because the program establishes catch shares, but not processor shares, all the profit in rockfish harvest will go to vessel owners, the companies argue.

Well, Deckboss is sure he's greatly oversimplifying this. So he strongly recommends you read the lawsuit for yourself.

In particular, check out page 15, paragraph 39 of the complaint.

For background on the rockfish program, click here.

Respect the rockfish

Send me back down, yo! ADF&G photo

Deckboss has always taken a special interest in rockfish. Maybe it's the vivid red color of some species. Or just the fact that Alaska still has healthy stocks of rockfish, unlike some other states.

So I was glad to see the following press release from the Department of Fish and Game. Bet you will be, too.

Aug. 29, 2011

Department aims to help anglers conserve rockfish

New materials published by the Division of Sport Fish aim to help saltwater anglers and charter operators conserve Alaska's rich rockfish stocks by increasing the survival of fish caught incidentally and released.

The department has dedicated a new Web page to proper deepwater rockfish release and has prepared an updated version of the popular informational pamphlet "Angler's Guide to the Rockfishes of Alaska," available from Alaska Sea Grant in the near future.

About 45 percent of rockfish caught by anglers statewide are released, according to department estimates. Many of these fish are caught in relatively shallow water and can re-submerge, but those taken from deep water often cannot survive release.

Rockfish caught in deep water often sustain injuries caused by rapid decompression and expansion of gases in the swim bladder. Fish that are released with inflated swim bladders cannot re-submerge and will die. The current effort follows completion of research by the department that suggests survival rates of up to 98 percent can be achieved when fish are released at the depth of capture.

The new Web page, entitled "Rockfish Conservation and Deepwater Release," offers anglers quick and easy techniques and provides details on how to make and employ simple deepwater release tools.

"The best way to prevent mortality in rockfish is to avoid unwanted catches altogether," says Anchorage-based fishery biologist Sam Hochhalter.

The new Web page also offers anglers tips and techniques on how to avoid catching rockfish while seeking other species, such as halibut and lingcod.

More than 30 rockfish species are found in the Gulf of Alaska, though fewer than 10 of these are commonly caught by recreational anglers, writes Homer-based fishery biologist and author Scott Meyer in the "Angler's Guide to the Rockfishes of Alaska." Some rockfish species can live well over 100 years, notes Meyer. However, these slow-growing, late-to-mature fish can be easily fished out.

Both biologists point to rockfish fisheries in California and Oregon that were depleted by overfishing. Alaska has an expanding recreational rockfish fishery, making proper fishing and deepwater release techniques important for sustaining the resource.

Catching up with the council

Deckboss spent a good bit of time this weekend hanging around the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting through Tuesday here in Anchorage.

This is a meeting that lacks a really big, sexy headliner issue.

But lots of interesting currents are running through the council chamber, and even more through the corridors and bars of the downtown Hilton hotel, where the 11-member panel is encamped.

Here's a sampler:

• You know it's an election year when top politicians start showing up at the fish council. So it was no surprise to see Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell appear and give a little speech on Thursday. Naturally, after the speech came a fundraiser for Parnell, who is running for a new term.

• Jim Balsiger, Alaska chief for the National Marine Fisheries Service, announced it might be months longer before we see a new "biological opinion" on the status of the endangered Steller sea lion. This is a matter of considerable dread for Alaska's billion-dollar bottomfish industry, which very possibly could face painful new restrictions or even a shutdown if the agency determines commercial fishing is jeopardizing the sea lion's recovery or adversely modifying its habitat. Many industry players suspect internal conflict among NMFS scientists could explain the continual delays in rolling out this new BiOp.

• The island community of St. Paul, smack in the middle of the Bering Sea, is very worried about a pending change in crab management. You'll recall that, a few years ago, the king and snow crab fisheries were "rationalized" or divided into fishing, processing and regional shares. Under the rules, some of the crab must be delivered to northern ports including St. Paul, which heavily depends on landings taxes for its economic survival. Well, fishermen and processors want a change to allow crab to be delivered elsewhere in the event of an emergency, such as ice blocking the St. Paul harbor or a tsunami damaging the town's processing plants. St. Paul fears such an emergency exemption could be abused, however, draining the island of crab. Last I heard, a deal was in the works to compensate St. Paul somehow for lost crab landings, perhaps by requiring compensatory deliveries in future years.

• Maybe the hottest issue at this meeting concerns Gulf of Alaska rockfish. As with crab, rockfish was "rationalized," but only temporarily. The council now faces a universe of choices on how to manage the rockfish harvest after 2011. One option is awarding perhaps 20 percent of the catch rights directly to processors as "protection" for their historic investment in the fishery. This would be an unprecedented step in Alaska fisheries management, and a highly controversial one at that. So we can expect to see plenty of rockfish wrangling at future council meetings.

• Another hot topic is the proposed closure of some waters off Kodiak and Afognak islands to keep boats targeting bottomfish from accidentally catching, or mangling, bairdi Tanner crab. Supporters of the closures point the finger mainly at trawlers for this crab bycatch. Trawlers are saying, hey, we don't want to see vast areas closed without clear scientific justification. We've previously seen some pretty tough lobbying here. Remember those pictures of purported extreme crab bycatch from a few months ago? As with many issues before the council, final action on this one is still a long way off.

• Efforts to invent an excluder device to keep Chinook salmon out of pollock trawl nets apparently are coming along swimmingly. Researcher John Gauvin made a presentation on a "flapper-style" excluder to the council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. The committee wrote: "The concept for a salmon excluder has evolved over a number of years, and results of the most recent test appear to be the most promising to date." The excluder plays on salmon tendencies to allow them to exit the net through an escape hole, while most pollock stay inside. Gauvin said several vessels intend to use the excluder during next winter's pollock fishery.

• The council plans to hold its June 2011 meeting in a very unusual place: Nome! That's a big logistical challenge for the town, as a council meeting can attract hundreds of agency staffers and other people and bed space is limited. Folks in Nome believe they can handle the meeting like the Iditarod, which obviously brings scores of people to the shores of Norton Sound.

• And finally, from the rumor department, here's the very biggest buzz I heard at the council meeting (uh, in the bars) this weekend: Coastal Villages Region Fund and the company it partly owns, American Seafoods, possibly are going to divorce. This could involve part of American's mighty fleet of factory trawlers splitting off into a new company, knowledgeable and only slightly tipsy industry sources told me. Deckboss has not inquired of either Coastal Villages or American about this, so make of it what you will.