UNIT 19 



ALASKA GROUNDFISH FISHERIES 



83 



INTRODUCTION 



The North Pacific (Fig. 19-1) is one of the 

 most productive oceans, supporting many 

 of the world's largest populations of 

 groundfish, salmon, crabs, marine mam- 

 mals, and seabirds. Large-scale commer- 

 cial fisheries for groundfish in Alaska 

 waters were developed and dominated by 

 foreign fleets from the early 1 950's until the 

 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man- 

 agement Act (MFCMA) was passed in 

 1976. This act produced one of the great 

 success stories for development of a U.S. 



groundfish industry. 



Though foreign fisheries dominated 

 through 1983 (and were important through 

 1986) (see pages 85, 87), joint ventures 

 between (J.S. fishermen and foreign com- 

 panies eventually replaced them as expe- 

 rience was gained. Later, even the joint 

 ventures were superseded by domestic 

 fishermen and processors. With the excep- 

 tion of Greenland turbot, the groundfish off 

 Alaska have generally been in good to 

 excellent condition. 



Figure 19-1— The North Pacific 

 Ocean. 



SPECIES AND STATUS 



Pacific Halibut 



Pacific halibut has been fished commer- 

 cially since the late 1800's; it is now fished 

 only with longline gear, though other gear 

 types accidentally catch some halibut. 

 There is an active recreational fishery as 

 well, and about 3,700 t are landed by an- 

 glers. 



Halibut is found from the Bering Sea to 

 Oregon, though the center of abundance is 

 in the Gulf of Alaska. The resource is con- 

 sidered as one large interrelated stock but 

 is regulated by subareas with catch quotas 

 and time-area closures. 



The Pacific halibut is managed under 

 treaty between the United States and Can- 

 ada, and primary assessment and man- 

 agement recommendations are provided 

 by the International Pacific Halibut Corn- 



In 1 990, nearly 37,000 1 of Pacific halibut 

 were landed commercially (31,900 t in the 

 United States and 5,100 t in Canada) (Fig. 

 19-2) valued at $1 15 million. About 2,000 

 t were wasted owing to fishing by lost gear 

 and discard, and 10,000 t were lost to 

 accidental catches by fishermen targeting 

 other species. Over 6,500 U.S. vessels 

 were licensed for the commercial halibut 

 fishery, as were 435 Canadian vessels. 



Halibut stocks are assessed annually, 

 and the fishable population apparently 

 peaked at 166,000 t in 1986-87 after a 

 rebuilding period (Fig. 19-2). The popula- 

 tion has since declined at about 5%/year. 

 Some decline is still expected, but halibut 

 numbers remain fairly high by historical 

 standards. The species is fully utilized 

 (Table 19-1). 



