. . . Alaska Groundf ish Fisheries 



88 



ISSUES 



"Donut Hole" 

 Pollock Fishery 



The large unregulated foreign pollock fish- 

 ery in the "donut hole" of the Bering Sea 

 (Fig. 1 9-1 ) is a major concern as it targets 

 the migrating U.S. and (J.S.S.R. Aleutian 

 Basin stocks. The fishery is expected to 

 hurt U.S. EEZ pollock stocks. Another 



major concern is the lack of data to deter- 

 mine the stock's status. The U.S. and 

 U.S.S.R. have begun to cooperate on re- 

 search and management of the donut hole 

 pollock fisheries. 



Marine Mammal 

 Interactions 



Marine mammal interactions with fish and 

 fisheries are a growing concern. Steller sea 

 lions are listed as threatened under the 

 Endangered Species Act, and it must be 

 shown that the groundfish fishery will not 

 interfere with them. Pollock provide food 



for sea lions, and some fisheries have oc- 

 curred near rookeries; however, we lack 

 data to show a cause-and-effect relation- 

 ship between the pollock fishery and the 

 decline of the sea lions. 



Incidental Catch 



The incidental catch of Pacific halibut and 

 king and tanner crabs off Alaska now cur- 

 tails the groundfish fisheries. When halibut 

 and crab bycatch limits are reached, the 

 groundfish fisheries are closed— usually be- 



fore harvesting the entire groundfish quo- 

 tas. Various incentive programs are being 

 tested to control bycatches while improv- 

 ing the groundfish harvest. 



Exxon Valdez oil Spill 



In March of 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran 

 aground, spilling about 1 1 million gallons 

 of crude oil into Prince William Sound 

 which spread into the Gulf of Alaska and 

 lower Cook Inlet. Coastal areas were se- 

 verely contaminated. Fortunately, no mas- 



sive die-offs of adult fish were found, but 

 some coastal and offshore fishes have re- 

 mained exposed to petroleum hydrocar- 

 bons. Since injuries from chronic exposure 

 to oil may not be seen for many years, 

 studies must be continued. 



