|
|
HOME
January, 2010
Volume 35, Issue 1  MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS |
| Disaster for Billion-Dollar Alaskan Fishery Unsustainable Catch Limits for Pollock Fishery Threaten Alaskan Ecosystems Responding to an announcement from the North Pacific Fishery Management Service on the 2010 catch limit of 813,000 million metric tons for the pollock fishery today, George Pletnikoff, Greenpeace senior oceans campaigner in Anchorage, offered the following statement: ANCHORAGE, Alaska--"If the pollock fishery is a model of anything, it's a model of unsustainability. Instead of responding to government reports that the pollock population has sunk to an all-time low this year, the Council is charting a course to destruction for the very ecosystems that have sustained whales, seals and entire communities for generations. "Of the stocks that are managed, two are already closed to fishing and the Gulf of Alaska stock is at record low levels. The eastern Bering sea stock is the only one still capable of supporting a major commercial fishery and action is urgently needed to avoid its collapse. Unless this system of fisheries oversight is reformed, the industrial trawlers are going to fish until they have taken the very last fish from the sea." Background: The Alaska pollock is the white fish used in markets worldwide, from everyday fish fingers to fish-fillet sandwiches, and from processed seafood sold as crabmeat to caviar-like delicacies, it is a billion-dollar industry. According to today's North Pacific Fishery Management Service meeting, between 400-800 million metric tons of pollock are missing or unaccounted for. Greenpeace is calling for three crucial actions for Bering Sea pollock management, as follows: (1) substantial reductions in the Total Allowable Catch; (2) suspension of the roe fishery; and (3) establishment of marine reserves. These measures will help reverse the decline of Bering Sea pollock stocks, reduce bycatch, and reduce impacts on marine mammals. |
 THE BEST DEALS ON GREAT ROOMS IN MARIN COUNTY NEW!! HIGH SPEED FREE WIFI INTERNET  Smiley's Hotel in
downtown
Bolinas, California offers
some of the best rooms in West Marin at the most reasonable prices.
Garden settings and only a 5 minute walk to some beautiful beaches. 30
miles north of San Francisco, it is the best kept secret hideaway in
Marin. |