Halibut harvest dismal
The purpose of this letter is to express my concern about the elevated levels of halibut by-catch in the Togiak yellowfin sole trawl fishery.
I’ve fished CDQ halibut for the past six years in the Bristol Bay region’s area 4E and have noticed the volume of harvestable halibut in the Bristol Bay region has declined dramatically the past two years.
The Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. reported recently that in 2006 the yellowfin sole trawl fleet harvested 130,000 round pounds of by-catch halibut and in 2007 it harvested 165,000 round pounds of halibut in the Togiak area.
Both of these by-catch figures exceeded our allotted 4E halibut quotas for the Bristol Bay region.
I decided to investigate further and looked at the National Marine Fisheries Service finalized numbers, after on-ground observer data is corrected, and actually found that 224,000 round pounds of halibut for 2007 and 188,000 round pounds for 2006 were caught as by-catch in the Togiak yellowfin trawl fishery.
These by-catch numbers compare to a local area 4E commercial harvest of 102,000 round pounds in 2006 and 99,000 round pounds in 2007.
These dismal harvest numbers are considerably less than the 269,000 round pounds commercial halibut harvest in area 4E in 2002. The 2002 numbers might reflect an increase abundance of halibut in area 4E since in 2002 the by-catch of halibut in the Togiak yellowfin trawl fishery was 496,125 round pounds.
Our local halibut enter the bay predominately from the west, venture east and eventually migrate down the Alaska Peninsula to the nursing grounds. In 2006, I fished halibut just west of Cape Constantine and east of Hagamister Straits in the Togiak district when the yellowfin sole trawlers were fishing the Togiak area and never caught a halibut of any size.
In 2004 and 2005, these same fishing locations produced a fair number of marketable halibut. In 2007, knowing what I found out in 2006 about the by-catch rates of halibut by the trawl fleet, I never bothered to fish these areas.
To compound matters, in 2007 the halibut fishing on the east side of Cape Constantine did not improve until one week after the trawl fleet reached its quota and ceased fishing.
The trawl fleet participation in the yellowfin sole fishery has increased dramatically in 2006 and 2007. NMFS personnel did not have an explanation for this increase other than improved market demand and/or elevated fish prices.
NMFS reiterated that this fishery has been ongoing since the early 1980s in the Togiak area, but fleet participation has traditionally been very low and gear/complaints few and far between until 2006 and 2007.
I strongly feel that the existence of this yellowfin sole trawl fishery within the Togiak area may mark the end of our local subsistence and commercial halibut fishing. When the trawl fleet does not participate in the Togiak yellowfin sole trawl fishery, the 4E halibut fishery in Bristol Bay can be economically feasible for the participants.
However, when they do trawl fish this is not the case. This by-catch problem is occurring at a time of economic difficulties within the Bristol Bay area, and I feel this halibut by-catch issue needs to be addressed immediately by the National Marine Fisheries Service, local boroughs and the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp.
- Daniel Kingsley,
F/V Cape Menshikof
Pilot Point
True or false? Sunny Delight = juice
False. Sunny Delight contains 5 percent juice. An eight-ounce glass of Sunny Delight contains 27 grams of sugars, the same amount found in eight ounces of soda. When a person drinks eight ounces of Tang, they are eating about seven sugar cubes worth of sugar.
The second ingredient in Sunny Delight is high-fructose corn syrup, found in many foods. A study showed that in 2005 the average American consumed about 62 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup, not including other added sugars.
Of course, all foods can fit in a healthy diet, but the danger is that eating and drinking added sugars provide a lot of empty calories that leads to obesity. Also, we may start replacing foods that our bodies need with liquid sugars that contain excess calories and not very many nutrients.
The recommendations are to buy 100 percent fruit juice instead of fruit-flavored drinks. It is best to limit fruit juices to one serving per day (a half cup), according to the American Dietetic Association.
Whole fruits are always the best choice since they contain fewer calories than juice and have more fiber. A canned fruit packed in juice is also an excellent choice.
- Holli Scott, registered dietician,
Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Change Program,
Bristol Bay Area Health Corp.,
Dillingham
Remembering grandmother
My hat’s off as a sign of respect to Angelina Ishnook, who writes about her grandmother’s life experiences in the Feb. 21 article, “My grandmother remembers messenger feasts.”
In a well-written piece, Angel relates to us what her grandmother has told her of her childhood memories. What a valuable story she tells.
The detail that Angelina’s story provides cannot hide how carefully she has listened to her grandmother. I applaud Angelina because she has spent time listening to and appreciating her grandmother and, through her article, has given the reader a little bit of that experience.
The world will be better off with more people like Angelina.
- Jon Van Ravenswaay,
Anchorage
Attention Aleknagik shareholders
You have been asked to vote on the sale of a conservation easement and creation of a settlement trust.
Vote to retain exclusive ownership.
Vote to retain exclusive shareholder use.
Vote to retain development rights.
Vote to retain full value.
Vote no on the conservation easement of over 23,753 acres of Aleknagik Natives Limited land entitlement, of which there is 42 miles of lakeshore, within the Wood Tikchik State Park.
Elders before me fought to retain this land in the ownership of Native people. Let’s keep it that way; retain full entitlement rights. Please vote no.
If you already submitted your vote, and voted yes, you can revote in person at the special shareholders meeting or by proxy. Call me at 842-3805 for more information.
Thank you very much for your attention and support to retain our full entitlement rights as shareholders, and shareholders into the future.
- Kay M. Andrews,
Aleknagik
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