Pollock catch pointing way down

Posted by The Highliner

Posted: November 12, 2008 - 12:31 am

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Made with Alaska pollock. Wesley Loy photo

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We’re almost sure to see a big cut in the Bering Sea pollock catch next year.

How do I know?

Because I’ve taken a look at the government’s latest stock assessment, which recommends an Acceptable Biological Catch of 815,000 metric tons.

That’s the lowest ABC in over three decades.

If fishery regulators adopt it as next season’s commercial catch limit, it will be an 18.5 percent drop from this year’s level and a 45 percent decline from the peak of 1.49 million tons in 2004.

Wow, so is this panic time for the nation’s largest fishery by weight?

Should we all run out now and stock up on fish sticks, imitation crab and other pollock-based products?

Here’s some perspective.

First, fishery scientists aren’t calling this a stock collapse. Rather, they say it’s a down cycle they knew was coming.

Second, you can still make a heck of a lot of fish sticks with 815,000 tons of pollock.

Finally, the pollock stock is likely to start increasing next year as fish born in 2006, a strong year, grow to adult size, the assessment authors say.

Expect a big pollock debate in early December when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets in Anchorage to set the catch limit.

Even before the stock assessment came out, the environmental group Greenpeace was demanding a drastic cut (The Highliner, Oct. 9).

The pollock season opens in late January.

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