Bycatch, utilization, and discards in the commercial groundfish fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska

157 Pages·2001·2.99 MB·English

by  L. E. Queirolo

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-AFSC-58
Bycatch, Utilization, and Discards in
the Commercial Groundfish Fisheries
of the Gulf of Alaska, Eastern Bering Sea,
and Aleutian Islands
by L. E. Queirolo, L. W. Fritz, P. A. Livingston,
M. R. Loefflad, D. A. Colpo, and Y. L. deReynier
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
Alaska Fisheries Science Center
November 1995
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS
The National Marine Fisheries Service's Alaska Fisheries Science Center
uses the NOAA Technical Memorandum series to issue informal scientific and
technical publications when complete formal review and editorial processing
are not appropriate or feasible. Documents within this series reflect sound
professional work and may be referenced in the formal scientific and technical
literature.
The NMFS-AFSC Technical Memorandum series of the Alaska Fisheries
Science Center continues the NMFS-F/NWC series established in 1970 by the
Northwest Fisheries Center. The new NMFS-NWFSC series will be used by
the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
This document should be cited as follows:
Queirolo, L. E., L. W. Fritz, P. A. Livingston, M. R. Loefflad, D. A.
Colpo, and Y. L. deReynier. 1995. Bycatch, utilization, and discards
in the commercial groundfish fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska, eastern
Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech.
Memo. NMFS-AFSC-58, 148 p.

Reference in this document to trade names does not imply endorsement by
the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.
NOAA Technical Memorandum 85-CSFA-SFMN
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tcartsbA
Total harvest, bycatch, catch utilization, and discards are currently the subjects of considerable
noitnetta dna etabed .ediwdlrow sihT troper stnemucod detroper ,hctac ,hctacyb,noitazilitu
and discard data and attempts to identify patterns and trends in the commercial groundfish
seirehsif fo eht fluG fo aksalA ,)AOG( nretsae gnireB ,aeS dna naituelA sdnalsI )IASB(saera(
yhlctin heewrkraumc pu eh t d ece’vitsimieson tunUealontccoSxEZE f.f)oaks aelhATtroper
identifies existing data sources and examines the historical catch record, as well as current
citsemod hsifdnuorg seirehsif ni eseht .saera
y ns ardMoet tceuavbfai hrottno c dteeshsetareert cnnniii si h.teu sgsnio meAseh t:era)1
improvements in understanding of basic ecological relationships and fish stock dynamics; 2)
changes in fishing effort, capacity, and technology; 3) the increasing economic and market
ecnatropm ifo e s;eshetirehs idfna )4 segnahc n it nyetmielgiabnaap madcn aytiroh,t.uga.e(
extension by the United States of exclusive management authority under the Magnuson Fishery
Conservation and Management Act of 1976).
erehT era ynam snosaer yhw hsif dsneuiorregh sdirf a.chssiidfdnu ogrngomA eseht :era )1eht
dyertech esrrioiffd a ,nseevi icysgeaepsisce p,sA yam e bdes oelucd( ot atouq rorehto
restrictions) forcing all other fisheries which catch species A as bycatch to discard it; 2)
,s rr ooe gsrens aho elhtrlcas w aouin hc rd fieciep il htnrovl et aaaoiargrchtdmorocnsafeilm
xes ,.g.e( selam ni eht kcor elos eo r;)yrehsif )3 ot egnahc eht sneoiicteipssopm ofcorieht
latot hctac rof eht gnitrop e,rk egenwitnever peht lessev morf gn ideebredisnoc ”atnapicitrap“
ni r aaylruechist irrfaopf tah t,keew dna sa , htccuesjb u, ystolntbei,r steesnfroefopgimndirts
prohibited species bycatch rate standards set by the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council; 4) a lack of handling or processing capacity aboard the vessel; or 5) market
limitations on the utilization or retention of certain species. Particularly for various roundfish
sei r. e geh,. yskeceic(ilfofllia lcw,oadpPoc alketrA e,k )cdhansmai fekhcntoo rietziissopmoc
of the target species population can greatly affect the rate of discard by the fishery. fI a-erp
d e rtsaise uay srl s,ecc eigheyg ncrrrfot eaorahvltcs si oflol t atrmeo skfyraammeb
,elbadiovanu gnisaercni eht etar fo .dracsid sdracsiD era detcartbus morf hctac egannotroirp
to calculation of product recovery rates, but discarded fish are included as part of the total
harvest.
111
, sd s ie ttnssnycr Ayaoluor tlbpkdpo,s aueoef4etnerR9gaaWP9gh 1utrsof lla AOG dnaIASB
groundfish fisheries combined, approximately 15% of the total catch was discarded in-the-
round. ,y ltethh ngtda iec fenilow rfaouifttnf egoerihS tae sys la rrwsuaeoemfn i sttaaersga
eht thgiew fo .sdracsid tuobA )%07 yb ,thgiew fo ”tegrat“ hctac si denruter ot eht aessa
;laffo laff osegrahcsid ekam pu tsomla %06 fo ”latot“ .hctac ,suhT neh wgniredisnyogcrene
transfer in the ecosystem, offal production vastly overshadows discard amounts.
Groundfish discards may have unanticipated and/or undesirable economic implications.
Bycatch discards may, for example, impose direct economic costs on competing groundfish
seirehsif ni eht mrof fo enoge r.osfehct ahcguorhT a seires fo g n,isynfoiiltppmmiusss atisaw
possible to estimate the “opportunity cost” (as measured at the first wholesale level) to target
fisheries of the foregone catch, attributable to groundfish bycatch discards in individual BSAI
dna AOG.seirehsif
sc)ni tor1 (tt6l e1 aem,ftt2ooa 6tgd1e erndgarga acsseiidre hhssiiffd n , uIl4noAl9IrSa9gB1
fo detacolla hsifdnuorg seiceps rof hcihw eht latot elbawolla hctac saw .gnidnibehT
opportunity cost of these discards exceeded $91,848,000. The total retained catch of all
groundfish species in these fisheries was just over 1,699,500 t and had a value which exceeded
$925,229,800. ,suhT eht oitar fo eht eulav fdoen idharctatecarsciD / odstednriaactseiRd(
eulaV ,)oitaR dethgiew yb ,yrehsif ssorca lla IASB hsifd n,usoerigrehsif saw .1.01 tahT,si
rof hc areallo dy tfi o nh ”uc,tttdsra eooc0scpy1opb.po0m“1i$ fo tuptu o sdaewcudmoorrpf
retained catch. lau dsiev tidaderniIr amvorf a hgih fo 2.92$ ni e hktc o tl,elygorrpeahts iofta
wol fo 4.2$ ni eht ”hrseihf tdtone“ug.oryrargtehsif nI eht AOG hsifdnuorg,seirehsif
tnelaviuqe sdracsid delatot 586,51 .t ehT ytinutroppo tsoc fo eseht sdracsiddedeecxe
$14,661,597. Total retained catch of all groundfish species in these fisheries was just over
196,588 t and had a value which exceeded $235,825,000. Thus, the Retained/Discard Value
,oitaR dethgiew yb yrehsif ssorca lla AOG hsifdn u,osregirehsif saw .1.61 tahT ,si rofhcae
rallod yfto ihn cu”t tta,rscdooyep cbsp0oo1p“.m6i1$ fo tuptuo s adwecud omrodprefniater
catch. laudiv isdentIar deirav morf a hgih fo 4.54 ni eh thsife ltbeags r,aytrehsif ot a wolfo
4.3 ni eht htootw orrerdanuolf tegrat.yrehsif
s dhrs aiycfasd min odustsotclr eaaGtgkp cn rm,,uiyaiymdtbmlroc poredpfpfnufeasacirp
,hcihw ni ,nrut ecneulfni lanoitanretni doofaes edart dna .S.U tekram.erahs
iv
Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................................................iii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Trends in Bycatch, Utilization, and Discards, 1972-94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
,ngieroF tnioJ ,erutneV dna citse m,osDeirehsi0F9-2791 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Data Sources and Table Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Discussion of Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Catch, Bycatch, and Discard by the Domestic Groundfish Fisheries 1990-94 . . . . . . 6
Data Sources and Table Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Groundfish and Other Allocated Species: Catch Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Prohibited Species: Catch Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
rehtO :seicepS hctaCsdnerT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Bycatch Discard Mortality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Review of Literature on Discard Mortality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Gear-Related Factors Influencing Mortality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Other Factors Influencing Discard Mortality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Discard Mortalities in North Pacific Groundfish Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Ecological Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
stceffE fo evitceleSgnihsiF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
sremusnoC fo sdracsiD dna hsiF gnissecorPlaffO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Unobserved Mortalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Catch Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
tcudorP smroF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Limits on Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Technical Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Market Limitation s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Product Recovery Rates (PRRs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Product Recovery Rates Variability in the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Markets and Estimated Product Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Groundfish Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
srotcaF gnicneulfnIedarT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Estimating the Opportunity Cost of Bycatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
V
noitcudortnI
latoT ,tsevrah hctac ,noitazilitu ,hctacyb dna dracsid slevel evah emocebylgnisaercni
tnatropmi snoitaredisnoc ni eht gnirotinom dna tnemeganam fo eht laicremmoc seirehsif nieht
fluG fo aksalA dna gnireB S .ae This report documents reported catch, bycatch, utilization,
dna dracsid atad dna stpmetta ot yfitnedi snrettap dna sdnert ni eht laicremmochsifdnuorg
seirehsif fo eht fluG fo aksalA ,)AOG( nretsae gnireB ,aeS dna naituelA sdnalsIaera
denibmoc( ni ,)IASB saera hcihw yltnerruc ekam pu eht .S.U evisulcxE cimonocE enoZ)ZEE(
off Alaska. ehT troper. osla seifitnedi gnitsixe atad secruos dna senimaxe eht lacirotsihhctac
,drocer sa llew sa tnerruc citsemod hsifdnuorg seirehsif ni eseht.saera
Concern about total catch; bycatch, and discards in the groundfish fisheries of the North
cificaP dna gnireB aeS sah desaercnirevo .emit ynaM srotcaf evah detubirtnoc oteht
evissergorp esaercni ni tseretni ni siht ,eussi gnidulcni stnemevorpmi ni ruo gnidnatsrednufo
cisab lacigoloce spihsnoitaler dna hsif kcots ;scimanyd segnahc ni gnihsif ,troffe ,yticapacdna
;ygolonhcet eht gnisaercni cimonoce dna tekram ecnatropmi fo eseht ;seirehsif dna segnahcni
tnemeganam ytilibapac dna ,ytirohtua ,.g.e( noisnetxe yb eht detinU setatS foevisulcxe
tnemeganam ytirohtua rednu eht nosungaM yrehsiF noitavresnoC dna tnemeganaM tcAfo
1976).
esuaceB segnahc ni yrehsif tnemeganam dna gnihsif secitcarp evah derrucco ni eht tsal02
years, empirical data on catch, utilization, and discards are not of uniform quality or detail and
emoc morf a yteirav fo os .secru roF ,elpmaxe atad secruos rof eht .S.U hsifdnuorgseirehsif
ffo aksalA edulcni eht lanoitaN eniraM seirehsiF ecivreS )SFMN( revresbO ,margorP ehtetatS
fo aksalA hsiF tekciT ,esabataD dna eht ylkeeW noitcudorP stropeR dettimbus( ybeht
.)yrtsudni nI ,lareneg ,revewoh eseht atad esaercni ni liated dna ytilibailer htiw .emitsihT
troper seiler nopu eseht suoirav dna elbairav atad .secruos ehT evitaler shtgnertsdna
snoitatimil fo ralucitrap atad secruos era.deton
,yllaniF ew tpmetta ot yfitnedi snrettap dna sdnert ni eht tnatropmi laicremmochsifdnuorg
seirehsif ni eht ZEE ffo ,aksalA dna ecalp meht nihtiw a redaorb ,lacigoloce ,lacigoloibdna
cimonocetxetnoc . nI siht ,yaw eht elbissop snoitacilpmi fo segnahc ni latot ,hctac,hctacyb
,noitazilitu dna sdracsid yam eb erom ylluf dootsrednu ni smret fo )1 rieht stcapmino
laudividni hsif ,skcots )2 eht segaknil ot citsemod dna dlrow stekram ,dna )3 eht lareneghtlaeh
fo eht htroN cificaP.metsysoce
ruO troper si dednetni rof a lareneg ,ecneidua gnidulcni stnapicitrap ni eseht,seirehsif
ecruoser ,sreganam dna .S.U ,snezitic ohw evah na pihsrenwo ekats ni eht esiw dnatneiciffe
noitazilitu fo eseht elbaulav gnivil eniramsecruoser ehT troper. ,slaever ni lareneg ,smret