Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy's Bycatch Task Force has released its final report on the state precipitous drop in chum and chinook salmon stocks in western Alaska.
Despite opposition from the US pollock and groundfish industry, the task force recommended Thursday the state should work to establish a scientific-based chum salmon cap to reduce bycatch of western Alaska salmon in the pollock fishery in the Bering Sea.
At-Sea Processors Association Director Stephanie Madsen, who represents US pollock fishing giants that include American Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Arctic Storm, Coastal Villages and Glacier Fish, at a North Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in November questioned whether the measure would even help improve chum counts, with climate change proving a major factor.
