Two halibut organizations penned a letter last month urging the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) to take action and remedy Pacific halibut fisheries management.
Fishing Vessel Owners' Association (FVOA) President Per Odegaard and Deep Sea Fishermen's Union (DSFU) Executive Director James Johnson wrote to NPFMC Chairman Dan Hull asking for help lowering bycatch and urging the NPFMC to join in their efforts to pressure policy change at the state and federal level.
"The Scientific and Statistical Committee, the Observer Committee and the Advisory Panel have all pointed out serious data quality problems with how the Council has supervised the Gulf of Alaska Observer program," said Odegaard and Johnson.
