Scientists at the Pacific Fisheries Research Center (TINRO) have recommended a 4.9 percent increase in total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for 2013 to 430,000 metric tons.
This is the result of trawl and acoustic survey conducted last year, showing that the pollock biomass in the eastern Bering Sea is at about 6.7 million metric tons, exceeding the level surveyed some years ago.
According to the survey, also the biomass in the western Bering Sea zone is higher compared to 2010 and 2011, Mikhail Stepanenko, a scientist at TINRO, said.
"We are having all the evidence showing that the pollock stock in the Bering Sea has stabilized at an average level, after showing an especially large number of young fish in 2008, as well as in 2006, 2009 and 2010," he said.
This year, the pollock stock will be dominated by fish of 2008, with an average length of 40 to 45 centimeters, as well as fish of 2009, which are between 37 and...
