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Charters could make use of bycatch
Posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
On Jan. 5, the Juneau Empire carried an article on limits that are being put on the halibut charter fleet. In 2009, its allowable catch was 788,000 pounds but it caught 1.3 million.
The longliners and trawl fleet are allowed a bycatch of 2,300 metric tons (more than 5 million pounds). If they were willing to reduce by just 10 percent their bycatch and turn it over to the charter fleet, it could continue to catch 1.3 million pounds and thus make a living on what they are throwing away.
Michael A. McIntosh Sr.
President, The Boat Company
Washington, D.C.