Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI)

Resource Management

Fisheries Management Methods

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game use many fishery management methods and techniques
An important method is Total Allowable Catch (TAC) – set as a firm limit, beyond which fishing must stop
Balancing finite fish stocks with improvements in catching efficiency must be regulated by:
- Time-and-area closures: These methods allow fishing during certain times or in certain areas, but not in others
- Restrictions on size of boats: Certain fisheries have limits on the size of fishing boats
- Restrictions on type of fishing gear: Virtually every fishery has limitations on fishing gear, such as the size, design, and use of each type of gear
- Gear prohibition: Certain gear types are completely prohibited, such as pelagic longlines, sunken gillnets, and fish traps
Alaska also limits the number of harvesters in a fishery through “license limitation” or “limited entry”
Additionally, Alaska uses rationalization (also known as “rights-based” management), which grants ownership rights to a given fraction of an annual Total Allowable Catch, and “inseason” modification to adapt to the realities of the run, the weather, and other parameters

Stocks Assessment and Quota Establishment

Using the latest available scientific research, Alaska establishes the levels that can be caught without damaging the health of each individual species or their habitat
Every year, scientists from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission conduct and analyze research on the fisheries resources
In addition, research is conducted on the climatic, environmental, and socio-economic factors that affect the fisheries
These studies consider the effects of the ecosystem on the stock, and the effects of the stock and the fisheries on the ecosystem
Controlling the amount of fish harvested through quota establishment is key in preventing overfishing
The tools of this quota system are:
- Total Allowable Catches for groundfish, halibut, and most crab, and escapement of salmon in a run
- “Escapement” means the annual estimated number of spawning salmon that escape capture in a fishery
- In every case, the top priority is to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fisheries

Bycatch Reduction

“Bycatch” means the unintended capture of non-target species, including other
fish species, marine mammals or sea birds
Significant, effective bycatch reduction programs are enforced in all Alaska
fisheries
When a predetermined amount of a prohibited species is taken, that fishery is
closed, regardless of whether it has reached the Total Allowable Catch – a strong
incentive to “fish clean”
To protect marine mammals, biologists and staff administer the Marine Mammal
Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Fur Seal Act, and the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation Act to develop regulations and management
measures to protect, conserve and restore populations
Additionally, all vessels fishing for Pacific cod or Alaska Pollock must
participate in the National Marine Fisheries Service Vessel Monitoring System,
which transmits each vessel’s location, by satellite, to the National Marine
Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement (OLE)
- This allows for monitoring fishing restrictions in Steller sea lion areas
And the Alaska staff of the National Marine Fisheries Service have been
proactively addressing sea bird incidental take in longline (hook-and-line)
fisheries off Alaska since 1989

Download
Sustainability Brochure (PDF download)
Sustainability White Paper (PDF download)