The Sustainable Management of the U.S. Alaska Pollock Fishery

There is an old parable about a person looking for his car keys under a streetlight. He is asked by a passerby where exactly he lost them, and he replies that it was in a nearby parking lot. When the surprised passerby asks why he isn’t looking there, the man replies, “because the light is better here.”

No fishery in the world is under a brighter spotlight than the U.S. Alaska pollock fishery. Since joint management by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division (NOAA Fisheries) and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) started more than 40 years ago, it has served as a global model of transparent, participatory fisheries management. The entire process—from the rigorous science-based assessment of the pollock stock biomass, to the setting of Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the monitoring and measurement of the harvests of both target and non-target species, and the impact the fishery has on the ecosystem—is open to public scrutiny, and participation, at every step.

Furthermore, the surveys used to estimate the size of the stock, their results, and models used to arrive at key biological indicators are described, in detail, in both public meetings and documents posted on the NOAA website. The meetings where biologists set the ABC, and the meeting where the Council sets its recommended TAC, are also open to the public. Anyone is allowed to testify, and the suite of recommendations is published in the Federal Register for public comment. When the Council sets the recommended TACs, it also accounts for all fishery removals, both in the directed fishery and as bycatch in other fisheries, and quota is apportioned to the directed fishery and the other fisheries that take Alaska pollock as bycatch. Under no circumstances are the total fishery harvests allowed to exceed the ABC.

That brings us to the monitoring of harvests during the fishing itself. All the vessels participating in the Eastern Bering Sea Alaska pollock fishery, and all processors receiving fish from those vessels, are independently monitored—usually by human observers who are professionally-trained biological scientists. These observers verify all removals of both target and non-target species, interactions with marine mammals and other protected species, and the accurate operation of the flow scales that record the harvests. When fishery participants catch their apportionments, they must immediately cease fishing. These observers also monitor and measure the incidental catches of non-target species. Where possible, incidental catch that is food grade is retained and donated to a program called “SeaShare,” which then provides products made from these species to food banks across the United States. The incidental catches of these species, by vessel, are also posted on NOAA’s website. The fishery has also created a non-profit organization called SeaState, which receives data on incidental catches from individual fishermen. SeaState then notifies the fishermen where incidental catches are higher than normal and the fishermen voluntarily cease fishing in those areas.

Management of the fishery also extends to the impacts the fishery has on other parts of the ecosystem to ensure those impacts do not exceed levels that are greater than “minimal” and “temporary.” This includes impacts on the ocean floor and the species that dwell there and the impacts of Alaska pollock catches on other species.

As a testament to long-standing sustainable management, the U.S. Alaska pollock fisheries were also among the first fisheries in the world to be certified as sustainable by third party schemes such as the Responsible Fishery Management program and the Marine Stewardship Council. To this day, these fisheries have among the highest scores of any fishery so certified, indicating the fisheries well exceed the standards set by both programs.

Simply put, no other pollock fishery in the world approaches this level of transparency, scientific research or surveillance. Together, these attributes provide consumers the highest possible level of confidence that the fishery is operated in a sustainable and responsible manner. The participants in the Alaska pollock fishery are proud of the management system they have participated in and have supported for more than 40 years, and that has provided millions of consumers around the world with quality, healthy and sustainable seafood. When consumers are choosing their proteins and want to feel good about those choices, they should choose those where the light is brightest. They need look no further than U.S. Wild Alaska Pollock.