Sportfishing Magazine | Bycatch Is Killing Legendary Alaskan Fishing

“In a state where I can go to jail for not taking enough meat off the ribs of a moose I hunt, or I can receive a ticket for taking a king salmon out of the water if I catch one while trout fishing, Alaska’s ‘Big Trawl’ has been documented chucking dead bycatch over the side of their boats. This action by commercial trawlers is completely legal under current regulations.” — Cody McLaughlin…

For context, charter boats in Southcentral Alaska can’t keep halibut on certain Tuesdays or Wednesdays from June to August to help save the resource. And there’s been minimal howling from the small-business sportfishing operators. The entire Southcentral sport charter halibut quota for 2023 is 1.89 million pounds…

Read the full article: https://www.sportfishingmag.com/news/alaska-trawl-bycatch-killing-legendary-salmon-fishery/