It’s remarkable to consider that Alaska’s bottom trawl fisheries began only a generation ago. In such a short time, the fishery has had significant impacts on other Alaska fisheries, particularly through bycatch, raising concerns about sustainability. Unfortunately, this situation highlights how profit can sometimes overshadow conservation efforts in resource management.
Via Youtube: Excerpt from Alaska Review 31. In this segment, reporters Eric Eckholm and Mark O. Badger travel with a group of Alaska fishermen to explore bottomfishing techniques in Norway and Denmark, and to examine the ways in which those techniques could be adapted to the Alaskan fishing industry. Those interviewed include: Alfred Nygard of the Norway Export Council; Jim Edenso, Alaska’s bottomfish coordinator in Juneau; Mike Painter of Ketchikan; Chuck Parsons of Homer; Stan Reddekopp of Juneau; Bjorn Bong; Kurt Bergen, Norwegian union representative; Peter Weis of Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Shari Gross; Dave Osterback of Sand Point; Birgir Danielsen of Faroe Seafoods Marketing; Prime Minister Atla P. Dam; and unidentified speakers. Program contains views of coastal fishing villages in Norway and Denmark, fishing and crabbing vessels, and fish processing facilities.