Alaska Flatfish - Gulf of Alaska

MSC status

Certified as sustainable on 1st June 2010. 

Summary

Species:
Flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon),
Arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias),
Rex sole (Glyptocephalus zachirus),
Northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) and
Southern rock sole (L. bilineata)
Location:  Gulf of Alaska
Fishing methods:  Otter trawl
Number of fisheries: 5

More about Gulf of Alaska flatfish

Prior to the extension of national jurisdiction over the fisheries, U.S. and Canadian fishers harvested mainly salmon, herring, crabs and halibut from the Bering Sea region. In the post World War II period, the region was fished intensively by the Japanese for various bottom fish species and later by other foreign vessels. In the 1950s and 1960s, large-scale trawling by foreign fishing vessels occurred throughout the Bering Sea targeting mainly Pacific Ocean perch, flounders and Pacific cod. Pacific Ocean perch, and yellowfin sole stocks were apparently overfished, resulting in a collapse of some stocks that are currently being or have been rebuilt. Following passage of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA) in 1976, foreign fisheries in the BSAI and GoA were rapidly phased out after a short joint venture period where U.S. vessel harvested the fish and supplied foreign processors.

More about the fishing methods

Flatfish are fished with a two or four seam otter trawl with a relatively low vertical opening (typically 1 to 3 fathoms). Nets are made of polyethylene netting, with codends and intermediates using 5.5 to 8 inch mesh in square or diamond configuration. Contact with the seafloor is predominantly from doors, sweeps, footropes, and to a lesser extent from the codend.

Fishery tonnage

81 220 tonnes in 2007.

Commercial market

Domestic, Asian and European consumers.

Actual eligibility date

10th August 2009