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When it comes to rockfish, there is a disconnect between the locations that researchers use to make decisions about fishery management and the places where people actually fish.
Although the federal Gulf of Alaska pollock season opens on Jan. 20, fishermen have decided to stand down for two weeks in the hopes of harvesting higher-quality fish and roe later in the season. Fishermen hope that this self-imposed delay will push the fishery back to when the pollock are aggregating in preparation for spawning higher in the Shelikof Strait, said Julie Bonney, executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank. âAs the fish move in to spawn, the catch rates are better, the fish grade is better, roe quality is better,â she said. Fish quality tends to be b...