Sm. Shirley et Gh. Kruse, DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERY FOR WEATHERVANE SCALLOPS, PATINOPECTEN-CAURINUS (GOULD, 1850), IN ALASKA, Journal of shellfish research, 14(1), 1995, pp. 71-78
The Alaska scallop fishery harvests weathervane scallops, Patinopecten
caurinus (Gould 1850), in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, although
small quantities of Chlamys spp. were harvested in recent years. The
fishery began in 1967 and evolved from a sporadic, low-intensity fishe
ry to one characterized by a highly specialized fleet by 1993. An infl
ux of larger, more efficient vessels from 1990 through 1993 increased
harvests and altered the character of the fishery. Vessel length incre
ased 85% from a mean (+/-1 standard error) of 18.5 +/- 2.9 m in 1983 t
o 34.3 +/- 4.5 m in 1991, and crew sizes doubled. The number of scallo
p landings increased significantly from 65.9 +/- 8.3 y(-1) during 1980
through 1989 to 140.7 +/- 3.3 y(-1) during 1990 through 1993, althoug
h the mean number of vessels did not change significantly between the
two periods. Scallop harvests averaged 667.1 +/- 54.8 mt of shucked me
ats from 1990 through 1993, three times the average harvest of 216.7 /- 30.3 mt from 1983 through 1989. The percentage of the fleet's total
Alaskan fishing income derived from the scallop fishery increased fro
m 57.7% in 1983 to 100% by 1990. The decreased diversification of scal
lop vessels into other fisheries represented a shift from a part-time
fleet to a dedicated, full-time scallop fleet with greater harvesting
efficiency. New management measures were adopted to address the changi
ng nature of the fishery and included altered fishing seasons, observe
r coverage, area harvest limits, ceilings on catch of incidental speci
es, restrictions on crew size and a moratorium on vessels fishing in t
he exclusive economic zone.