DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERY FOR WEATHERVANE SCALLOPS, PATINOPECTEN-CAURINUS (GOULD, 1850), IN ALASKA

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.