Commercial fishermen in Prince William Sound, Alaska, could soon be able to harvest octopus after the Alaska Board of Fisheries voted to allow a directed fishery at its recent December meeting.
Commercial fishermen are already allowed to catch octopus as bycatch in both Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, but catch levels have remained consistently low in Prince William Sound.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has typically set an annual guideline harvest level of 35,000 pounds of octopus for Prince William Sound; however, octopus bycatch has never approached that limit. According to ADF&G data, just 1,091 pounds of octopus were harvested in Prince William Sound in 2024. Cook Inlet fishers have typically harvested far more octopus as bycatch, with state data showing 19,591 pounds of octopus was harvested from the management area in 2024 – less than the 26,867 pounds harvested in 2023.
Commercial Operator’s Annual Reports show that Alaska fishers were paid a total of USD 207,815 (EUR 197,797) for North Pacific octopus in 2023, with an average ex-vessel price of USD 0.19 (EUR 0.18) per pound.
Cordova District Fishermen United, however, claimed area fishers would be interested in harvesting more octopus if the state established a directed fishery and submitted a proposal to the Alaska Board of Fisheries to do just that. The board approved the proposal in a 6-1 vote, amending the state management plan to allow a directed fishery.
Under the new directed fishery, ADF&G can issue fishers a special commissioners permit to harvest octopus intentionally. A similar provision adopted in 2012 allows ADF&G to issue commissioners permits to fishers harvesting octopus in Kodiak.
Participants in the directed fishery will only be allowed to use lair pots – portable structures that mimic the dark habitats octopi prefer. According to ADF&G, lair pots allow octopi to move freely in and out of the pot.
In its public comments on the proposal, ADF&G said it has no conservation concerns associated with establishing a directed fishery for octopus in Prince William Sound.
Read the full story on Seafood Source. This article is republished with permission.
