Alaska Man Monday: Just for the Halibut

One of the things the Great Land is best known for is the fishing. Salmon, trout, grayling, and in the ocean, rockfish, cod, and halibut. Halibut is my favorite fish to eat, a clean, white, delicious fish. When we go out on a saltwater excursion and bring in a load of fish, we often end up giving away some of the rock and cod, but the halibut, I keep for myself.

With that said, I’m going to present this story, just for the halibut.

Over the past decade, it's become more difficult for commercial halibut fishermen off Alaska's coasts to catch enough to meet their quotas, as the flat whitefish have become less abundant and smaller.
That's according to a recent series of stories from fisheries reporter Hal Bernton, published in the Anchorage Daily News, Seattle Times and Northern Journal.
Bernton says the potential reasons for the decline include a warmer ocean leading to less food for young halibut, as well as a flawed model used for managing the fishery.

I suspect it’s more the latter than the former, but the halibut catch is down; limits for sport fishing have not been drawn down as much, but in Cook Inlet, the catch was once 2 per day per person of any size, whereas now it’s one of any size and one under 27 inches.

Anchorage Daily News fisheries reporter Hal Bernton had this to say:

While the resource was in a cyclical decline, the models that the International Pacific Halibut Commission were using to basically estimate how many fish are out there and what's the future, they were significantly flawed. And there was one scientist who was very outspoken about flaws in the model, and it wasn't well received, and he ended up getting fired. Then they developed new models that really bore out some of the criticism that he made. So there's a mix of environmental conditions, and then some would say, also, there have been some fishing pressures as well that have contributed to the decline.

They will, I expect, work it all out, and we can hope that they throw a few flatfish bones to the sport fishery. We went out last summer on a boat out of Homer and had a wondrous day, bringing in halibut as well as some rockfish. Halibut is my very favorite fish to eat, clean and tasty. You can’t beat it.

Alaska Man score: 5 fried halibut cakes.

Now, here’s a neat thing. In Palmer, for many years, the town had a community Christmas tree on the grounds of the public library. But the library has been torn down, and the tree removed due to disease.

So the community stepped up, and Palmer has a Christmas tree again.

An uprooted community Christmas tree, a demolished public library building and a barren construction site won’t keep holiday magic away from downtown Palmer — not if a group of local officials and holiday enthusiasts have anything to do with it.
A new temporary community tree will be installed — lights and Christmas spirit included — just after Thanksgiving and ahead of the city’s annual Colony Christmas event, officials said this week.
Donated by Jacobson’s Greenhouse in Wasilla and coordinated through the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce, the tree will stand about 10 feet tall and will be placed either near the Palmer Depot or in front of the library property, city and chamber officials said.

Traditions are important, especially in a small town. Palmer isn’t the smallest town. In fact, it’s the borough seat and a popular tourist destination. But it’s still a small town, with all that goes with that.

Alaska Man score: 5 golden rings, 4 turtle doves, 3 French hens, and a brand new Palmer tree.

Now then, something a little more serious.

Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Please support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!