It’s not just how much you catch. It’s how you catch it.

Last weekend, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted 6-3 to reduce the halibut bycatch cap in the Bering Sea by 21 percent, and 25 percent among the most important sector of the fleet. That’s a good thing, but for most Alaska fishermen, it doesn’t go far enough.

That’s a pretty technical paragraph, but if you’ve ever fished for halibut — or even just eaten it — it’s a big deal for you.

Trawlers in the Bering Sea haul in billions of pounds of seafood each year. It’s mostly Pacific cod and pollock, the cheap fish that ends up in your fish sticks and Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire >>

Read more about Alaska halibut >>