Troll Fishery Sustains Southeast: Possible closure would have devastating effect.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra

Trolling and trawling are both methods of catching fish, but don't mistake one for the other. Trawling involves a net dragged behind one or more boats, at midwater or at the bottom. Individuals rarely, if ever, go trawling, but trolling is something anyone can do. Hang a rod over the boat's stern, let the line play out with a baited hook, travel at a low speed, and hope for a bite. That's trolling.

Commercial trolling, then, is a larger boat and more lines and hooks with a capacity to catch many more fish. These boats have four to six main wire lines, each sporting a 50-pound lead or cast-iron sinker or cannon ball on its terminal end, as well as eight to twelve nylon leaders spaced out along its length, each of which ends in a lure or baited hook.

Outriggers prevent the lines from becoming entangled, and the long poles attached to the boat look like wings. While trolling, downriggers keep the bait or lure at the desired depth (which depends on the species being fished) by means of a weighted horizontal pole.

To bring the fish in, the lines are wound on small onboard spools called hand trollers if they're operated by hand cranking or power trollers if operated with hydraulic power. A gaff--a long pole with a barbed hook on the end--grabs the fish and flips them onto the deck or hold.

Trolling is one of the most selective fishing methods, resulting in less incidental bycatch because it targets fish that are quick and follow a fastmoving, baited hook. Therefore, trolling is one of the less environmentally damaging methods of fishing.

"Fish are caught one at a time, immediately cleaned and iced or frozen to temperatures approaching -40[degrees]F," according to the Alaska Trollers Association (ATA), which makes the catch high-quality and in demand by upscale restaurants and discerning fish lovers.

In Southeast, this fishery sustains families and the broader communities with jobs, purchase of supplies and gear, and of course, fresh salmon to eat. Fishing is also an important indigenous cultural tradition.

A Year-round Economic Energizer

The ATA website says, "Seafood is the number one private sector employer in the state of Alaska. The troll fleet is one of the largest in the state, and its permit holders are 85 percent resident."

Trolling provides more jobs for Alaskans than any other fishery and is especially important to those who live in smaller communities; roughly one of every forty people in the Alaska Panhandle works on the back deck of a troll boat, according to ATA.

Approximately 1,450 fishermen earn income directly from the fishery, including skippers (permit holders) and...