Arrowtooth flounder*/Kamchatka flounder
*MSC certified June 1, 2010 (Arrowtooth is certified; Kamchatka is not certified)
- Latin Name: Atheresthes stomias/Atheresthes evermanni
- Market/vernacular names: flounder, arrowtooth
- Location: Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA)
- Season: BSAI: May 1–December 31, generally targeted May-August. North Star Fishing Co. does not fish for arrowtooth flounder in the GOA
- Total Catch/Quota (combined for Arrowtooth and Kamchatka):
2011 BSAI catch: 30,540 metric tons, quota: 43,600 metric tons
2011 GOA catch: 30,760 metric tons, quota: 43,000 metric tons - Products: H&G/T (headed, gutted, tail off)
- Volume: Arrowtooth is approximately 5-10% of North Star Fishing Co.’s total annual production
- Size: Length to 86 cm, whole fish weight to 7.7 kg, general H&G/T size: .5-2.0 kg.
- Size Specification: H&G/T weight per fish
M: 2 – 3 kg
S: 1 – 2 kg
SS: .5 – 1 kg
SSS: – 500 grams - General Information: Until recently, harvest of arrowtooth and Kamchatka flounder mainly occurred as bycatch in other higher valued fisheries. However, with the advent of technologies to improve meat quality and additional markets for arrowtooth flounder, a directed fishery has emerged. Arrowtooth flounder is currently the most abundant groundfish species in the GOA and most of the world’s arrowtooth flounder comes from Alaska fisheries. Arrowtooth flounder is harvested as a directed fishery or as bycatch in other fisheries throughout the calendar year mostly by catcher processors in the BSAI ranging in size from 110 to 295 feet, and by a combination of catcher vessels and catcher processors in the GOA. Catcher processors harvest multiple species, conduct primary processing aboard the vessel, and freeze their products on board. Catcher vessels exclusively deliver to shoreside processors or other vessels. For the 2011 season, Kamchatka flounder was classified separately from arrowtooth and the quota was split off from the total arrowtooth flounder quota. Arrowtooth and Kamchatka flounder are caught together in the Northern Bering Sea and Aleutian Island areas.
Additional information on arrowtooth flounder can be found at NMFS Fishwatch.