West Coast Groundfish Management is a Disaster, Say Participants with only 20.2% Harvest Rate in 2015  West Coast groundfish management is a disaster after data presented during the Pacific Groundfish Quota Program Workshop reported the region's commercial non-whiting IFQ trawl harvest rate at just 20.2 percent of the allotted quota. Peggy Parker writes from the Workshop how in the five years since the quota program began, economic benefits have not come to the fleet or processors; economic stability has not increased; and full utilization of allocations has been elusive because of the constraining nature of bycatch. "The non-whiting West Coast IFQ trawl fishery is an economic sinkhole," said Mike Okoniewski of Pacific Seafoods, addressing the economic impacts of the quota program to workshop participants on the last day. Ocean Choice International repeated once again that the company is not for sale. Martin Sullivan and Blaine Sullivan confirmed that the partnership has never been for sale and is not for sale now. "OCI believes that recent claims reported in the press related to the partnership's financial future stem from the court case recently dismissed by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador," the company said in a statement. In other news the Iqaluit Fisheries Corporation may have lost $1 million in turbot catches after its fishing vessel the Saputi struck ice while fishing in the Davis Straight over the weekend. All 30 crew members on board were safe. The ship is being escorted to Greenland for a damage assessment. Finally, the FFAW fishermen's union is calling for an immediate halt to all northern shrimp fishing activity in Newfoundland's Shrimp Fishing Area 6 off the Northern Peninsula. The request follows early reports that the region's shrimp biomass may be down as much as 40 percent. The stock status update for the area is expected to be released later this week.