Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Court sides with state, dismisses lawsuit challenging Gov. Walker order

July 25, 2016 — A Juneau Superior Court judge has sided with the state, dismissing a lawsuit that challenged Gov. Bill Walker’s administrative order to reorganize the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Commission, an autonomous state agency that’s been under fire the past few years.

“… the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the matter. At this current time, any alleged conflict between the (administrative order) and the CFEC is purely hypothetical,” Judge Louis Menendez wrote in a decision Thursday and sent to attorneys representing the plaintiffs and the state Friday.

Administrative Order 279, issued in February, would transfer functions of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. CFEC was established in 1973 by the Alaska Legislature to limit how many people can participate in the state’s commercial fisheries.

Commercial fisherman and lobbyist Robert Thorstenson Jr. and commercial fishing trade organization United Fishermen of Alaska filed a lawsuit against Walker and the state calling the administrative order invalid.

The plaintiffs claimed the order “unconstitutionally takes authority from the Alaska Legislature to amend statutes and policies related to the operation and management of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.”

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire

ALASKA: State to argue for dismissal of suit over governor’s commercial fisheries order

July 19, 2016 — JUNEAU, Alaska — A judge is set to hear arguments in a case brought by the Alaska Department of Law that seeks the dismissal of a lawsuit against the state regarding the management of the state’s commercial fisheries.

The case is scheduled to go before Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez on Tuesday, according to The Juneau Empire.

At the center of a case is an administrative order issued by Gov. Bill Walker in February that calls for several functions of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to be transferred to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Walker’s administration has said moving administrative and research functions, like licensing and permitting, to Fish and Game could save the state more than $1.3 million a year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

ALASKA: Despite better early king numbers, Kenai fishermen head for sockeye

July 8, 2016 — Every square inch of shelf space is occupied in Ken’s Alaskan Tackle, and much of the walls, too.

Pegboards covered in different types of fishing flies, racks of lures and lines of hooks holding myriad different kinds of line greet the customers who drop in. Overhead hang reproductions of different Alaskan fish, the largest being a toothy king salmon that watches haughtily over the shop.

But most from the road recognize it for the enormous sockeye salmon that looms over the roof.

Though the Kenai River is famous worldwide for its king salmon, sockeye are increasingly becoming a target fish. Mary Glaves, an employee at Ken’s Alaskan Tackle, said most people who have come in this season are looking for sockeye, though the Kenai River is open for king salmon retention, albeit with no bait.

“Fishermen may just be out of the habit,” she said.

Part of it may be strategy. The Kenai River is wide and has had high water levels so far this season, making it difficult to bank fish for king salmon, which tend to run more toward the middle of the river. However, another part may be a set of years with weaker runs and more restrictions on Kenai River kings, some say.

For the past few years, poor counts on the early- and late-run kings have triggered management restrictions, either on bait or retention. This year, early signs show more late-run kings entering the river — 1,923 had passed the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sonar at river mile 14, as of Monday — in addition to more than 9,800 early-run kings passing the sonar, according to Fish and Game’s data.

Though anglers could keep king salmon from the rivers after Fish and Game managers issued an emergency order June 18, participation has remained low. Catch rates have been low as well, possibly due to poor water conditions. Catch rates have been improving as the water clarity does.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

Alaska’s $10 Million Cut to its Fisheries Budget Expected to Ripple Across the Commercial Industry

April 26, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The $10 million cut to Alaska’s fishery budget for the 2017 fiscal year is expected to have widespread ramifications for the state’s commercial industry.  Last year’s budget cuts resulted in 109 fishery projects getting axed. Now another 65 are on the cut list for the upcoming fiscal year that begins on July 1. The slimmer budget means resources are more limited for fishery stock surveys and scientific research in addition to other fishery management needs.  “With cuts of that magnitude, everything is on the table,” said Scott Kelley, director of the Commercial Fisheries Division at the Dept. of Fish and Game.

We ran an opinion piece from D.B. Pleschner, the Executive Director of the California Wetfish Producers, that points to the recent scientific evidence that suggests West Coast sardine stocks are actually rebuilding. Pleschner writes how recent recruitment reports show the fishery’s young fish stocks are trending very close to how they looked prior to the 2007 population peak.  She also discusses how these scientific findings have gained little attention from the media and NGOS, who have instead blamed overfishing and lack of management for the stock’s declines.

In other news, China added lobster, crab and coldwater shrimp imports to a list of E-commerce items that are eligible for expedited cross-border clearance and lower taxes. The list an effort by China to reduce the cross-border tax paid by consumers, and to close a loophole that allowed parcel shipments to avoid taxes when resold, for instance, when they are imported by wholesalers.

Vietnam expects a 12 percent hike in exported shrimp revenues to push its overall earnings in seafood shipments past $7 billion this year. Shrimp is on track to account for about half of this year’s earnings.

Finally, Vinh Hoan will debut a line of untreated, premium pangasius fillets to the market at its booth number 5-553 during the Seafood Expo Global in Brussels this week. “People today want more natural food options with minimal processing and our untreated Premium Pangasius fillets provide that along with a delicious dining experience,” said Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam, Vinh Hoan Sales and Marketing Director. “With Vinh Hoan’s long-established commitment to sustainable practices, it just makes sense we would lead the way with this untreated option.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

ALASKA: Lawmakers rewrite fisheries tax bill

April 8, 2016 — JUNEAU, Alaska — A House fisheries committee advanced a rewrite of Gov. Bill Walker’s fisheries tax bill on Tuesday, diverting half of the potential revenue into a seafood marketing fund.

The bill, one of six proposed taxes on industries from Walker, could raise an additional $18 million in revenue by adding a 1-percent tax increase to portions of the commercial fishing industry.

The new language requires that one-half of the tax increase be deposited into a newly created Alaska Seafood Marketing Fund. The Legislature also is given the option to appropriate the marketing fund to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Seafood marketing has been an ongoing fight in the Legislature. Both the House and the Senate cut the marketing institute’s budget in their respective versions of the state operating budget. Lawmakers said they wanted to see the institute become self-sustaining, with the Senate declaring that it wanted to see a plan by 2017 on how the institute would wean itself off of the general fund by 2019. The operating budget has yet to be finalized.

After the committee voted to move the bill to House Finance, chair Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, asked for an update from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Alaska Department of Revenue on taxing issues raised during public testimony on the bill.

See the full story at Homer News

ALASKA: Fishing groups voice opposition to CFEC reorganization

April 7, 2016 — Following an April 4 hearing that drew unanimous opposition from fishing groups, the House Resources Committee held a bill that would make statutory changes to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

The bill is a relatively simple administrative fix, but sits in a tangle created by an administrative order by Gov. Bill Walker that has attracted criticism over its legality, a legislative audit of the agency, and opposition from fishermen.

Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, introduced the bill, but drastically scaled down the original version introduced last year to simply meet the needs of a 2015 legislative audit recommending some of the changes directed by Walker’s order.

Now, the bill’s main elements address administrative fixes: moving the CFEC commissioners to part-time pay and changing CFEC employees’ statutory designations.

“It changes (commissioners) from being on a monthly rate to a daily rate,” summarized Stutes’ staffer Reid Harris.

It also changes CFEC employees’ designation from “exempt” to “classified,” another statutory change.

“This bill is drafted to the recommendations of the audit,” Harris said.

Both recommendations enable Walker’s order, which folded CFEC duties into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Walker’s order mandated the CFEC to fold some of its duties into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

ALASKA: BBRSDA funding diverts need for Bristol Bay cost recovery fishery, for now

March 31, 2016 — BRISTOL BAY, Alaska — Fishermen and processors aren’t the only ones who rely on Bristol Bay sockeye for part of their annual income. Each summer, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game uses cost recovery fishing to help fund management in Bristol Bay. But this summer, BBRSDA has agreed to pick up the tab to avoid what’s widely seen as an inefficient way of funding management.

In late March, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association agreed to provide the Alaska Department of Fish and Game with up to $250,000 to replace the need for the cost recovery fishery in Bristol Bay.

BBRSDA President Abe Williams said that while the board is providing funding this year, they have concerns about the long-term plan for funding fisheries management in the region.

“We see the budget of the department of fish and game being stripped, but in turn, they’re being forced to look at options like cost recovery to fund their budget,” Williams said. “I think collectively we need to look at how do we get the message back to the state of Alaska that they need to adequately fund the Department of Fish and Game so they can take care of the management business of the fishery in Bristol bay.”

Read the full story at KDLG

ALASKA: Fishermen, lawmakers weigh in on proposed fish tax increase

February 18, 2016 — JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Fishing industry and lawmakers on Thursday puzzled over the origins of a proposed one percent tax increase in fisheries business taxes and fishery resource landing taxes.

During a hearing on the bill by the House fisheries committee, fishermen testified that they did not understand the origins of the increase. It is expected to raise $18 million in new revenue for the state annually, according to the Department of Revenue. It is one of six proposed industry taxes from Gov. Bill Walker, including increases to mining, motor fuels, alcohol and tobacco taxes.

“Are you telling me that a group of people got behind closed doors and pulled out the dart and the dart board and the dart landed on that increase? Is that what you’re saying?” Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, said after he asked fishermen if they understood how the increases had been calculated. Each said they did not.

In its current form, the bill increases by one percent three different tax rates within the Fisheries Business Tax structure, a tax on direct marketers and the tax on floating processors. It also increases the Fisheries Landing Tax.

The director of the department’s Tax Division, Ken Alper, said he could provide the committee with the model used to determine the proposed tax rate, but he said there had not been a formal study. Leadership in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was consulted when developing the new tax, Alper said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at San Francisco Chronicle

Alaska working on flatfish tax fix to capture foregone revenue

December 9, 2015 — A state tax rate glitch let groundfish trawlers off the hook for more than $10 million of fishery taxes in the last half decade, and there’s no concrete fix just yet.

The fishery resource landing tax taxes groundfish based on ex-vessel price. Processors turn flatfish caught as bycatch into low-value fishmeal, so the only known ex-vessel price for certain flatfish species is artificially low. Nine species have this price uncertainty, but most flatfish volume comes from yellowfin sole and Atka mackerel.

By only having an ex-vessel value based on the price paid for bycatch turned into fishmeal, the state has no idea what the ex-vessel value is for the direct flatfish fishery that has annual harvests measured in hundreds of thousands of metric tons.

According to state research estimates, the state has lost out on $1.8 million to $2.5 million per year, or more than $10 million over the last five years. Researchers haven’t yet looked back further due to paucity of data, but the fishery resource landing tax has existed since 1994.

Lori Swanson, assistant executive director of groundfish trawler group Groundfish Forum, did not say whether the industry knew it had been underpaying since the tax’s birth.

“They pay what the state tells them to pay,” she said.

The state doesn’t really know

The Department of Revenue, however, hasn’t been calculating a realistic view of fleet’s tax rate, and is only starting to rework the system. The state began this tax specifically for factory trawlers and catcher-processors, but overlooked a systemic flaw from the beginning.

“It’s actually two things,” said Kurt Iverson, a research analyst with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “First, a very small amount of the total harvest is in the (Commercial Operator’s Annual Report), and on top of that, that harvest is not representative of a true ex-vessel valuation because it’s coming in as bycatch.”

Anna Kim, the Department of Revenue chief of revenue operations, said she can’t speculate why the issue went for so long without being noticed. Iverson said the problem isn’t intentional. The Department of Revenue simply attached the tax to shoreside sales, which don’t happen for some species.

Read the full story at Alaska Journal of Commerce

 

Alaska Salmon season might miss forecast

August 10, 2015 — The state’s salmon harvest topped 160 million fish over the weekend, but it’s questionable whether the catch will meet preseason expectations.

In Southeast, catches are running well below the forecast set earlier this year. As of Sunday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported 22.6 million salmon caught in Southeast, including only 15 million pink salmon. Heading into the season, the spot forecast called for 58 million pink salmon, and forecasters were 80 percent confident that the harvest would be between 37 million and 79 million fish.

Instead, figures now seem to indicate a harvest below the bottom end of that range.

In an average year, Southeast’s salmon harvest peaks in what ADFG calls “statistical week 32,” or between Aug. 2-8. The five-year average harvest for that week is 11.1 million salmon, mostly pinks, but recent years have been higher. Last year, 12.1 million fish were caught during that period.

Read the full story from Juneau Empire