May 18, 2021 — The highly anticipated Copper River salmon season, which opens Tuesday, 18 May, has chefs, seafood retailers, and consumers paying top-dollar for the first fish to be caught and sent to the mainland United States from Alaska.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based OBI Seafoods opted to donate some of its first fish to the Seattle nonprofit We Got This Seattle, which supports frontline workers and Seattle restaurants.
May 18, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young, all R-Alaska, applauded the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) approval of a Section 32 purchase of up to $159.4 million in domestically produced seafood, fruits, legumes, and nuts for distribution to food assistance programs in Alaska and across the country.
“Whether it is farmers, ranchers, food workers, seafood harvesters or others, the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for Alaska’s farm and food economies, both on land and at sea. These impacts have only exacerbated longstanding disparities in food insecurity, with millions of American households struggling to put enough food on the table. Food banks are busier than ever as families across the U.S. worry about where their next meal will come from,” said the Alaska Congressional Delegation. “This historic purchase of foods to assist our food producers and hungry Americans – including the largest single seafood purchase in the USDA’s history – will have a tremendous impact on the struggling seafood sector, and will also ensure food assistance programs can provide nutritious and healthy food for Americans as we continue to navigate the pandemic. We thank Secretary Vilsack and the Administration for their focus on addressing these dual needs and look forward to continuing to work with the USDA to expand seafood support in their programs in the future.”
Background: These foods are being purchased with Section 32 funds, so named because the funds are authorized by Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act. The Act authorizes a percentage of customs receipts to be transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture to support the prices of surplus domestic commodities and to distribute those commodities through various USDA programs designed to feed hungry Americans. Foods purchased with Section 32 funds are distributed to schools, childcare programs, senior citizens, food banks, victims of disasters, and Indian tribes through programs such as the National School Lunch Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. The Section 32 purchase announced today will include: Alaska pollock, apricots (canned, dried, and frozen), chickpeas, dry peas, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic wild-caught shrimp, lentils, navy beans, Pacific pink shrimp, Pacific rockfish fillets, Pacific whiting fillets, pistachios, prepared peaches, and sockeye (red) salmon.
May 17, 2021 — China is not living up to its commitments to purchase U.S. seafood under the 2020 trade agreement between the two sides, according to a trade analyst at a U.S. fishery trade body.
The U.S. China Economic and Trade Agreement, also known as the “phase one deal,” was signed in early 2020 and bound China to USD 200 billion (EUR 164.5 billion) in purchases from the U.S. through increasing orders of certain commodities, including seafood. The increase was based on figures for 2017 – the last full year before the trade war began.
May 17, 2021 — Alaska’s 2021 salmon officially starts on Monday, May 17 with a 12-hour opener for reds and kings at the Copper River.
All eyes will be on early Cordova dock prices for Alaska’s famous “first fresh salmon of the season” as an indicator of wild salmon markets. COVID-forced closures in 2020 of high-end restaurants and seafood outlets tanked starting prices to $3 per pound for sockeyes and $6.50 for king salmon, down from $10 and $14, respectively the previous year.
But early signs are looking good.
Heading into Mother’s Day on May 9, demand for seafood was “fanatic” said Mitch Miller, vice president of national upscale seafood restaurants Ocean Prime in Nation’s Restaurant News.
National Retail Federation President Matthew Shay said there is a lot more consumer optimism this year as more people are getting vaccinated and stimulus checks are being distributed, and friends and family are moving about more freely.
Alaska’s 2021 salmon harvest is projected to top 190 million fish, a 61% increase over the 2020 catch. The breakdown includes 46.6 million sockeye salmon, 3.8 million cohos, 15.3 million chum salmon, 296,000 Chinook and 124.2 million pinks.
May 17, 2021 — Alaska’s seafood industry has a lot of moving parts. There are the fishermen, the processors, the market, as well as the fish themselves.
By all accounts, the pandemic has been hard on the processors. Last year, they spent about $70 million in mitigation measures and responding to the pandemic. But this year it’s expected to be even more…over $100 million.
In fact, a lot of it has already been spent this year.
“There were challenges and some plant closures that happened despite all these protocols,” Lesh said.
Dan Lesh is with McKinley Research Group that surveyed processors and others in March about the effects of COVID on Alaska’s seafood industry. He says the flat fish industry was hit hard with outbreaks in January causing expensive plant closures. Those costs are in addition to the ongoing price for pandemic mitigation.
“A lot of these costs are already baked and my understanding is that most the mitigation measures will be continued.”
So, basically there are more months this calendar year dealing with the pandemic.
May 14, 2021 — The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council process is difficult to navigate. It is a world of acronyms, statistics and legal jargon; but decisions made there impact the lives of all Alaskans, and directly affect allocations of federally-managed species — including king salmon and halibut — to Indigenous, sport and commercial stakeholders. Meetings occur over weeks and can last more than 10 hours per day. It requires significant time to participate, time the average Alaskan does not have. Recently, the Council enacted a policy that makes it more difficult for Alaskans to effectively advocate for their communities, businesses and food sources.
At the April meeting, a policy tightening restrictions on written public comment was quickly proposed and passed. This meeting drew an outpouring of testimony on two items: halibut and king salmon bycatch by the trawl sector. The overwhelming majority of testimony favored reducing that bycatch and managing it based on abundance. People expressed their viewpoints passionately. A few included profanity, but those were dwarfed by the number who respectfully expressed concerns about the future of our ocean ecosystems, fisheries, communities, cultures and livelihoods.
Late on the final day of the meeting, the Council adopted a policy that significantly tightened the rules on written testimony and gave Council staff broad authority to censor and filter comments. Part of their stated rationale for the new policy was that “members of the public linked the comment portal… and broadcast it on social media platforms (Facebook, Reddit), which generated numerous comments from people not familiar with the Council process” and “numerous comments were made prior to any documents being uploaded, and many comments were unrelated to the eAgenda item under which they were posted.” It may be frustrating to the Council when stakeholders are not as familiar with their process and culture as paid advocates whose lobbying contracts are compensation for intimate knowledge of the complex rules and relationships within the system. However, this is not a valid rationale for censoring the public, nor is it inappropriate to share information on how to participate with a broad audience of Alaskans for whom the process may be new or discouraging.
May 13, 2021 — Alaska’s House Fisheries Committee had the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) slated for a marketing update last Tuesday, but the meeting — and the presentation — were cancelled. As it was, committee members got a copy of the presentation, which brings the state up to date on Alaska’s seafood marketing activities and impacts of COVID-19 on the seafood sector.
The full presentation is still available on the House Fisheries Committee website. It gives a snapshot of ASMI’s structure, mission, funding sources, recent consumer research results, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.
May 12, 2021 — A raw fish tax that has pumped tens of millions of dollars into coastal communities over the past decade has survived a legal challenge before Alaska’s highest court.
The state can tax seafood caught beyond the 3-mile line in federal waters, then loaded on a bulk carrier at the dock for foreign export, without violating provisions of the U.S. Constitution.
That’s according to the Alaska Supreme Court, which released its 31-page ruling Friday.
Fishermen’s Finest, a Washington state seafood company that operates factory trawlers and exports most of its product overseas, had challenged the state’s tax in court. It argued that there are protections against state taxation on shipping in coastal state waters, and a lower state superior court agreed.
But the justices, writing in a unanimous opinion, found that the fees assessed on Fishermen’s Finest’s products are not unconstitutional
“The landing tax is not opportunistic taxation of vessels ‘merely transiting’ adjacent waters without landing or benefitting from any local services,” the justices wrote.
May 12, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Don Young (R-AK):
Today, Alaska Congressman Don Young introduced the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act, legislation to direct NOAA to establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee with the goal of keeping fishing communities healthy and viable through local collaboration, data collection, and expanded research investments. Upon introduction, Congressman Young was joined by Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata (R-AS).
“Since I first came to Congress, I have made protecting our oceans and fisheries one of my highest priorities,” said Congressman Don Young. “The American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act is a critical piece of legislation that will help protect our oceans for generations to come. Alaska has more coastline than any other state in the nation, and our oceans play a central role in our culture, economy, and way of life. This is not only an environmental issue, but an economic one as well. Without healthy oceans, Alaska’s seafood industry cannot succeed; this bill is as critical for our fishermen and processors as it is for our precious ecosystems. I am grateful for the support of my friend, Congresswoman Amata, and will continue working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it across the finish line.”
“In American Samoa, the ocean is always part of our daily lives, and fishing is our community’s economic backbone,” said Congresswoman Amata. “Thank you to my friend, Dean of the House Don Young for this important effort. The American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act can help protect the healthy ocean we depend on so that we can preserve fishing as part of our way of life.”
“The American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act may be the very best piece of legislation for the U.S. seafood industry,” said Bruce Schactler, Director of the National Seafood Marketing Coalition. “This bill will serve not only as a tool for developing a larger footprint in the marketplace, but will also address what the seafood industry at all levels feels is the most needed to help move forward.”
May 10, 2021 — From 2014 to 2016, the Gulf of Alaska experienced the worst marine heat wave of the decade. From single-celled organisms to top predators, practically no level of the ecosystem was left unscathed. During the Pacific marine heat wave, tens of thousands of dead seabirds washed up on beaches, unusually low numbers of humpback whales arrived in their summer habitats, and toxic algal blooms spread along the West Coast of North America.
Now, a new study in Scientific Reports casts doubt on whether Gulf ecosystems will be able to return to their pre–heat wave conditions. This study—a collaborative effort between researchers at NOAA and several other government and research organizations—combined dozens of data sets to build a detailed picture of how many heat wave–induced changes have persisted. Thanks in part to long-term monitoring efforts by Gulf Watch Alaska, a program established in 2012 to assess the ongoing effects from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists were able to compare pre–heat wave and present conditions in several different sections of the ecosystem.
“We were able to show these impacts—from the intertidal out to the pelagic [open ocean] ecosystem, and from algae and phytoplankton on up to whales and commercial fisheries, and a lot of different species in between,” said Robert Suryan, a NOAA marine biologist and lead author of the study.