Saving Seafood

Expos and All Hands: Fisheries events go live online

November 9, 2020 — The coronavirus has derailed face-to-face fish gatherings and forced them to online venues, and there’s a fishing industry dream of a lineup for this month. One perk of going virtual is that more people can tune in to all kinds of meetings, discussions and workshops, no matter where they call home.

Get the latest updates on nearly every Alaska fish in the sea at the popular All Hands on Deck virtual meetings set for Nov. 10-13 by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Each day will focus on marketing strategies and challenges for the fish and shellfish ASMI promotes in the U.S. and around the world.

“ASMI’s mission is to increase the economic value and awareness of the Alaska seafood resource and that’s a really big lift,” said Ashley Heimbigner, ASMI communications director. “And we couldn’t do it without the input and guidance and ‘on the ground’ information we get from all of our industry partners and stakeholders.”

The All Hands lineup features the latest industry economic indicators presented by the McDowell Group, including covid impacts around the world, trade disputes, and a roundtable forum with experts from the global seafood supply chain.

Every fish and shellfish species gets its own session, Heimbigner said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

LEIGH HABEGGER: Alaska fisheries and restaurants need immediate relief

November 5, 2020 — Alaska is often referred to as the “seafood powerhouse,” and rightfully so. With more than 50% of our country’s seafood landed here, options for seafood are plentiful — whether you’re looking for a buttery halibut fillet to go with a glass of chardonnay or a cod sandwich and cold beer. But our fishermen and our restaurant partners are struggling because of COVID-19.

In addition to supplying Americans and the world with some of the freshest, most sustainable seafood, the state’s seafood industry created $5.6 billion in total annual economic activity for Alaska in 2018. Fishing is a huge economic driver for the state. But, between March 1 and April 16 of this year, more than half of restaurants in Alaska closed temporarily and more than 80% of restaurant employees were laid off or furloughed. We saw halibut prices cut in half practically overnight.

Nationwide, independent restaurants have lost more jobs than any other industry, affecting 11 million employees within the industry and more than 5 million workers they support in the supply chain. Alaska is no different: Leisure and hospitality have accounted for 38% of all jobs lost in our state during the pandemic. This pandemic directly endangers the 31,800 Alaskans working restaurant and food service jobs, and the countless farmers, fishermmen and other livelihoods that depend on restaurants’ supply chains.

Read the full opinion piece at the Anchorage Daily News

Despite shutdowns, Oregon Dungeness crab fleet fares well

November 5, 2020 — Oregon crabbers had landed 20.07 million pounds of Dungeness as of August. Ex-vessel price negotiations and meat fill issues delayed the opening of the season until 31 December. And like other fisheries, the arrival of COVID-19 put the stops on product flow to preferred markets.

As for the resource, the good times continue to roll for the crabbers. Based on average ex-vessel prices of USD 3.64 (EUR 3.12) per pound this year’s revenues crunch out to USD 73.06 million (EUR 62.67 million). According to data from PacFIN, the Oregon fleet averaged USD 3.58 (EUR 3.02) per pound for revenues of USD 66.7 million (EUR 57.21 million) in the 2019 season.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Some ups but mostly downs for Alaska salmon permit values

November 4, 2020 — After a salmon season that successfully fished its way through a pandemic and upturned markets, the value of Alaska salmon permits is ticking up in two regions while toppling in others.

Permit values are derived by the state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission based on the average value of four permit sales.

One of the uppers is the bellwether fishery at Bristol Bay where driftnet permits are showing good gains after a strong fishing season, despite a disappointing base sockeye price of $.70 a pound, down by nearly half from last year.

“Probably the lowest asking price out there right now is $170,000,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Of course, the next big news here for the Bay would be the forecasts for next year which are not out yet, and they could certainly have an influence on what people are willing to pay for those permits. But they have come up considerably from the low of $150,000 before the season.”

Alaskan Quota and Permits in Petersburg lists one Bristol Bay permit at $195,000, while Dock Street Brokers has new drift listings at between $170,000 and $180,000.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Alaska salmon: Annual harvest tallies lower, as expected; 
sales stay hot for self-marketed fishermen

November 4, 2020 — Alaska’s preliminary statewide salmon harvest came in at 113.56 million fish, down sharply from last year’s 199.98 million fish and ranking it 34th largest on record.

As predicted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the harvest of pink salmon this year was expected to drop by around 68 million fish from last year; so there were no surprises when the final pink tally came at 57.91 million.

As for the harvest of other species in 2020, fleets landed 7.89 million chums, 2.14 million silvers, 249,000 kings and 45.38 million sockeyes.

In Bristol Bay, about 70 percent of the gillnetters showed up to fish as the season got underway in late June. Fishermen and seafood plant workers were quarantined in some cases, and drift fishermen were confined to living on their boats out on the water for the season instead of tying up to the docks during fishing closures.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Alaska’s Supreme Court to rule on fish tax, with millions at stake

November 2, 2020 — The Alaska Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of a lucrative landings tax on fish caught in federal waters and brought through Alaska ports to be exported to international markets.

Every season, millions of tons of fish are scooped up by factory trawlers in the Bering Sea’s federal waters, which start three miles off the coast of Alaska. Most of those fish are processed at sea, then taken to ports like Dutch Harbor to be transferred to other ships and containers for export. Since 1994, Alaska has been collecting a three percent tax on that catch and distributing it to state and local governments.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Fishing industry weighs in on state’s $50M COVID-19 relief plan

November 2, 2020 — A statewide commercial fishing industry group is asking the Dunleavy administration to justify its proposal for distributing $50 million dollars in federal pandemic relief for Alaska’s fishing industry.

Federal guidance recommends allocating more than half of the CARES Act funds to seafood processors and just 5% to the charter fleet and lodges.

But a draft released this month by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game recommends dividing the allocation evenly among sectors, which would increase the pot of money for fishing guides and lodges by more than $13 million.

United Fishermen of Alaska, which represents the commercial fleet and processors, asked the agency to explain its rationale for boosting the charter fleet’s allocation at the expense of other sectors.

UFA’s president Matt Alward signed a three-page letter to the commissioner’s office.

Read the full story at KTOO

ALASKA: Seafood Bycatch Donation Relieves Hunger and Reduces Waste

November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Fishermen sometimes unintentionally catch fish they do not want or cannot keep. This is called bycatch. While these fish are returned to the sea, many of them do not survive. This is a major problem worldwide—nearly 10 percent of global fishery catches are discarded each year

This waste of valuable seafood protein has been an increasing focus of management, industry, and public concern due to its ecological and economic impacts. That’s where our innovative donation program comes in.

Alaska fishermen occasionally catch Pacific halibut and salmon incidentally in trawls targeting groundfish. Because halibut and salmon are valuable targets of other fisheries, they are designated as prohibited species. Groundfish trawlers are not allowed to retain or sell them. Historically, all prohibited species caught in Alaska were discarded at sea to avoid any incentive to catch these species.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska seafood industry have a long history of cooperative efforts to reduce bycatch. However, even after bycatch has been eliminated to the extent practicable, some is inevitable.

In 1996, NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council established the Prohibited Species Donation Program. It takes a unique approach to the problem of discarded fish by making it possible for fishermen to donate some bycatch to hunger relief organizations. It simultaneously reduces waste, provides high quality seafood protein to people in need, and avoids incentives to catch prohibited species.

“Bycatch donation is an example of thinking outside the box. When we think about reducing waste, it is usually about avoiding bycatch. This program is a creative solution to maximize the value of the bycatch that can’t be avoided,”  said Jordan Watson, NOAA Fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Read the full release here

Maruha Nichiro sells Peter Pan Seafoods, takes USD 27.9 million loss

November 2, 2020 — Maruha Nichiro has announced it has sold its U.S. subsidiary Peter Pan Seafoods to entrepreneur Rodger May and McKinley Capital management, resulting in a USD 27.9 million (EUR 24 million) loss for the company.

In a notice “regarding the transfer of fixed assets of a consolidated subsidiary of the company,” Maruha Nichiro announced that it reached an agreement for the sale of the Alaska-based processing factory, to be completed on 31 December. The exact price that May paid for the company will not be disclosed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Environmental group releases more secretly recorded ‘Pebble Tapes’ targeting the executive who remains in charge

October 30, 2020 — An environmental group on Thursday released two additional video recordings of Pebble mine executive Ron Thiessen discussing his political strategy for winning a federal permit for the mine.

The release is a follow-up to the damaging tapes the group released in September that became a flashpoint in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race and led to the downfall of Thiessen’s former colleague from the project, Tom Collier.

The Environmental Investigation Agency said in a written statement that the newly released video recordings, part of the same meetings originally recorded in August and September, highlight Thiessen’s role as head of the project.

The videos also underscore the financial benefit that companies he is involved in will receive if the mine is built, the group said.

Thiessen remains the head of Northern Dynasty Minerals, the Canadian-based parent company of Pebble Limited Partnership that’s seeking to develop the copper and gold prospect in Southwest Alaska. Collier last month resigned from his position as chief executive of Pebble Limited.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News