Saving Seafood

Southeast Alaska organization asks the governor to declare a region-wide economic disaster

December 2, 2020 — An organization representing Southeast Alaska communities is asking that the governor declare a region-wide economic disaster due to the loss of the 2020 cruise ship season and “the collapse” of the salmon fishing season.

Southeast Conference sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunlevy on Nov. 17, describing an economic disaster of “unprecedented proportions.”

“A disaster declaration will start the process to allow the hardworking Southeast Alaskans to get federal disaster aid. This help is vital to our regional communities and economy,” said Markus Scheer, the president of Southeast Conference.

It is not uncommon for a community or region to request for the governor to declare a disaster after a bad fishing season to access federal aid. It is also not uncommon for the governor to declare a disaster after a specific event like a wildfire, earthquake or winter storm.

Read the full story at Alaska’s News Source

ALASKA: Assembly to take up legislation opposing closure of federal inlet waters to commercial fishing

December 2, 2020 — The Kenai Peninsula Borough will consider at their Dec. 1 meeting legislation opposing the closure of federal waters in Cook Inlet to commercial fishing.

The resolution is a response to one of four proposed alternative amendments to the Fishery Management Plan for Salmon Fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska known as “Alternative Four.”

Alternative Four would close federal waters in Cook Inlet to commercial fishing. Federal waters make up the southern half of the inlet, south of Kalgin Island, according to a memo from assembly member Brent Johnson. The water located south of Kalgin Island has traditionally been used by the drift gillnet fleet.

Other peninsula municipalities have recently taken action to oppose Alternative Four, including the Kenai City Council, which voted unanimously to oppose it.

Alternative Four was introduced near the end of the last meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) last month by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

NEW YORK TIMES: Good News for Salmon, Bad News for Prospectors

December 2, 2020 — The Trump administration’s indifference to the environment and President Trump’s hostility to the laws providing clean water and air, protecting endangered species and keeping public lands and forests free from commercial intrusion have been so unsparing that one had to blink twice at what, finally, after nearly four years, was a piece of undiluted good news.

Yet there it was: a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to deny a permit for a massive gold and copper mine in Alaska proposed for the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the heart of a multimillion-dollar regional fishing industry. This is a devastating blow for the project and a triumph for conservationists, Native tribes and commercial fishing interests that believed, quite rightly, that the mine and its discharges would not only destroy a delicate marine ecosystem but also gravely threaten one of the richest salmon fisheries in the world.

The project was proposed roughly two decades ago by a Canadian-British mining consortium (only one of the original partners remains) that promised to add 1,000 permanent jobs to Alaska’s struggling economy while unearthing $300 billion in copper, gold and molybdenum. In 2008, the people of Alaska came very close to blocking the proposal in a referendum supported by three former governors, including two Republicans, and the then-powerful dean of the state’s congressional delegation, Senator Ted Stevens. A huge advertising campaign by the mining industry and a last-minute pro-mining push by then-Gov. Sarah Palin turned the tide in the mine’s favor.

Over time, however, the scientific evidence turned decisively against the project, and in 2014 the Environmental Protection Agency determined that even a carefully designed operation, in the words of Gina McCarthy, the E.P.A. administrator, would most likely cause “irreversible negative impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed and its abundant salmon fisheries.”

Read the full opinion piece at the New York Times

Electronic monitoring grants will benefit Alaska fisheries

November 30, 2020 — Two Alaska fisheries are among the beneficiaries of new national grants to modernize data management systems to ensure sustainable fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands through electronic monitoring.

One grant for $185,104 went to the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association which matched those funds with another $213,500, for a total of $398,604.

The other, for $908,862, went to United Catcher Boats in Seattle, which added $1,385,854, for a total of $2,294,716.

ALFA will use its share to develop lower cost electronic monitoring hardware, test automated real-time feedback to vessels on image quality and support stakeholder engagement in fisheries management forums relevant to electronic monitoring in the Alaska fixed gear fishery. The project will also explore ways to improve image quality and cost effectiveness of electronic monitoring through the development of new electronic monitoring systems and deployment methods, ALFA officials said,

UBC will focus on scaling up existing efforts to evaluate the feasibility and cost efficiency of using electronic monitoring systems on Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska Pollock pelagic trawl catcher vessels to monitor compliance with retention regulations. The project will demonstrate the feasibility of electronic monitoring at scale and improve data quality, timeliness and cost-efficiency for salmon bycatch accounting and detecting and quantifying groundfish discards, according to UBC.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times

ALASKA: Bristol Bay Fishermen Thank USACE for Pebble Mine Permit Decision

November 27, 2020 — In an unexpected turn, the Army Corps of Engineers has denied a Clean Water Act permit for the proposed Pebble Mine, an open-pit copper extraction project located near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. The Pebble site contains one of the largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits in the world, and its backers have signaled their intention to appeal.

“In its record of decision, USACE determined that the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest,” the agency’s Alaska District said in a statement.

Pebble Partnership’s share price fell from $0.87 to $0.40 within hours of the announcement. The project’s opponents hailed the decision as a recognition of the Pebble Mine’s risk to the billion-dollar-per-year Bristol Bay fishery.

“A permit denial from the Army Corps is a triumph for the people of Bristol Bay who have fought tirelessly against Pebble mine for well over a decade,” said Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) president and CEO Jason Metrokin. “We thank the Corps for acknowledging this reality in its decision.”

“Sometimes a project is so bad, so indefensible, that the politics fall to the wayside and we get the right decision. That is what happened today,” Tim Bristol, the executive director of SalmonState, which represents Alaska’s salmon fishing industry.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

Pebble Mine Permit Denied – Cantwell Continues Push for Permanent Protections for Critical Watershed

November 25, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement after the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska:

“The science is clear: the Pebble Mine could have destroyed the Bristol Bay ecosystem and the millions of wild salmon that depend on it. So I’m pleased but not surprised the Corps finally denied the permit for this ill-conceived megaproject. I look forward to working with the incoming administration and the Alaska delegation to establish permanent protections for Bristol Bay and promote more sustainable economic opportunities for the local communities living around these irreplaceable lands. Healthy salmon runs are the backbone of our fishing and outdoor economy throughout the region, and we must do everything we can to protect it.”

Today’s decision comes after the Army Corps of Engineers decided in August that the Pebble Mine project could not move forward as proposed due to the substantial adverse environmental impacts the project could have on the Bristol Bay watershed.

Senator Cantwell has been leading the fight to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay—one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world—and the fishermen and industries that rely on these salmon.  The seafood sector makes up 60 percent of the 30 billion dollar maritime economy in Washington state, which as a whole supports over 146,000 jobs.

Cantwell has been vocal about the devastation that Pebble Mine could bring to the Pacific Northwest, repeatedly criticizing various members of the administration for downplaying the threat of the mine. In September, Cantwell called for a Department of Justice investigation to examine discrepancies between what company executives promoting the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, said in leaked tapes and how they characterized the project’s scope and plans in legally-binding documents. In October of 2017, Cantwell and other members of the Washington state congressional delegation urged President Trump to listen to Washington fishermen and businesses before removing protections from Bristol Bay. In May 2018, Cantwell called on the Trump administration to hold public meetings in Washington state on the proposal and increase transparency for the permitting process. In July 2019, Cantwell slammed the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw protections for Bristol Bay.

Alaska’s Controversial Pebble Mine Fails to Win Critical Permit, Likely Killing It

November 25, 2020 — The Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, likely dealing a death blow to a long-disputed project that aimed to extract one of the world’s largest deposits of copper and gold ore, but which threatened breeding grounds for salmon in the pristine Bristol Bay region.

The fight over the mine’s fate has raged for more than a decade. The plan was scuttled years ago under the Obama administration, only to find new life under President Trump. But opposition, from Alaska Native American communities, environmentalists and the fishing industry never diminished, and recently even the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., a sportsman who had fished in the region, came out against the project.

On Wednesday, it failed to obtain a critical permit required under the federal Clean Water Act that was considered a must for it to proceed. In a statement, the Army Corps’ Alaska District Commander, Col. Damon Delarosa, said the mine, proposed for a remote tundra region about 200 miles from Anchorage, would be “contrary to the public interest” because “it does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines.”

Read the full story at The New York Times

ALASKA: Anchorage startup aims to get more seafood into the mouths of babies

November 24, 2020 — Lightly seasoned salmon strips, made mostly from Bristol Bay reds, are the third product made by Bambino’s Baby Food of Anchorage that is aimed at getting more seafood into the mouths of babes.

“I always kind of giggle because it’s not going to be just for the little ones. I’m sure mom and dad and elder brother or sister are going to be gnawing on those as well,” said Zoi Maroudas, Bambino’s founder and operator. “I also wanted to honor our indigenous families and traditions and share how natural, nutrient-rich omega strips can be so good for a little one to enjoy. Instead of a cookie or cracker, a frozen salmon strip.”

“Seeing our community and friends near and far now having the option to find Pivsi (Inupiaq for “dried fish”) at Bambino’s is very exciting and a healthy new option for kiddos,” said Lars Nelson, president of TRIBN construction company at Utqiagvik, and parent of six.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Next year’s SE pink salmon harvest could be closer to average

November 24, 2020 — Next year’s catch of pink salmon in Southeast Alaska could come in a little below average, although that would be an improvement following several years of weak returns.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a harvest of 28 million pinks in the region next summer. Andy Piston, the department’s pink and chum salmon project leader for Southeast, said that would still put the catch a little below the recent 10-year average.

“That forecast for 28 million harvest for 2021, that’s actually for an odd year that’s quite a bit below what we’ve seen in most recent years with the exception of 2019,” Piston said. “And in 2019, the parent year for 2021’s return, that was the first year in a long time where we saw a really poor odd-year harvest.”

Pink salmon spawn two years after they’re born. Southeast has been in a cycle of weak returns for even years but better numbers in the odd years. This year’s catch wound up at eight point one million pinks (8.1 million), roughly the same harvest from two years ago. The region hasn’t seen catches that low since 1976.

Fish and Game’s forecast is based in part on trawl surveys that catch young pinks heading to sea each year. Those are conducted in partnership with NOAA Fisheries researchers in the northern panhandle.

Read the full story at KFSK

After a summer of pandemic disruptions and poor salmon runs, Alaska fishermen await more federal relief money

November 23, 2020 — Many of Alaska’s commercial salmon fishermen faced a summer of poor fish runs and market impacts driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government relief money has helped fishermen, and the state is finalizing a plan for how to spend another $50 million in federal dollars for the industry.

For some fishermen, it can’t come soon enough.

“The season was, it was almost a complete loss,” said Mike Webber who gillnets for salmon on the Copper River and in Prince William Sound. “Meaning the return numbers were down very low. We went almost a month without a fishing period this year.”

Webber sells some of his fish to processors, but a lot of it gets marketed directly to individual customers and restaurants. And, while he saw strong individual sales:

“Bottom line, we lost pretty much all of our restaurant markets,” said Webber.

Read the full story at KTOO