Saving Seafood

Fisheries across nation seeking monitor waivers

July 17, 2020 — What began in the fisheries of New England has spread across the country.

Fishing stakeholders from as far away as the West Coast and Alaska have joined Northeast commercial fishermen in pressuring NOAA Fisheries to extend — and uniformly apply — waivers from having to carry at-sea monitors and other observers on vessels while the COVID-19 pandemic still rages.

The Seafood Harvesters of America, an umbrella organization that represents 18 separate fishing groups from Maine to Alaska, wrote to NOAA Fisheries and Department of Commerce officials this week to advance many of the same safety arguments against reinstating observers aboard commercial fishing vessels in the midst of the pandemic.

“Recent decisions by the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding observer requirements continue to threaten the health, safety, and lives of our nation’s fishermen, fishing communities, and observers,” the group said in its letter to Neil Jacobs, the acting undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere, and three chief NOAA Fisheries executives. “We strongly urge you to add a third criteria to the emergency action under which NMFS may waive observer coverage requirements to take into consideration the health and safety of captains, crew, coastal communities, and observers.”

The group also urged NOAA Fisheries to “fix its inconsistent and unequal application of observer waivers” by extending waivers to any fishery where fishermen are now mandated to accept human observers aboard commercial vessels.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Pollock Survey Begins in Eastern Bering Sea

July 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For the past four decades, a team of scientists have conducted an acoustic trawl survey from a NOAA research vessel in the eastern Bering Sea. They collect acoustic measurements of fish abundance and distribution. They also sample fish by capturing them with trawl nets to groundtruth the acoustic signals to confirm the species. They also are able to learn more about the fish themselves—for example, their age, length, weight, and reproductive state.

Scientists believe using acoustic technology on saildrones to survey in the eastern Bering Sea will provide a reliable estimate of pollock abundance, based on past experience comparing the technology to ship-based surveys. It also helps that pollock are the dominant fish species in this area, minimizing the need to further sample with a trawl net to confirm species.

Since the standard surveys were cancelled this year due to COVID-19, data collected by the saildrones will fill a gap in the survey time series. Scientists use these survey data along with other data to assess pollock population abundance and trends (whether the stock is increasing or decreasing in size). The saildrone survey is expected to take two months to complete.

In late June, after some 40 days at sea, the three saildrones arrived at Unimak Pass, a 20-nautical-mile gap between Unimak Island and Ugamak Island that separates the North Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea. At this point the saildrones separated. Each saildrone will cover a third of the 600-nautical-mile-wide survey area, which is bordered by Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to the south and the edge of the eastern Bering Sea shelf to the west.

The saildrones will complete a series of north-south transects moving from east to west; the mission is designed to mimic a typical ship survey as closely as possible in the amount of time available. Each vehicle is equipped with a Simrad EK80 high-precision split-beam echo sounder to map fish abundance.

Read the full release here

ALASKA: After decades, a decision nears on the Pebble mine

July 16, 2020 — The proposed Pebble mine near Bristol Bay is nearing a landmark decision that could set the stage for the project’s approval, decades after developers first started considering the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said a final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be released a week from Friday.

The document, a review of the mine’s potential impacts on nearby land and rivers, could mean a final decision in late August for the federal agency to permit the controversial project.

The Corps will hold a call with reporters on Monday to “set expectations for the release of the (final environmental impact statement) on July 24,” said John Budnik, a spokesman with the Corps.

“This will mark one of the most significant milestones for the Pebble Project,” said Tom Collier, chief executive of Pebble Limited Partnership, in a prepared statement.

The developer released the statement on Wednesday highlighting the Corps’ timeline.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Gov. Dunleavy’s controversial Fish Board appointees will get a legislative hearing in September

July 15, 2020 — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s controversial selections to the state Board of Fisheries will get a legislative hearing in early fall, and the call is out for public comments.

The board oversees management of the state’s subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries. Appointments were made on April 1 and would normally go through a vigorous vetting process by the Alaska Legislature with public input. But COVID-19 sent lawmakers home early from the last session, leaving the confirmation process in limbo.

Now, state Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) has set the date for a hearing.

“I tried to push it out as far as I thought I safely could because I know there’s a lot of guys out fishing. But I just didn’t dare push it any further than Thursday, Sept. 3, at 10 a.m. at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office,” she said in a phone interview.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Kenai launches 2 more grant programs

July 15, 2020 — The City of Kenai has launched two more grant programs to offer financial assistance in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These grants are aimed at smaller businesses and commercial fishing operations that may have missed out on the first round of funds.

July 1, the Kenai City Council approved two new grant programs: one for businesses that have a gross annual revenue of between $25,000 and $50,000, and another for Kenai residents who have an Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit.

Applicants will be eligible for a $1,000 grant, drawn from the $7.7 million in federal funding that the city is set to receive through the federal coronavirus relief package. The application period is open now and will close Aug. 30.

Read the full story at Peninsula Clarion

ALASKA: ‘Devastating,’ meager chum salmon returns worry the fishing industry

July 14, 2020 — Returns on chum salmon are so low this year Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. is working with the State of Alaska on permits to move fish from Amalga Harbor to its hatchery on the Gastineau Channel in Juneau.

“This is the worst return we’ve seen in since 2005,” said Katie Harms, DIPAC’s executive director. “This one is extremely poor and unprecedented and a scary return for everyone right now.”

DIPAC is concerned they won’t get enough fish for their broodstock, or the fish they keep at the hatchery to produce more fish. If that happens the hatchery will have to release fewer fish next year in order to its stock, Harms said, which means smaller returns. Fishing groups worked with the state to make changes to certain fisheries boundaries to allow more fish to return upstream, according to Harms, but even with that change, she’s concerned the hatchery will be about 100,000 fish short.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

ALASKA: Bristol Bay sockeye running strong as markets remain murky

July 14, 2020 — After a slow start to the season, Bristol Bay, Alaska – home to the world’s largest sockeye run –is seeing fish hit hard and fast, with a string of historically strong days spiking catch numbers and overloading processors.

The run lagged several days behind schedule, with slow fishing across all four major districts into July dragging down statewide salmon numbers. The season has also had a rocky start as preparations for the season were impacted by COVID-19, in some instances leading to calls for the season to be closed entirely in the first months of the pandemic’s arrival in the United States.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: After “nerve racking” slow start, Bristol Bay catch numbers rebound with 2 million plus catch days

July 13, 2020 — The Fourth of July is typically the high point in the salmon season for Bristol Bay’s commercial fishing fleet, but in a year where COVID-induced uncertainty dominated the preseason, low harvest added to anxiety in the first weeks of the season.

“It was a very, very slow start. I think the slowest in my experience every fishing. It was definitely nerve-racking,” Katherine Carscallen, a drift gillnet fishermen in the Nushagak District said. “The Fourth of July is our typical peak, and that was where I looked at my log book where I keep track of how much we’ve caught and definitely started asking myself like, ‘how is this possible.'”

Through July 4, the cumulative bay wide harvest was just over 6 million fish – 49% below the average since 2012. Then the evening of Independence day the fish arrived in massive numbers.

“By the fifth of July it was just hard hitting for the fifth, sixth and seventh,” Carscallen said. “We definitely increased out poundage by a whole lot in just three days, and since then it’s just kinda been going steady.”

Read the full story at KTUU

ALASKA: Dismal Area 2A Halibut Landings Necessitate Second Opener; Vessel Limits Create Confusion

July 7, 2020 — Fishermen harvested a mere 16 percent of the overall quota for the directed commercial halibut fishery in Area 2A in June. That means a second 3-day opener starts today.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission set extremely low vessel limits this year, noting the increase in the number of permits issued and anticipating more participation over a three-day opener. However, the low limits likely made it economically unviable for many fishermen, particularly the larger vessels. Some fishermen also reported low halibut prices this summer. The combination of low prices, low vessel limits, lower consumer demand due to COVID-19 and other market impacts created a perfect storm for low landings.

Read the full story at Seafood News

ALASKA: Pebble signs deal with Bristol Bay village corporations for transportation, support services for multi-billion-dollar mine project

July 7, 2020 — Developers of the Pebble project near Lake Iliamna announced an agreement July 6 with Alaska Peninsula Corp. for transportation services related to development or operations of the mine planned by Pebble Ltd. Partnership.

APC is an Alaska Native village corporation formed by the merger of five small Bristol Bay village corporations, in Port Heiden, South Naknek, Ugashik, Kokhanok and Newhalen.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed with Pebble Partnership would have APC form a consortium of village corporations to operate all transportation services for the mine, Pebble Partnership said in a press release.

A contract would include managing operations at a planned Cook Inlet ore terminal, maintaining an access road from the port to the mine site north of Lake Iliamna and providing trucking services between the port and road.

Pebble is a large undeveloped copper, gold and molybdenum deposit 18 miles north of the community of Iliamna. The developer, Pebble Ltd. Partnership, is a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, which owns the prospect.

Read the full story at The Frontiersman