Saving Seafood

Alaska halibut getting battered by foreign imports

May 12, 2020 — Sales of Alaska’s most popular seafoods are being hit hard by markets upended by the coronavirus, but perhaps none is getting battered worse than halibut. Along with the big losses in the lucrative restaurant trade, Pacific halibut also is facing headwinds from increasing foreign imports.

Starting three years ago, sales of fresh Pacific halibut to established markets on the East Coast were toppled by a flood of less expensive fish flowing in primarily from eastern Canada. Trade data show that for 2019 through February 2020, total Canadian halibut imports to the U.S. topped 15.3 million pounds for which the U.S. paid nearly $107 million.

“It is taking over the eastern seaboard and also is being trucked from Boston to major middle American markets such as Chicago and Denver. It’s very hard to sell Alaska halibut to these traditional markets now. The Canadian product is cheaper and is available nearly year round,” said a marketer with more than 30 years of experience in selling halibut from Southeast Alaska, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“All of a sudden, an important market that paid a good price for fresh halibut has disappeared,” he said. “Rule of thumb is generally, sell fresh make a profit, freeze halibut, lose money.”

Earlier this year, fresh farmed Atlantic halibut was spotted for sale at $9.99 per pound at a Costco near Seattle.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Alaska Fisheries to Get $50M in Federal Aid Amid Pandemic

May 11, 2020 — Alaska will receive $50 million in federal coronavirus aid for fisheries, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced, about half what state officials had expected.

Alaska is home to large stocks of pollock, an inexpensive fish used in fast-food sandwiches and fish sticks, and landed 58% of the nation’s seafood by volume in 2018, officials said.

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his administration expected the state to receive about $100 million, or one-third of the $300 million allocated to fisheries in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act because of the state’s contributions to the industry, Anchorage Daily News reported Friday.

State officials even requested in advance that the state Legislature budget and audit committee give it authority to accept the expected federal aid. It has not yet been granted authority.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Federal fisheries aid will be $50 million, half what Alaska had expected

May 8, 2020 — The state of Alaska will receive $50 million in federal coronavirus aid for fisheries, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday.

While that amount ties with Washington for the most given to any individual state, it’s only half what state officials had expected. In 2018, Alaska landed 58% of the nation’s seafood by volume and 32% when measured by value. (Alaska waters are home to large stocks of pollock, the inexpensive fish used in fast-food sandwiches and fish sticks.)

With those facts in mind, the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy had expected Alaska would receive one-third of the $300 million set aside in the federal CARES Act for fisheries dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, going so far to request in advance that the Alaska Legislature’s budget and audit committee give it authority to accept $100 million in federal fisheries aid.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

As some in Congress question CARES Act allocations, lawmakers begin effort to secure more aid

May 8, 2020 — On Thursday, 7 May, the Trump administration finally rolled out its plan for allocating the USD 300 million (EUR 276.6 million) in fishery relief aid earmarked in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Reaction on Capitol Hill was nearly unanimous – more money will be needed, according to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The U.S. Commerce Department awarded a third of the funding to two states, Alaska and Washington. Both states received USD 50 million (EUR 46.1 million) in aid. While Alaska is by far the leading seafood-producing state, producing 5.4 billion pounds of seafood worth USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) in 2019, some questioned the method by which the allocation was determined.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Merkley, Murkowski, Reed Lead Bipartisan Push to Support Fishermen and Seafood Processors

May 6, 2020 — The following was released by the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR):

Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Jack Reed (D-RI), are leading a bipartisan group of 25 lawmakers in pushing to make sure urgently needed federal assistance is delivered to America’s fishermen and seafood processors, who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

In their letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the senators request that upcoming coronavirus relief legislation include funding and provisions to support this critical industry.

“Our seafood processors and fishermen have been dealt a significant economic blow as a result of coronavirus and are in desperate need of federal assistance,” the senators wrote. “It has been reported that many of the nation’s fisheries have suffered sales declines as high as 95 percent. In addition, while many other agricultural sectors have seen a significant increase in grocery sales, seafood has been left out of that economic upside, as stores have cut back on offerings.”

“The seafood industry is currently facing an unprecedented collapse in demand because of the novel coronavirus. We urge you to facilitate the government purchase of seafood products that would both ensure stability in this key sector and provide healthy, domestically produced food for Americans,” the senators continued.

Specifically, the senators recommend the allocation of $2 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase and redistribute seafood products to food banks—just as the agency is currently doing for other agricultural products. In addition, the letter requests that $1 billion be allocated to the Department of Commerce and NOAA to support direct payments to fisheries, seafood producers, and processors.

Not only do fisheries help Americans put food on the table for their families, they have long been the lifeblood of local and regional economies across the country. In 2016, the industry supported over one million good-paying jobs and generated more than $144 billion in sales, adding an estimated $61 billion to the nation’s GDP. In addition to the jobs, families, and communities it supports along every part of our country’s coastlines, the seafood industry fuels jobs throughout the country in processing, distribution, and food service industries.

Merkley, Murkowski, and Reed were joined in sending the bipartisan letter by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

Read the full letter here

Fishermen, farmers suffering from food supply disruptions concerned for what’s to come

May 6, 2020 — Numerous meat processing plants have closed, leaving ranchers with nowhere to bring their livestock and fearing that the animals may be sold at drastically reduced prices or euthanized. A surplus in dairy and vegetables has forced farmers to dump their milk and throw out or plow under their crops. Fishermen catching sablefish, halibut and black cod are now left without restaurants — their biggest market — to buy their food, as others waiting to catch king salmon and albacore wonder whether it’s even worth going out to fish when the season opens in July.

In Sitka, Alaska, it’s the height of the longline fishing season for halibut and black cod, and Linda Behken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, has been working hard to keep her members informed on the latest regarding COVID-19.

“I would say it’s about the most exhausting month I’ve ever been through since I’ve been running [the association],” said Behnken, whose organization represents about 130 vessel owners. “Just the worry about our fleet immediately and in the long-term.”

Behnken says prices for halibut and black cod have already dropped 60% relative to recent years in large part because restaurants have closed. She expects similar price drops in king salmon when that season opens in a limited capacity in July.

“Most Americans eat their seafood at restaurants, and with restaurants closed, that higher volume, higher quality product is where we really lost markets. So the impact to the fishermen has been really significant,” Behnken said.

Behnken said a lot of people are fishing anyway, “hoping that prices will improve.”

For some fishermen, however, the risk of losing money is too high. California’s commercial salmon season began on Friday, but Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, says that with the markets “upended” and 75% of California salmon purchased by restaurants, many fishermen might not go through the trouble of fishing.

Read the full story at ABC News

ALASKA: With pandemic procedures in place, Copper River fishery set to open

May 4, 2020 — With about two weeks until the Copper River salmon season, the industry is pulling together the details of how to execute a safe fishery amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Hundreds of vessels and workers flood into Prince William Sound each May for a chance to harvest the first fresh wild king salmon of the year, followed by the famous Copper River sockeye and the broader Prince William Sound pink salmon fisheries. However, with limited road access and health care facilities, city and state officials have been coordinating with the fleet and stakeholders about how to safely allow in deckhands, captains, and processing workers from Outside without inviting the pandemic to Cordova as well.

As of April 28, Cordova had not reported any positive tests for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. With no ferry service this winter and no connection to the road system, Cordova has limited physical contact with the rest of Alaska and the Lower 48 except during the fishing season. Bringing in seafood workers from outside the area poses a risk, but not doing so means the fishery — a vital economic driver in the region — wouldn’t be able to operate as normal.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration released Health Mandate 17 on April 23, offering guidelines for commercial fishermen to help control the spread of COVID-19. Fishermen often work in close quarters on boats and in harbors, as do processing workers. The mandate outlines requirements such as screening procedures for crew, quarantine for workers coming into the state, and prohibiting non-essential trips into town for non-local crew, among others.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

In Alaska town, calls to shut down fishing season amid coronavirus fears

May 4, 2020 — Robin Samuelson grew up hearing stories about mass death in his Alaska community, victims of a pandemic so brutal that dogs were found feeding on human bodies.

The 68-year-old’s father-in-law was among the hundreds of children orphaned by the 1918 flu epidemic, which some scholars estimate killed at least 30 percent of the population in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.

Some locals fear that history could repeat itself unless Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) shuts down the upcoming salmon fishery, which attracts more than 12,000 workers from across the country for a frenetic, two-month season that begins next month.

Dunleavy’s administration has pledged to implement safety measures to prevent the importation of the novel coronavirus, including a mandated two-week quarantine for arriving fishers. But some local officials say they’re not convinced the state can enforce those rules.

“Our streets, they start looking like Fifth Avenue in New York during the summer,” Samuelson said. “It puts you in a real funny mood listening to the stories [about the 1918 pandemic] and what our people had to go through.”

There have been no confirmed infections of the coronavirus in the region, and Alaska has one of the lowest infection rates of any state. It has recorded just 368 cases and nine deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Read the full story at The Washington Post