Saving Seafood

ALASKA: U.S. May Ease Rules Restricting Alaska Natives From Harvesting Seal Meat

May 8, 2019 — Nearly year-round, northern fur seals can be found on the beaches of the Bering Sea island of St. Paul, Alaska, or in the waters nearby.

The small island’s remote location — more than 250 miles from mainland Alaska — makes the seal meat particularly attractive to residents of St. Paul. Groceries have to be barged in or flown into the island’s sole store, and prices reflect that: Ground beef is $6 a pound, and a 12-ounce package of Oscar Mayer beef bologna costs $10.

St. Paul’s Alaska Natives refer to themselves as the Unangan people. Through the mid-1980s they, as employees of the U.S. government, killed the seals by the tens of thousands annually to supply a global fur trade. The Unangan people worked largely in exchange for goods and services in an arrangement that a federal supervisor described a century ago as “actual slavery,” according to Barbara Boyle Torrey’s book, Slaves of the Harvest.

But since the end of the commercial harvest in 1984, strict federal regulations have granted access to the seals solely during a 47-day subsistence harvest in the summer. St. Paul residents freeze as much meat as they can; for the rest of the year, the animals are off limits, forcing residents to turn to pricey store-bought food and the occasional illegal harvest.

Read the full story at NPR

 

New bill would limit finfish aquaculture start-ups

March 8, 2019 — Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) introduced the Keep Fin Fish Free Act in early May, a bill that that would prohibit federal agencies from authorizing commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the Federal Exclusive Economic Zone unless specifically authorized by Congress.

The seafood industry is critical to Alaska’s economy, and we must be doing all we can to protect the health and integrity of our state’s wild fish stock,” said Young. “If not properly managed, industrial aquaculture operations threaten Alaska’s unique ecosystem with non-native and genetically modified fish species.

There is only one federally regulated offshore aquaculture producer currently in operations in the United States — Catalina Sea Ranch, which produces 2 million pounds of mussels a year in a 100-acre site six miles off the coast of California. But plans to establish new marine finfish operations have been discussed off and on for years.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

With environmentalist support, Alaska Rep Don Young files anti-aquaculture bill

May 7, 2019 — Alaska Rep. Don Young filed legislation on Thursday 2 May that would ban U.S. officials from allowing the establishment of new commercial aquaculture operations in federal waters.

Young’s bill, the Keep Fin Fish Free Act, would keep both the Secretary of the Interior and the Commerce Secretary from permitting fish farms in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone unless specifically authorized by Congress.

Young, a Republican, is the senior member of the House of Representatives. He also is a key legislator when it comes to legislation regarding the seafood industry.

“The seafood industry is critical to Alaska’s economy, and we must be doing all we can to protect the health and integrity of our state’s wild fish stock,” he said in a statement. “If not properly managed, industrial aquaculture operations threaten Alaska’s unique ecosystem with non-native and genetically modified fish species. My legislation takes needed steps to prevent the unchecked spread of aquaculture operations by reigning in the federal bureaucracy, and empowering Congress to determine where new aquaculture projects should be conducted.”

Young’s bill was immediately supported by numerous environmental organizations, including Friends of the Earth, the Institute for Fisheries Resources and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Emerging mariculture industry seeks to streamline permitting

May 6, 2019 — Alaska may be famous for its wild fish, but some are working to make room in the state’s waters for more shellfish, kelp, and crabs on aquatic farms.

Mariculture is a hot topic in fisheries right now. Essentially, mariculture can be defined as the cultivation of plants or animals in controlled saltwater environments, but in Alaska, it doesn’t include finfish, as that’s illegal in the state. So mariculture farmers have stuck to primarily kelp and oysters so far, but they’re starting to get more adventurous.

As of December 2018, 58 aquatic farms were operating in the state along with five hatcheries and seven nurseries, though only 41 of the farms documented production in 2017, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Oysters are still the most widely grown product, though kelp is gaining ground; after the first operations for kelp were permitted in 2016, four farms had produced 16,570 pounds of ribbon and sugar kelp by the following year.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce 

An international airplane feud could crimp one of Alaska’s most lucrative fisheries

May 3, 2019 — A new twist in a decade-long trade war over airplanes could crimp one of Alaska’s most lucrative fisheries: The European Union is threatening new import taxes on Alaska pollock.

The tariffs stem from a feud over government support for the American company Boeing and European company Airbus. Earlier this year, the World Trade Organization issued separate rulings that said both companies have received illegal subsidies.

In response, both the U.S. and EU last month proposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of the other’s exports.

The potential effects underscore the global nature of the market for Alaska fish products, of which Europe and Asia are big consumers.

The proposed EU tariffs on pollock would hit the largest market for fillets of the Bering Sea whitefish. European processors turn blocks of frozen pollock into fish sticks and fish pies; more than $250 million in exports go to Europe each year, or a little less than 20% of the $1.4 billion value of the total annual pollock catch.

Read the full story at KTOO

Alaska’s seafood industry by the numbers, plus fish skin’s medical applications and antibiotics in Chilean salmon

May 1, 2019 — Why should every Alaskan budget watcher care about the price of fish?

Because when the price at the docks goes up by just one penny, it means more money for state coffers.

In 2017, for example, the average dock price per pound for all Alaska seafood was 41 cents. If the price had increased to 42 cents, it would have added nearly $2 million more from fisheries landing and business taxes.

That was one of the takeaways in an updated McDowell Group report presented last week at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s spring board meeting. It offers a good snapshot of the industry that spawned Alaska statehood and is now a seafood superpower.

Read the full story at Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Patagonia, Whole Foods, and others speak out against Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay

April 26, 2019 — A coalition of more than 200 businesses that includes Patagonia, Hy-Vee, Whole Foods, and PCC Markets drafted a letter this week to speak out against Pebble Mine, a proposed open-pit copper, gold, and molybdenum mine at the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

The letter from the group, known as Businesses for Bristol Bay, was addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Anchorage and requested that the Corps suspend its review of the permit application from the mining group, the Canada-based Pebble Limited Partnership.

Echoing the concerns of many, the Businesses for Bristol Bay said the process is incomplete and that officials are trying to rush the permit through.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALAKSA: Salmon permit values rise on optimism; halibut shares sinking

April 25, 2019 — Nearly all Alaska salmon permits have gone up in value since last fall and buying/selling/trading action is brisk.

“We’re as busy as we’ve ever been in the last 20 years,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Boat sales are doing well and between IFQs (individual fishing quota) and permit sales, we’ve got a busy year going.”

The salmon permit interest is fueled by a forecast this year of more than 213 million fish, an 85 percent increase over 2018. Also, salmon prices are expected to be higher.

For the bellwether drift permit at Bristol Bay, the value has increased from around $165,000 and sales are now being made in the low- to mid-$170,000 range.

Several good salmon seasons in a row pushed drift permits at Area M on the Alaska Peninsula to about $175,000 last fall, Bowen said “and if you can find one now, it’s going to cost you over $200,000.”

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Scientific Teams Set Out to Track Unprecedented Changes in the Eastern Bering Sea

April 24, 2019 — Over the past five years, winter atmospheric conditions that influence the Bering Sea have been markedly different from previous years. Strong, warm winds out of the south—sometimes lasting more than 30 days—have forced sea ice northward. Water temperatures have been warmer than normal and NOAA scientists have observed some significant changes in marine species. They are in unexpected places, in larger or smaller numbers than normal, and many are thin. Scientists are also seeing changes in the numbers of young fish that are reaching maturity.

“We predict that changing environmental conditions will continue to affect the marine food web structure—and potentially the productivity of the northeastern Bering Sea shelf ecosystem,” said Robert Foy, Director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “This is going to be a critical year to survey this region.”

Beginning in April and continuing through September, NOAA scientists will conduct vessel surveys in the Bering Sea. Four of these are annual surveys that have been conducted for several decades, providing a good basis of data so scientists can detect trends and changes in the ecosystem. Another survey, the northeastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey, has been fully conducted just two times in the past decade. In 2018, Researchers completed a partial survey of the area. This year scientists intend to conduct a full survey to further establish a baseline of data for longer-term monitoring of changes that are taking place.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries at Alaska Native News

ALASKA: Strong salmon forecast pushes up permit prices

April 24, 2019 — Nearly all Alaska salmon permits have gone up in value since last fall. Buying, selling and trading action is brisk.

“We’re as busy as we’ve ever been in the last 20 years,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Boat sales are doing well, and between IFQs and permit sales, we’ve got a busy year going.”

The salmon permit interest is fueled by a forecast this year of more than 213 million fish, an 85 percent increase over 2018. Also, salmon prices are expected to be higher.

For the bellwether drift permit at Bristol Bay, the value has increased from around $165,000, and sales are now being made in the low- to mid-$170,000 range.

Read the full story at National Fisherman