Saving Seafood

Electronic monitoring has smooth first year; human observer costs rising

November 1, 2018 — After the first year of electronic monitoring on fishing vessels in Alaska, the National Marine Fisheries Service is expanding the pool for boats that want to get in on it.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been working on implementing an electronic monitoring program for commercial fishing vessels in Alaska for several years. The devices, essentially small cameras and sensors, replace a human observer and take note of the bycatch and total catch on eligible vessels. In 2018, the first year of the program, the council approved 145 vessels to participate.

At its meeting Oct. 4 in Anchorage, council staff member Elizabeth Figus said things went so well on those vessels that not a single one had to be removed from the pool for a violation of the Vessel Monitoring Plan, or VMP.

“That was really good news,” she told the council.

In June, the council approved an expansion of the program to allow up to 165 vessels to participate. The deadline to register through the Observer Declare and Deploy System was Nov. 1.

The small boat fleet in particular pushed for the implementation of electronic monitoring equipment after the council changed the requirements for observing to include small vessels — boats 60 feet or shorter— because it’s harder for them to provide the space and gear for another person besides the crew.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

ALASKA: Alaska gubernatorial hopefuls Dunleavy, Begich square off in fish survey

November 1, 2018 — If Republican candidate Mike Dunleavy wins his bid to become the next governor of Alaska on Tuesday, look for an all-out effort by the state to expand its seafood export markets but not a direct challenge of president Donald Trump’s tough trade policies.

“A governor of one state clearly doesn’t set trade policy for the nation,” he said in one of several responses to a survey on commercial fishing organized by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.

Democratic candidate Mark Begich, meanwhile, would bring together a bipartisan group of governors from other states to pressure the federal government into changing course.

“As governor, I won’t sit on the sidelines when national policies hurt Alaska, like Trump’s trade war with China,” he said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA Appoints Dr. Robert Foy as New Alaska Fisheries Science Center Director

November 1, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, NOAA announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Foy as the new Science and Research Director for NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. In this role, he will oversee the agency’s work to monitor the health and sustainability of fish, marine mammals, and their habitats across nearly 1.5 million square miles of water surrounding Alaska. He will direct scientific research to support and sustain some of the world’s most valuable marine resources, including commercial fisheries for Alaska pollock, red king crab, and sablefish in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. He will also oversee agency research in the Aleutians, a 1,200-mile long island chain full of marine life, and in the Arctic Ocean, home to marine mammals including bowhead and beluga whales, and bearded and ringed seals.

“I am pleased to announce Bob as our new Alaska Fisheries Science Center Director,” said Dr. Cisco Werner, Chief Science Advisor for NOAA Fisheries. “With his unique expertise and strategic mindset, he will easily build on the great work already underway at the Center with a focus on advancing the Center’s fisheries and marine mammal research, and the development of new technologies.”

As Center Director, Dr. Foy will oversee nearly 500 employees and a number of facilities, including:
  • The main facility in Seattle.
  • Research laboratories in Juneau and Kodiak, Alaska, and Newport, Oregon.
  • Field stations in Little Port Walter, St. Paul Island, and St. George Island, Alaska.

Dr. Foy will assume his new role on November 11, 2018. He will work out of the Science Center’s Auke Bay Lab in Juneau.

Dr. Foy is an experienced leader and a recognized expert in Arctic and sub-Arctic issues and research. He was the director of the Alaska Center’s Kodiak Lab for the past 11 years. He has co-authored more than 60 scientific, technical, and stock assessment papers. They focused on the distribution, biomass, and physiological or ecological response of marine species to environmental forcing in the sub-Arctic and arctic regions of Alaska. He also directed the crab data collection on the annual Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey. These data support stock assessments for 10 crab stocks valued at roughly $500 million.

Read the full release here

Seattle authorities urge US government to take action on Pebble Mine

October 31, 2018 — The city council in Seattle, Washington, has passed a resolution urging the US federal government to protect the Bristol Bay, Alaska, area from the proposed Pebble Mine development.

In the resolution, the council stressed the importance of the industry the Bristol Bay commercial fishing industry brings to the state of Washington’s economy, including sportfishing-related tourism.

Sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay is served in restaurants throughout Washington and is estimated to support roughly 3,100 jobs as well as contribute $550 million to the state’s economy.

“Guests specifically come to Sand Point Grill for our salmon,” said Travis Rosenthal,  owner of the Seattle-based Sand Point Grill restaurant and board member of the Seattle Restaurant Alliance, in a press released jointly issued by the SRA and also the Businesses for Bristol Bay (BBB) coalition. “Building a mine of this size in Bristol Bay could be detrimental to such a fragile, special ecosystem. Not to mention other impacts such as keeping Seattle-based fishermen employed and salmon on the plates of Sand Point Grill diners.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Alaska seafood leaders talk tariffs, competition from Russia and Canada

October 31, 2018 — Mark Begich, Alaska’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, made a cameo at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s All Hands on Deck meeting in Anchorage this week.

“If you want to be successful, you’ve got to put money behind it and market the product,” Begich said in support of the ASMI mission during opening remarks on Monday, Oct. 29.

Despite the too-close-to-call governor’s race, tariffs are the leading topic at the meeting this week.

Alaska’s seafood industry enjoyed a record export total in 2017 of more than 1 billion pounds of seafood with expectations that the trend would continue. However, the complex matrix of Alaska seafood’s global markets and international processing was further complicated by the implementation of several new layers of export and import tariffs on varying products.

Alaska’s proximity to China has long allowed a significant portion of the head and gut fleets’ harvest to be exported to China for final processing and reimportation to the domestic market.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Diving deep into Alaska fisheries with gubernatorial candidate Mark Begich

October 31, 2018 — “With fisheries, it’s almost the forgotten resource of our state as an economic driver. It’s almost like they are an afterthought. We have to realign that,” said Mark Begich, Democratic candidate for Alaska governor, in an interview during his trip to Kodiak last week.

Begich came to Kodiak despite the cancellation of the Oct. 22 fisheries debate caused by a no-show by his Republican opponent, Mike Dunleavy, who has not responded to requests to share his ideas and vision for one of Alaska’s oldest industries.

Begich spoke easily and at length on a wide range of fishing industry topics.

He called state funding for fisheries research and stock assessments a top priority.

“We are never going to be able to manage our fisheries resource the proper way without it. And I think there are opportunities through federal, state as well as foundation money that I believe is out there to help us do this,” he said.

Begich said he is a strong supporter of Alaska’s hatchery program.

“I know there is some conversation going on about hatchery fish impacts in the ocean … but there is no real science around that and the hatcheries have been very successful for us as a state,” he said.

In terms of selecting an Alaska Department of Fish and Game commissioner, Begich said good management skills and the ability to bring people together are critical.

“People are frustrated. They feel like their voice isn’t heard. We need commissioners who are willing to step up to the plate and recognize that it’s their job to bring people together, solve problems and move forward,” Begich said. “Obviously, I would want him or her to be knowledgeable about fisheries. We need someone who understands the controversies that are out there, the uniqueness of our resource, and how to balance it with making sure we do things for the long term and not for the moment.”

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

ALASKA: Troller rolls, sinks in high winds outside of Sitka Harbor

October 30, 2018 — A 40-foot troller rolled and sank in high winds just outside of the Sitka harbor Saturday afternoon (10-27-18). The skipper was rescued unharmed.

According to Alaska Wildlife Troopers, 62-year old Calvin “Mark” Bigelow issued a distress call Saturday afternoon when his boat, the fishing vessel Safari, encountered high wind gusts near Kasiana Island. The Safari reportedly became unstable in the gusts, causing it to list and to take on water.

Troopers responded in their patrol boat Courage, and took Bigelow on board. The Safari at this time was capsized and rapidly sinking.

The incident unfolded in full view of residents of Sitka’s Halibut Point Road. Many drivers stopped along the highway to watch the rescue.

The US Coast Guard and salvage crews have responded to the scene for investigation, potential spill response, and recovery operations.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: Mike Dunleavy skips Kodiak fishing forum

October 26th, 2018 — Rack up another empty seat on the Alaska debate stage for Mike Dunleavy.

The Republican candidate for Alaska governor bailed out of Kodiak’s traditional fisheries debate — after saying he’d show up.

“We plan on being there,” Dunleavy said on public radio’s statewide Talk of Alaska call-in show on Aug.31. But from then on, there was silence from the Dunleavy campaign as Kodiak organizers struggled to plan the Oct. 22 event that is broadcast live statewide on radio and television.

Days before the event, after weeks of unreturned phone calls and emails, organizers finally learned that Dunleavy would not be attending.

“Mike is unfortunately not going to be able to attend the debate as he will be visiting with Alaskans in Barrow. We wish you the best with you (sic) event,” wrote Gina Ritacco, deputy director of scheduling and events, in an Oct. 16 email to the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.

The conflicting trip to Barrow was posted on the Dunleavy event calendar that same day.

“Certainly, it makes us in Kodiak feel like even though the fishing industry is so important to Alaska, it may not be that important to him,” said Frank Schiro, executive director of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce which has hosted the debate since 1991.

Shiro added that he was not surprised.

“People had predicted from the beginning that it might not be to his advantage to come here. I think he believes he doesn’t need to pay attention to people down here and will walk into office anyway,” he said,

“We gave him two months to schedule it,” Schiro added. “The other two candidates for governor responded immediately and Dunleavy’s lag time made our planning extremely difficult.”

Since late March Dunleavy’s calendar shows that he has participated in a debate on rural issues in Naknek in early June and visited Juneau and Ketchikan. Besides that to date he had not visited any coastal communities beyond the Kenai Peninsula. Dunleavy also has not responded to requests for interviews by any media in coastal towns.

The seafood industry is Alaska’s largest private employer and second only to oil in the tax revenues it puts into state coffers. Seafood also is Alaska’s top export by far. Dunleavy has missed an opportunity to share his views and vision for Alaska’s oldest industry to a statewide audience.

Read the full story at Alaska Journal of Commerce

Report confirms dismal state of salmon fishing on Alaska Peninsula

October 26, 2018 —  Commercial salmon fishing on the Alaskan Peninsula, Aleutian Islands and the Atka-Amlia Islands this year was a far cry from the 2017 season, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) confirms in a summary of the harvest numbers published Oct. 24.

Commercial harvesters in the region caught 3.7 million sockeye salmon, 48% fewer than the 7.1m caught in 2017, according to ADF&G. There were also far fewer pinks (805,639 in 2018 vs. 21.8m in 2017) and chum (1.2m vs. 2.0m in 2017) caught.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Tri Marine to sell California wetfish plant to Silver Bay

October 25, 2018 — Bellevue, Washington-based tuna supplier Tri Marine International will sell its California wetfish processing business to Alaska salmon processor Silver Bay Seafoods, the companies announced.

The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, includes Tri Marine’s San Pedro processing plant but not an affiliated fleet of vessels. Those vessels, owned by the Tri Marine affiliate Cape Fisheries, will continue to deliver fish to the facility under Silver Bay’s ownership.

Tri Marine said in a press release that the move was made to focus on its core tuna business.

“I’m delighted that we’ve reached an agreement to sell to a highly regarded, strategic and successful company like Silver Bay,” ” Renato Curto, Tri Marine’s chief executive officer, said. “The sale of our California coastal pelagic assets and business will enable Tri Marine to concentrate our efforts and our resources on our core business – global tuna supply.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News