Saving Seafood

Salmon preservation plan to impact Alaska and Canada over 10-year span

September 19, 2018 — PORTLAND, Ore. — Alaska and Canada would reduce their catch of endangered Chinook salmon in years with poor fishery returns under an agreement that spells out the next decade of cooperation between the U.S. and Canada to keep various salmon species afloat in Pacific waters.

Members of the Pacific Salmon Commission recommended a new 10-year conservation plan to the U.S. and Canadian governments Monday that would run through 2028 and involve Canada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and a number of tribal nations in both countries.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at KTUU

 

Farm Bill provision would tilt school pollock, tuna purchases back to US

September 19, 2018 — US pollock and tuna harvesters don’t normally care much about the so-called Farm Bill, the massive, every-five-year legislation that helps to, among other things, preserve crop subsidies for American corn and soybean growers and nutrition programs for the unemployed. But they do this time.

That’s because Alaska Republican senator Dan Sullivan has placed a provision in one of the two bills now being worked out in a congressional conference committee that would force the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to more aggressively enforce the “buy American” rules required for schools to receive federal reimbursement for the meals they serve to children, including fish.

The US pollock industry maintains that strapped-for-cash school systems aren’t following those rules, resulting in some 60% of the pollock they serve to be what they claim is less expensive and inferior, twice-frozen fillets sourced originally from Russia. They support Sullivan’s change.

“We are mindful of the need to maximize the use of federal dollars in procuring fish products for school meal programs and for school districts to maximize available school lunch foods,” said the At-sea Processors Association (APA), a group that represents six seafood companies that maintain interests in or operate 16 US-flag, high-tech trawl catcher/processor vessels in the Alaska pollock fishery, in a recent statement.

“However, it is similarly important to maximize the nutritional value of school lunch meals for children and to ensure that students’ early exposure to fish products is positive in order to promote incorporating more seafood meals into diets consistent with federal dietary guidelines.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Pollock’s dodge of US tariff could leave market open to Russia

September 18, 2018 — Another round of tariffs on Chinese goods approved by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday may have inadvertently left the market open to Russian-sourced pollock processed in China.

The tariffs, initially proposed in July, will go into effect on 24 September and affect an additional 5,745 products from China. While initially tariffs on frozen cod and pollock were planned, lobbying efforts by industry leaders successfully kept those items off the final list.

However according to Jim Gilmore, director of public affairs for the At-sea Processors Association (APA),  the wording of the exemption for Alaska pollock may leave the U.S. market open to Russia-origin pollock that is processed in China and shipped to the U.S.

The issue, said Gilmore, is the use of the term “Alaska pollock.”

“We believe this is an anachronism of a misleading geographical indicator remaining in use.  That is, the term ‘Alaska pollock’ is used to define Russian-origin pollock as well as U.S.-origin Alaska pollock,” he said. “If we are reading the situation correctly that the [a]dministration is not distinguishing between U.S. and Russian origin pollock in excluding two HTS Code lines from tariffs, then Alaska pollock producers continue to be disadvantaged in this trade war with China.”

The specific issue, said Gilmore, has to do with two HTS Codes: 0304.75.10 and 0304.94.10. Under the decision on 17 September, the door could be open for pollock of Russian origin and processed in China to enter the U.S. duty-free using those codes.

“If our interpretation is correct, Alaska pollock producers face stiff tariffs in China and Russia’s ban on U.S. seafood imports, including Alaska pollock, remains in effect,” Gilmore said. “Meanwhile, our principal international competition – Russian pollock processed in China – enjoys tariff-free access to our domestic market.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Alaska salmon negotiators accept fewer ‘treaty fish’

September 18, 2018 — Alaska will see a reduced salmon allocation under a proposed salmon treaty deal with Canada. That’s according to a proposed 10-year extension of the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

For more than 30 years, the Pacific Salmon Commission has allocated salmon stocks shared between the U.S. and Canada. It’s re-negotiated every 10 years, and the latest version expires at the end of 2018.

Formal talks finished in mid-August. Now, the numbers are out: Alaska will accept a 7.5 percent reduction, compared to 12.5 percent for Canada. In Washington and Oregon, the cuts range from 5 to 15 percent.

“There’s some that would consider it to be winners and losers and I think in this case, I think everybody was equally disappointed,” said Alaska Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner Charlie Swanton, who headed Alaska’s delegation.

It’s unclear just what the reduction will mean for Alaska’s fisheries; a lot will be up to the Board of Fisheries when it meets in March. But it will certainly mean less fishing time and other conservation measures.

Read the full story at KTOO

USTR cuts cod, pollock fillets from final China tariffs list

September 18, 2018 — The US Trade Representative (USTR) has excluded frozen fillets of Alaska pollock and cod from its final list of products to be hit with 10% tariffs.

According to a statement from the USTR, the tariffs will come into play on Sept. 24 at 10%, and then go to 25% on Jan. 1, 2019.

The proposed list (which you can see here), published on July 10, at the direction of US president Donald Trump, included the following customs codes, all of which have been omitted from the final list, which you can see in full here.

This will mean that cod and pollock from Alaskan fishing companies which is sold to China and brought back to the US as fillets will not be hit with the tariffs.

The tariffs still apply to around $200 billion-worth of Chinese products, the USTR said.

Still on the list is fillets of salmon, while other salmon products are also on the list.

Imported under the HS code 0304.81.50 and described “Other frozen salmon fillets”, fillets are of farm-raised salmon and wild salmon, such as sockeye and pink salmon. This will impact Alaska’s wild salmon fishery.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Trump hits China with another USD 200 billion in tariffs, but Alaska gets a break

September 18, 2018 — U.S. President Donald Trump has approved another round of tariffs on an additional USD 200 billion (EUR 170.7 billion) of Chinese goods, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on Monday, 17 September.

The latest round of tariffs was initially proposed in July, but through a seven-week review period, the number of items to be included in the tariffs was reduced from 6,031 to 5,745. Spared from the final list of goods subject to the tariffs were frozen cod and pollock, a victory for Alaskan seafood companies that send those items to China for processing and reexport.

Beginning 24 September, 10 percent tariffs will be levied on a wide range of goods, including most Chinese seafood entering the United States. On 1 January, 2019 – after the holiday shopping season – the tariffs will increase to 25 percent, according to a USTR announcement.

“We are taking this action today as a result of the Section 301 process that the USTR has been leading for more than 12 months,” Trump said in a statement. “After a thorough study, the USTR concluded that China is engaged in numerous unfair policies and practices relating to United States technology and intellectual property – such as forcing United States companies to transfer technology to Chinese counterparts. These practices plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy.”

In the statement, Trump threatened an additional USD 267 billion (EUR 228 billion) in tariffs – covering practically all Chinese exports to the U.S. – if China takes retaliatory action. The Trump administration has already instituted two rounds of tariffs on China, affecting approximately USD 50 billion (EUR 42.7 billion) in Chinese goods.

China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on Tuesday, 18 September, with a statement that the country will retaliate “in a synchronous manner.” Reuters reported that China will impose five to 10 percent tariffs on USD 60 billion (EUR 51.2 billion) worth of American goods beginning 24 September

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Biologists, fishermen puzzle over late Kenai sockeye run

September 13, 2018 — First they were underweight, with underwhelming numbers. Then they weren’t there at all. Then they were coming in late, showing up as Upper Cook Inlet fishermen were packing up their gear for the season.

The unpredictable and significantly smaller Kenai River sockeye run frustrated a lot of fishermen this year.

As of the last day of sonar counts on Aug. 28, about 1.03 million sockeye had entered the river. More than half of them arrived after Aug. 1, leading to a stop-and-start fishery that included significant time and area cuts for commercial fishermen in Cook Inlet and a complete sockeye salmon sport angling closure on the Kenai River from Aug. 4–23.

That resulted in a total catch of 813,932 sockeye, less than half of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preseason forecast commercial harvest of 1.9 million sockeye.

Even the late fish arrival wasn’t much of a boon to the area’s commercial fishermen. Per the management plans, the East Side setnet fishermen are largely out of the water by Aug. 15, and the drift gillnet fleet is moved mostly to the west side of Cook Inlet to focus on silver salmon.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

ALASKA: Southeast’s commercial red king crab fishery won’t open in 2018

September 13, 2018 — Commercial crab fishermen won’t have a season for red king crab in Southeast this fall. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game made that announcement on September 7.

The lucrative fishery was open last year for the first time in six years. The catch last season was over 120,000 pounds worth around $1.3 million at the docks.

Fish and Game says estimates of legal-sized male crab have declined nine percent from last year and are below the threshold in regulation that allows for a fishery. Those estimates are based in part on an annual survey of crab stocks in seven areas of Northern and Central Southeast.

Fishermen sought changes to regulations at last winter’s meeting of the Board of Fisheries in Sitka but were unsuccessful in attempts to have more king crab fishing opportunity even while crab numbers are low. The one change that passed will allow them to apply for a commissioner’s permit to explore for king crab in offshore waters, beyond three miles.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Campaign regulators levy $1,925 fine against group opposing salmon ballot measure

September 13, 2018 — The agency overseeing Alaska campaign finance laws handed down a $1,925 fine against Stand for Alaska — Vote No on One, saying the group violated requirements associated with previously using a name that did not clearly show opposition to the Stand for Salmon ballot measure.

But the Alaska Public Offices Commission reduced the potential top fine of $7,700 that could have been levied against the industry-backed group. The harm to the public was not enough to justify a larger amount, the three-member commission said in an eight-page decision Friday.

The opposition group had called itself Stand for Alaska but changed its name in June, adding the tagline showing dissent. The group should have changed its name March 13, when the state certified the initiative for the ballot. It was improperly named for about three months.

Other violations were related to YouTube videos with “paid for by” lines incorrectly bearing the group’s previous name for roughly two to three weeks, depending on the video.

The measure — called Ballot Measure 1 by the state — goes before voters Nov. 6. Opponents have argued it will stop development projects across Alaska. Supporters say it will protect salmon and other fish without hurting the economy.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Sen. Murkowski Questions International Trade Administration on Alaskan Seafood Industry Concerns

September 12, 2018 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski:

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) participated in a Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee hearing yesterday, to review the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) funding request for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the International Trade Administration, and the United States International Trade Commission.

Witnesses participating in the hearing included: Nazak Nikakhtar, Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the International Trade Administration (ITA); Richard Ashooh, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); and David S. Johanson, Chairman at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

During the hearing Senator Murkowski expressed some of the concerns of Alaskan stakeholders regarding the seafood industry.

“Until recently, a positive trade relationship was developing between Alaska and China—of our salmon exports, 40% of those exports went to China. For cod, 54% of our exports went to China. In 2017, we saw roughly 1/3 of Alaska’s seafood exports end up in China, worth nearly $1 billion. So this is considerable” said Senator Murkowski. “Now, Alaskans are facing steep Chinese tariffs on these exports—a pretty significant trade barrier. This is on top of lost market share due to the Russian embargo on American seafood, which has been in place since 2014 as retaliation for sanctions, and challenging import quotas that currently exist in the EU, Japan, and South Korea.”

Murkowski went on to question Assistant Secretary Nikakhtar on the ITA’s strategy towards the retaliatory tariffs imposed on the seafood industry and barriers to seafood industry trade.

Read the full release here