Saving Seafood

Alaska Salmon Research Task Force report calls for ‘immediate action’ to understand declines

July 16, 2024 — The group tasked by Congress with outlining research priorities to address challenges facing Alaska salmon has released its final report.

The Alaska Salmon Research Task Force report says that the need for action is urgent when it comes to understanding shifts in salmon productivity, particularly in the hardest-hit Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region.

The report summarizes the factors believed to be impacting salmon productivity, from warming oceans, to marine food limitations and bycatch.

In the case of chinook and chum salmon bycatch, the report says that improved stock identification methods need to be a research priority. It says that the impacts of commercial fishing on Western Alaska salmon are currently unclear due to the way stock groupings cover large geographical areas.

Read the full article at KYUK

ALASKA: Recycling firm will pick up fishing nets this summer

July 16, 2024 — For harvesters in Cordova interested in recycling those huge, old commercial fishing nets, there are still two opportunities to do so before the season winds down.

Nicole Baker, of Net Your Problem, came to Cordova’s Sandy Point and spoke with harvesters about the two final recycling periods: Aug. 2-3 and Sept. 27-28. Net Your Problem has already conducted four prior recycling sessions, the first in May.

Baker said gillnet harvesters are instructed to strip cork lines, weedlines and lead lines and keep hangings out of the net. Leads and corks should be saved in a separate pile for recycling. Seiners must strip off cork lines, purse lines, chafe gear and lead lines. Save the leads and corks, purse line and chafe for recycling in a separate pile.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Completes Science Report

July 15, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, together with the Governor of Alaska are sharing the final report of the Congressionally mandated Alaska Salmon Research Task Force. It identifies potential impacts to salmon productivity, gaps in understanding of the Pacific salmon life cycle and recommended research priorities to support sustainable salmon management in Alaska.

Under the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act, NOAA Fisheries, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, in collaboration with the State of Alaska, was required to convene a task force to review existing Pacific salmon research in Alaska, identify applied research needed to better understand the increased variability and declining salmon returns in some regions of Alaska, and to support sustainable salmon runs in Alaska. NOAA Fisheries and the Governor of Alaska were also required to each appoint a representative to serve on the task force.

The Task Force was made up of a diverse group of Alaska salmon knowledge holders, including members from federal, state, tribal, university, industry, and non-governmental organizations. This report was written by the Task Force and its Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Working Group and reflects their views, opinions, and recommendations.

“The 19-member task force and its 44-member Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Working Group did an impressive job compiling and integrating diverse information and data from scientists and Indigenous and Local Knowledge holders to inform development of this important science plan,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator, NOAA Fisheries. “Thanks to their work, we have a meaningful strategy to better understand mechanisms driving Alaska salmon production to provide a path for mitigating negative impacts due to climate change and other factors.”

“Pacific salmon are essential to the cultural and socio-economic well being of Alaska, supporting commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries and rural communities across the state,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner, Doug Vincent-Lang. “I would like to commend the Task Force for identifying priority research to support sustainable salmon runs in Alaska.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Citations surge during Bristol Bay sockeye season

July 12, 2024 — Commercial fishing citations during the Bristol Bay sockeye season are ramping up. During the sockeye run, Alaska State Troopers come to the area from all around the state to patrol the commercial fishermen and ensure all rules and areas are followed. Due to the many regulations, some waters remain closed during certain periods while others are open. State Troopers reported that most of the violations in the area are due to commercial fishing in the closed areas.

“We have troopers in from Kodiak, other parts of western Alaska, as well as South Central and even interior Alaska, flown in during this special enforcement period, which occurs every year during the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world,” spokesperson Austin McDaniel told KDLG Dillingham, Alaska.

An estimated 2.2 billion dollars is earned annually from the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon industry. Over 1500 commercial fishing boats are registered in the bay, all competing for the 2024 catch. Before the season began, Silver Bay Seafoods posted a pre-season price for Bristol Bay sockeye, an unexpected move from a processor. They announced that fishermen delivering chilled Bristol Bay fish to their processing facility would receive $1.10 per pound, with a bonus on top of that price for fish that had been bled.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Draft plan published for disbursement of $11.5 million in 2021 and 2022 ESSN disasters

July 12, 2024 — A draft spend plan was published Tuesday, July 9 by the State Department of Fish and Game for the allocation of around $11.5 million in federal funds in response to a disaster determination for the 2021 and 2022 Upper Cook Inlet east side setnet fisheries.

A public notice from the department says that the National Marine Fisheries Service allocated $11,484,675 to address losses from the 2021 and 2022 fisheries. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce made the disaster determination in April, responding to an October request from Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

The draft spend plan of those dollars by the department says that funds will be disbursed to achieve two objectives: to assist fishery participants harmed by the disasters and to improve fishery information to avoid or mitigate the impacts of future disasters.

The draft plan says that 62% of the money, around $7 million, will be dispersed to harvesters. Around $3 million will go to processors, $1 million to research, $300,000 to communities and $11,000 for program support.

Read the full article at the Peninsula Clarion 

ALASKA: Bristol Bay sockeye season starting as predicted with lower catch

July 12, 2024 — Sockeye salmon fishing in Alaska’s Bristol Bay is, as predicted, off to a slower start this fishing season.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) 2024 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon forecast predicted a run of roughly 39 million sockeye salmon, down from the 54.5 million in 2023. AFD&G’s predicted run for 2023 was 49.7 million sockeye, and the state agency acknowledged that its preseason forecasts have generally under-forecast the actual run by 15 percent.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: New federal program aims to speed restoration of damaged Alaska streams and rivers

July 10, 2024 — Around Alaska, particularly in the Interior region, there are streams, creeks and rivers that were damaged by mining conducted as far back as the mid-19th century.

The Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency of the Department of the Interior, now has a new program intended to speed up work to fix those historic damages.

The agency has made final its systematic approach that is intended to avoid the need for full-scale environmental analysis of each proposed restoration project. The new program features a matrix of restoration techniques, ranging in intensity from planting vegetation by hand to use of heavy equipment to redirect waterways or rebuild streambanks. Those techniques are to be matched to individual projects’ needs and physical characteristics that include fish and wildlife habitat, geologic formations and levels of damage.

The idea is to complete projects as quickly as possible while adhering to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws, said Matthew Varner, leader for fisheries and riparian resources in the BLM’s Alaska aquatic resources program.

“Restoration projects, like most federal agency actions on the ground, require environmental analysis consistent with NEPA,” Varner said. “And when you couple NEPA compliance with permitting associated with stream restoration, you know, that could take six months to a year to complete.”

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: Fire reduces new Bristol Bay floating fish processor’s capacity

July 8, 2024 — An electrical fire has damaged one of three spiral freezers aboard Northline Seafoods’ new floating fish processor Hannah, which is anchored in Bristol Bay’s Nushagak district this salmon season.

The vessel is currently operating at a reduced capacity after Sunday’s blaze, and other processors are taking on some of Northline’s fleet.

During a recent visit to the Hannah, a steady stream of frozen, whole fish emerged from a large spiral freezer. Each fish landing on a conveyor belt was whisked away to the next stage in the production line.

These frozen fish were some of the first sockeye salmon deliveries of the season from Bristol Bay fishing vessels to the Hannah, Northline’s brand-new floating freezer barge in the region.

From there they made their way to grading belts, where they were sorted by size and then placed into cold storage for processing later in the year.

“So it goes through a spiral freezer, where it goes in the bottom, exits out the top, gets graded, and that goes into a box,” said Northline CEO Ben Blakey.

Blakey said it just takes a few hours for the spiral freezers to bring the fish down to their desired core temperatures. The idea is that freezing fish at these ultra-low temperatures — and freezing quickly — makes a big difference in maintaining quality.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoes bill providing ASMI USD 10 million in funding

July 8, 2024 — Mike Dunleavy, the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska, has once again vetoed a bill funding the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).

ASMI, which works to promote Alaska seafood, is supported by state funding, but Dunleavy used a line-item veto in the state’s 2025 budget bill to deny it USD 10 million (EUR 9.2 million) on 4 July. Dunleavy indicated he may seek to restore the funding via a supplemental budget bill if ASMI submits a detailed spending plan.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

EPA challenged over veto of Pebble mine

July 3, 2024 — A public interest law firm in Sacramento, California has filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on behalf of two Alaska Native corporations over the agency’s veto of permits needed for the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska.

Litigation was filed on June 25 by the Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of Iliamna Natives Limited and the Alaska Peninsula Corporation, which represent Native shareholders in South Naknek, Port Heiden, Ugashik, Kokhanok, and Newhalen.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, contends that the EPA exceeded its authority by vetoing the copper, gold and molybdenum mine proposed for construction in land in Southwest Alaska abutting the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of wild Alaska sockeye salmon. The Bristol Bay fishery, now underway for the 2024 season, is a multi-million dollar commercial and sport fishery that provides thousands of jobs for harvesters, processors, the transportation industry and other businesses engaged in contractual relations with the fishing industry. It also provides sustenance for subsistence harvests and extensive wildlife, including bears, eagles and more.

Read the full article at the The Cordova Times