January 30, 2024 — Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction in juvenile Pacific cod, leading to higher mortality in the species’ early life stages and fewer juvenile fish surviving in the Gulf of Alaska, according to research from the Oregon State University.
During 2014 to 2016 and again in 2019, unusually high ocean temperatures were followed by steep declines in adult Gulf of Alaska cod. The fishery was closed in 2020, and a federal fishery disaster was declared in 2022.
January 30, 2024 — Global cod landings are down 33 percent over the past decade, and the downward trend has accelerated over the past three years.
On 25 January, at the 2024 Global Seafood Market Conference in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers Director of Industry Relations, Partnerships, and Fishery Analysis Ron Rogness reported global cod catch declined to 1.12 million metric tons (MT) in 2023.
January 26, 2024 — Several Alaskan flatfish producers have teamed up to form a nonprofit marketing association aimed at increasing both consumer and industry awareness around Alaska sole.
The new venture, dubbed the Wild Alaska Sole Association (WASA), aims to catapult the fish’s popularity both domestically and abroad. Members include Fishermen’s Finest, North Star Fishing, Ocean Peace, O’Hara Corporation, and U.S. Seafoods, with American Seafoods and Glacier Fish Company serving as associate members. The latter company’s president, Jim Johnson, is serving WASA in the same capacity.
January 24, 2024 — Peter Pan Seafoods has canceled processing for the A season of 2024 at its large King Cove facility, citing “tumultuous” conditions in global seafood economics, but vowed to be open for the B season, and firmly committed to Alaska, its fleet and communities where they do business.
“We did not come to this decision quickly or easily,” the company said when announcing the forthcoming closure on Jan. 12. “The industry is facing inflation, interest rates hikes, financing challenges, and high fuel costs. We have worked through these issues as diligently as possible and have explored possible options.”
“We remain committed to continuing to provide the best service and support possible to our fleet, communities, and stakeholders while continuing our mission to be an exemplary global supplier of top-quality and responsibly sourced seafood. Looking to the future, we will employ more than 1,000 this year as we open the King Cove facility for the 2024 B Season and our other three facilities as normal for the salmon season,” the company said.
In years past the King Cove processing facility has processed seafood on a year-round basis and been closed down only for a couple of weeks at year’s end. Workers there, brought in on a seasonal basis, have processed king crab, opilio crab, Tanner crab, Alaska pollock, cod salmon halibut, and black cod.
Janaury 22, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has partnered with the state government of Alaska on strengthening the supply chain of local and regional food systems.
Together, the USDA and Alaska are offering more than USD 1.9 million (EUR 1.7 million) in competitive infrastructure grants for projects that can “build resilience across the middle of the supply chain.”
January 16, 2024 — The Wild Fish Conservancy has petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list Alaska king salmon under the Endangered Species Act.
The organization claims the petition is a response to “the severe decline and poor condition of Chinook populations” in Alaska.
“For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm that Alaska’s Chinook are in dire trouble,” Wild Fish Conservancy Executive Director Emma Helverson said. “Despite existing management plans and years of efforts by the state of Alaska, Chinook salmon continue to decline in abundance, size, diversity, and spatial structure throughout the state. Through this action, we are asking the federal government to undertake a formal status review and implement protections warranted under the Endangered Species Act, including designating critical habitat protections, to ensure the survival of these iconic fish.”
January 13, 2024 — A Washington-based conservation group filed a petition with federal regulators Wednesday, requesting that they list Alaska king salmon as an endangered species.
The Wild Fish Conservancy argued in its 67-page petition that king, or chinook, salmon numbers have declined to the point where the species is at risk of extinction in Alaska. The group cites state data indicating that the decline has been predominately caused by climate change, habit destruction and hatchery salmon competing for food with wild fish.
The group is asking that the National Marine Fisheries Service formally review king salmon numbers across the Gulf of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Southeast Alaska before considering stricter protections. Those could include critical habit protections and expanding ways to protect king salmon smolt — among other measures the group lists.
The petition is a first step in a process that could take years to be resolved with court challenges possible. But legal experts say there could be broad implications if the request is approved to list Alaska king salmon as threatened or endangered under the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
January 11, 2023 — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge by the State of Alaska to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s block of the Pebble Mine project.
The state sought to go directly to the high court and overturn the EPA’s January 2023 decision to veto the mine project based on the federal Clean Water Act and the danger of open-pit mining damaging the Bristol Bay watershed and its salmon fishery.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy in July filed the lawsuit, arguing that the agency decision against the mine and its effect on Alaska economic development warranted an immediate top judicial review.
January 10, 2023 — U.S. suppliers are scrambling to figure out how the nuances of an expanded U.S. ban on Russian seafood might impact their trading in Alaska pollock.
On 22 December 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order expanding the U.S. ban on Russian seafood to include imports of Russia-originated seafood processed in third countries, including China. The expanded ban entered into immediate effect, with import contracts signed before that permitted to be carried out through 21 February 2024, according to the department.
January 9, 2024 — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Alaska’s bid to revive a proposed copper and gold mine that was blocked by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The justices did not comment in turning away the state’s attempt to sue the Biden administration directly in the high court over its desire to revive the proposed Pebble Mine in the state’s Bristol Bay region.