Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.

March 3, 2023 — The late 1990s and early 2000s were boomtimes for halibut fishermen in Alaska. Over 80 million pounds of the flatfish were being harvested annually. Deckhands could earn $250,000 a season. The small boat harbor in the southcentral city of Homer, known as the “halibut capital of the world,” was bustling.

Erik Velsko, 39, was one of those fishermen. He started buying annual shares in 2001 when the halibut population was at near historic highs. But within a few years, the stock plummeted by more than half and the quotas for commercial fishermen were slashed accordingly. Velsko’s share has gone from 12,000 pounds annually to less than 4,000 pounds. His brother-in-law, who also fishes out of Homer, has had his quota cut from about 90,000 pounds to 20,000 pounds. Many fishermen have gotten out of the business altogether.

“That whole dock was all long liners, you know, 15 years ago,” Velsko told me last year, pointing to a row of idled boats in the harbor. “It’s two or three now. My brother-in-law and another one.”
Halibut wasn’t the only so-called directed fishery to experience such a catastrophic drop. The crab fleet — made famous in the reality show “Deadliest Catch” — has been mostly stuck in port for two years after the near total collapse of the snow crab population and the decades long decline of red king crab. This year both fisheries were closed, a major blow to many of Alaska’s coastal communities, who rely on related industries, including processing, to float their economies. At the same time, subsistence and sport salmon fishing on the state’s two largest rivers has been shut down because of dwindling salmon runs.

ALASKA: Challenges spawning rapidly in salmon lawsuit

March 3, 2023 — Local leaders and state legislators this week joined the growing opposition to a lawsuit that could halt Southeast Alaska’s commercial troll fisheries due to what a conservation group in Washington state calls inadequate federal management of the fisheries’ impacts on salmon runs in that state and endangered killer whales that depend on them as a food source.

Opposition in Alaska has increased significantly since a magistrate in Washington issued a favorable preliminary ruling in December to Wild Fish Conservancy in the lawsuit it filed in 2019, which seeks the shutdown Southeast Alaska Chinook (king) salmon troll fisheries until their impact on the Southern Resident Killer Whales is assessed. The proposed order would essentially shut down Southeast Alaska fisheries for 10 months of the year, making them economically nonviable for many trollers, and a final ruling is pending.

Resolutions supporting the Southeast fisheries were approved by the Juneau Assembly on Monday and the Alaska State House on Wednesday, adding to numerous such resolutions already passed by other affected communities such as Ketchikan, Sitka and Petersburg. The House resolution was introduced by Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, a Sitka independent, who said the lawsuit threatens “a catastrophic stoppage, an unnecessary stoppage.”

“These are incredibly important fisheries to our regions, and I think that’s evidenced by the folks who have pulled together and supported the trollers,” she said. “They initially took on this lawsuit themselves, which is not easy to do when each of those vessels is a small business.”

Himschoot said the lawsuit affects about 1,500 people working in the fisheries and about $85 million in economic activity.

The resolution — asking the National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the state’s congressional delegation to take measures to keep the fisheries operating — passed 35-1 with both of Juneau’s House members voting in favor. The no vote was cast by Rep. David Eastman, a Wasilla Republican who regularly dissents on otherwise consensus measures and argued it’s improper for the Legislature to take such an action on pending litigation.

Read the full article at Juneau Empire

Juneau joins Southeast communities in backing king salmon troll fishery

March 1, 2023 — The Juneau Assembly has joined Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka and Ketchikan in supporting Southeast Alaska’s king salmon troll fishery against a lawsuit that could threaten its future.

A resolution passed by the Assembly on Monday night opposes a lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington-based environmental group. The group says the federal government hasn’t adequately addressed the fishery’s impacts on the food supply of Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound.

Assembly member Carole Triem drafted the resolution. At a committee meeting earlier this month, she said it’s important for Juneau to support the trollers.

“It’s a lot less visible in Juneau than it is in Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka or Ketchikan – the size, and the impact of the commercial fishing industry – but it’s still a pretty big part of our economy,” she said.

Read the full article at KTOO

ALASKA: Sen. Sullivan talks trolling, infrastructure development during Wrangell

March 1, 2023 — Meeting with Wrangell community members at the Nolan Center, Senator Dan Sullivan focused on infrastructure needs and development, both on Wrangell Island and throughout Alaska.

“I got a tour here today,” Sullivan related, “I know there are some big plans, but we’re going to need more ships – Navy vessels are my bigger goal – and I think what you guys are doing here in Wrangell has enormous potential, particularly with the mill site that we were at today that the borough just bought. So that’s very exciting.”

The former Wrangell lumber mill site is one of – if not the only – remaining undeveloped deepwater ports in Southeast Alaska. The borough bought the $2.5 million property last year, with the hope that with some new development, the former beating heart of Wrangell’s economy could prove an economic cornerstone once again.

During a question-and-answer meeting with Wrangell constituents, Sullivan spoke out against what he called the “latest ping-pong” with the reinstatement of the Clinton-era Roadless Rule in Tongass National Forest earlier this year. He told attendees it runs counter to his pro-development stance for the state, and said the Roadless designation also hampers tourism and growth.

Read the full article at KSTK

ALASKA: Alaska Legislature sends $300K in salmon donations to Ukraine

March 1, 2023 — More than a year into the war in Ukraine, Alaska’s government is doing its part by sending aid in the form of seafood from the Last Frontier. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is handling the state’s food distribution.

Bruce Schactler, the institute’s food aid program and development director, said ASMI doesn’t own any of the seafood but has helped manage the state’s aid programs.

That includes sending over $300,000 worth of Alaskan seafood, or about 3,600 cases of canned pink salmon, to Ukraine.

Read the full article at KTOO

ALASKA: Alaska Symphony of Seafood names 2023 winners

February 27, 2023 — The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) announced the winners of its annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood event on 24 February.

The event, organized since 1994, pits new commercial-ready, value-added products made from Alaska seafood against each other in a competition the AFDF said is intended to promote the new products and encourage investment in product development. The first place winners of each category, and the grand prize winner of the contest, receive booth space at Seafood Expo North America – running from 12 to 14 March 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. – airfare to and from the show sponsored by Alaska Air Cargo, and entry into the SENA new products contest, the Seafood Excellence Awards.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska Wildlife Troopers to measure Bristol Bay gillnet vessels

February 24, 2023 — The Alaska Wildlife Troopers are advising Bristol Bay commercial salmon drift gillnet permit holders that their vessels will be measured during the 2023 season to ensure that all boats in the fleet conform to the 32-foot overall rule.

“The Alaska Wildlife Troopers are aware of the increasing concern fishermen have regarding drift gillnet vessel lengths in the Bristol Bay Salmon Fishery,” Col. Bernard Chastain, the agency director, wrote in a Feb. 14 letter to permit holders.

“AWT has inspected multiple vessels post-season and have noted several areas of concern regarding overall length in the fleet,” wrote Chastain, referring to state regulation of Bristol Bay vessel specifications.

“The regulation limits drift gillnet vessels to 32 feet in overall length, with a few exceptions. One exception is an anchor roller may extend no more than eight inches beyond the 32-foot overall length and may not be more than eight inches in width or height,” Chastain noted. “The regulation defines ‘overall length’ as the straight-line measurement between the extremities of the vessel, but does not include fish drop-out baskets, anchor rollers, gillnet rollers, trim tabs, outdrives or outdrive guards.”

“The Alaska Wildlife Troopers understand that some adaptations in equipment have occurred over the years to promote product quality and overall safety within the fleet. However, other modifications have been made for operational performance,” Chastin wrote.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Crabbers seek solutions as they feel pinch of harvest closure

February 23, 2023 — Some emergency relief money is on the way to help crabbers impacted by the historic closure of the Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab harvests in Alaska.

Washington-based fishermen, however, say more lasting attention, research and action is needed to preserve the industry as a sustainable way of life for generational small businesses.

Mark Casto owns the fishing vessel Pinnacle and says he’s been crabbing since he graduated from high school in 1986.

“I grew up in it, as a little kid I used to do it growing up, it got in my blood and it’s just been a way of life for me,” Casto said.

He’s crabbed with the same crewmates for years- some, for decades- and they’ve become a team that can anticipate each other’s next move. When Bering Sea snow crab was cancelled, they were scattered- all forced to find another way to make a living during the season.

“A few years ago I saw some stuff coming and geared up to tender, so we tendered salmon for a few years and this year with the closure of the king crab and the snow crab, we’re doing some cod tendering, just enough to keep the boat busy, get it up there, and we’ll do a small Bairdi after that,” Casto said. “But it’s a trickle-down effect. It’s hitting everybody, from the bait people to the shipyard people to the meat guys that’ve been supplying boats for years and years.”

Read the full article at King 5

ALASKA: Gearing up for season’s start, Alaska’s pollock fishery faces salmon bycatch questions

February 22, 2023 — A vigorous debate over bycatch and calls for marine habitat protections is underway in advance of the beginning of Alaska’s lucrative pollock fishery in March.

The pollock fishery hit a wholesale value of USD 1.329 billion (EUR 1.358 billion) in 2022; However, that coincided with a devastating collapse in the state’s crab stocks and deteriorating returns in chinook and chum salmon fisheries. All of those fisheries are interconnected.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: House Special Fisheries Committee advances resolution in support of Alaska’s salmon trollers

February 17, 2023 — A legislative resolution in support of Alaska’s salmon troll fleet has cleared its first hurdle, although it has a way to go before seeing a full vote of the Alaska House and Senate.

House Joint Resolution 5 is the first piece of legislation introduced by Sitka Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, who was elected to a first term last November, and was sworn in this past January.

HJR5 was heard in the House Special Fisheries Committee on February 14, Valentine’s Day. Rep. Himschoot used the day as a springboard to focus attention on Southeast trollers, whose livelihood has been jeopardized by a lawsuit in the federal court in Seattle.

“I want to start by wishing everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day,” Himschoot opened. “And if there’s one thing Alaskans love, it’s our fishermen. So we’re going to talk about some fishermen today.”

Himschoot and co-sponsor Ketchikan Representative Dan Ortiz are the only two Southeast Alaskans on the Special Fisheries Committee. Himschoot explained the significance of the troll fleet to the other members.

Read the full article at KCAW