Saving Seafood

ALASKA: A 50-year situation: The market dynamic between fishing fleets and processors in Bristol Bay

September 27, 2023 — This year, Bristol Bay’s $0.50-per-pound base price had fleet members questioning the industry’s longevity. The dynamic between fleets and processors has existed for decades, with permit-holding fishing crews delivering their catch before knowing its cost, and processors relying on them to do so.

KDLG’s Christina McDermott sat down with economist Gunnar Knapp, who spent decades studying Bristol Bay’s salmon markets, to learn more about the history of this relationship, and what it means going forward.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

As climate change and high costs plague Alaska’s fisheries, fewer young people take up the trade

September 26, 2023 — Lane Bolich first came to work in Alaska for the freedom and excitement that comes with being a fisher.

A self-described adrenaline junkie, Bolich moved from his hometown in rural Washington state because he loves being on the ocean even in cold winter weather and it gave him the chance to make more money than back home. After working as a deckhand for two years on a family friend’s boat, Harmony, he took the wheel as captain this year at just 20 years old.

Bolich is a rarity in an aging industry with high barriers to entry — equipment and access rights are costly — and increasing unpredictability as human-caused climate change alters marine habitats. As some fish populations dwindle and fewer people pursue the trade, fishers and conservation groups are actively working to bring in and retain the next generation of fishers through grants and training even as the industry continues to shrink in Alaska.

Read the full article at the Independent

Millions pegged for salmon, steelhead recovery

September 25, 2023 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is recommending sending $106 million to 16 salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in five Western states.

NOAA and the Department of Commerce recommended grants to state agencies with salmon protection missions, tribes and tribal partnerships in Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California.

The funding “provides an important opportunity to bolster salmon and steelhead recovery and invest in the communities that rely on them,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

Read the full article at The Challis Messenger

Trawl vessels caught 10 killer whales in ’23 off Alaska, federal agency says

September 25, 2023 — A federal agency that takes an active role in “shaping international ocean, fisheries, climate, space and weather policies” reported last week one of its teams is “evaluating data collected” on 10 killer whales incidentally caught in Alaska by Bering Sea and Aleutian Island groundfish trawl fisheries in 2023.

In a statement, NOAA Fisheries, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said just one whale ended up being released alive. For the other nine, the agency is in the process of determining the cause of injury or death and which stocks these whales belong to through a review of genetic information.

In addition, NOAA Fisheries is reviewing information regarding “a killer whale incidentally caught during the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s longline survey for sablefish and groundfish this summer.” The agency added that on June 7, a dead killer whale was observed entangled in gear on the Central Bering Sea slope.

Read the full article at KIRO

Trawlers accidentally caught 10 orcas off Alaska this year — only one lived

September 25, 2023 — A federal fishery agency reported last week that 10 killer whales were caught in the gear of trawl net vessels fishing this year in the Bering Sea and North Pacific waters off the Aleutian Islands.

Only one was released alive, according to a brief Alaska NOAA Fisheries statement posted online. A team is analyzing data collected about the other nine whales to determine the causes of injury or death, and also to determine which stocks these whales belonged to through reviewing genetic information.

Killer whales, also known as orcas, have been entangled in trawl gear off Alaska in years past, but the numbers reported in 2023 are higher.

“The agency is working quickly to evaluate these incidents and will share findings as soon as possible, after all required analyses are completed,” the statement said.

The agency reported that another killer whale was entangled with longline gear set out by a vessel conducting a federal fishery survey in the Central Bering Sea. On June 7, a dead whale was observed caught up in gear, the statement said. NOAA Fisheries scientists were on board the survey vessel, which was designed to provide an assessment of black cod — also known as sablefish — populations, and that incident is also under review.

Read the full article at The Seattle Times

ALASKA: Four years into the Yukon salmon collapse, an Interior Alaska village wonders if it will ever fish again

September 18, 2023 — Without salmon, Gwichyaa Zhee is missing its heart.

“It’s just no good,” said Linda Englishoe, sitting on the sofa in her house not far from the Yukon River. An elder now, Englishoe has lived in the village for her entire life.

There are signs of fall in Englishoe’s house — a pan of apples and cinnamon on the stove, a tray of lowbush cranberries waiting to be processed. Fall usually also means the arrival of chum salmon on their journey upriver. But this year, the run is a fraction of the size it once was. As a result, federal and state fisheries managers have restricted most salmon fishing, cutting the village off from its traditional harvest.

Without fish, Englishoe said, nothing in the village is the way it’s supposed to be. The smokehouses, normally full of salmon drying for the winter, are empty. Even the smell of town is different.

“It used to smell so good, smelling those fish,” Englishoe said. “Ooh, I used to just sit outside, smelling.”

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

OPINION: Alaska’s Farm Bill promises to safeguard our oceans and fishing families

September 17, 2023 — I first came to Sitka in 1982, driven by a love for wildness. I took up fishing to earn college money, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that the well-being of Alaska’s wild, pristine environment is directly tied to the stewardship of local fishing communities.

My passion for Alaska’s oceans led me to become an advocate for sustainable fisheries. I still earn my living fishing, and I am now the executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. My family’s livelihood, and that of others in our fishing community, is entwined with the long-term health of our oceans. We fish and live with deep respect for the natural world and our unique place on this earth.

It is with this connection to our state’s natural bounty and coastal families that I applaud Sen. Lisa Murkowski for introducing the Improving Agriculture, Research, Cultivation, Timber, and Indigenous Commodities (ARCTIC) Act for inclusion in the Farm Bill, to ensure Alaska is represented in this pivotal federal legislation. This bill is a win for local fishing communities, which is a win for Alaska’s environment.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

Global synthesis study reveals hatchery salmon adversely impact wild populations

September 17, 2023 — In a recently published global synthesis consisting of 206 peer-reviewed studies from 1970 through 2021, conclusions emphasize the detrimental effects that hatchery salmon have on wild populations. The research, published by Fisheries Management and Ecology in July 2023, highlights how human efforts to bolster wild salmon numbers through hatchery programs have hindered rather than helped their populations.

The authors of the global synthesis study acknowledged the complexity of the issue, stating that their aim was to provide a transparent and updatable synthesis of existing research without delving into the social, political, and legal aspects surrounding hatcheries. The study focused solely on evaluating the scientific evidence related to the impacts that hatcheries have on wild populations.

Before delving into the study’s findings, it’s important to understand the distinction between wild and hatchery salmon. Wild salmon are those that live and breed in their natural environments without human interference, evolving over generations to adapt to their surroundings through natural selective pressures. On the other hand, hatchery salmon are artificially bred and raised in controlled environments, with certain selective pressures removed, such as female choice and male-to-male competition. Omitting these pressures allows for unnatural juveniles to survive, later introducing hatchery salmonids to wild populations through largescale releases into the North Pacific.

Researchers found that large releases of hatchery salmonids triggered adverse density-dependent responses in various co-mingling populations of wild salmonids. These responses encompassed reduced survival, growth, fecundity, body size, and abundance of wild salmonids that rely on the same common pool prey resource. The effects were observed across different species and countries, suggesting the wide-ranging nature of the issue.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ALASKA: Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association sees returns double hatchery expectations in some areas

September 12, 2023 — Some areas in Alaska have entirely wild salmon runs. But there’s also 28 hatcheries around the state. Two of those facilities are based in Kodiak, including one near the mouth of Pillar Creek, just outside of town.

It all starts with egg takes. Hatchery staff and volunteers take four wheelers or fly out to remote lakes to catch fish that are close to spawning. Some salmon like coho hold just over 1000 eggs a fish, but sockeye can have as many as 2700 eggs each. Eggs are then brought to the hatchery’s indoor facilities.

The eggs are sensitive to light so bins are usually stored in the dark. Staff use flashlights when in the room with them, August 28, 2023. (Brian Venua/KMXT)

Tina Fairbanks is the executive director of the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association, which operates the archipelago’s hatcheries. This summer marks 40 years for the organization. The other hatchery is in Kitoi Bay and was built by the federal government in the 1950s.

Fairbanks said hatchery eggs have a much higher survival rate than wild spawners.

“At the hatchery level, if we see 20 percent mortality, we’re upset,” she said. “At Pillar Creek Hatchery, a lot of times they’ll have 90% survival from the time that they’re taking the eggs until the time that they are ponded as fry and start rearing here at the hatchery.”

Read the full article at KYUK

Traditional practices blended with modern life jacket technology seen as boosting fishing safety in Alaska

September 11, 2023 — Even as safety has improved vastly in the Alaska fishing industry overall, harvesters who operate from small, open skiffs continue to face risks.

Among those who continue to contend with mortal dangers are those who use set nets in Western Alaska’s Norton Sound, a group of largely Native fishers whose families have been working on the water for generations. Set nets, typically anchored to the seabed or river bed, trap fish in fixed locations.

Now a pilot program examining ways that Indigenous knowledge addresses fishing safety in the Norton Sound community of Unalakleet has come up with some recommendations. The findings are in a recently published study authored by the two women who conducted the pilot project, Leann Fay and Mayugiaq Melanie Sagoonick of the Sitka-based Alaska Marine Safety Education Association.

Fay said higher risks are almost inherent in this type of fishing as it is conducted in Unalakleet, where harvesters maneuver their small boats around fixed nets.

“The boat is just so much smaller, and it’s an open skiff and it can get flooded really easily. Also, it doesn’t take much for it to be destabilized,” she said.

One straightforward response to the problem, the research found, is to provide better life jackets. Those that are commonly used are cheaper varieties that are bulky and can be uncomfortable for active fishers, which means they sometimes do not wear them, said Fay, who was recently appointed as AMSEA’s executive director.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon