Saving Seafood

ALASKA: USDA purchases $50M in Alaska pollock, aiding fisheries and food banks

January 10, 2025 — Good news for Alaska’s seafood industry and for food-insecure Americans across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a major purchase of Alaska pollock, benefiting both communities in need and the state’s struggling fisheries.

The USDA plans to purchase up to $50 million worth of Alaska pollock. This initiative will provide high-quality, sustainable seafood to food banks and aid organizations nationwide, offering a vital source of nutrition to those in need.

Read the full article at Your Alaska Link

ALASKA: Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance applauds unified effort to support Prince William Sound fisheries

December 17, 2024 — The following was released by Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance:
At last week’s Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting, an unprecedented display of unity emerged as members of diverse fishery sectors – from salmon fishermen to processors and local fishing families – came together to oppose a proposed ban on trawling in Prince William Sound (PWS). The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) welcomes this collaborative victory for science-based fisheries management, sustainable fishing practices, and Alaska’s coastal communities.
 
The rejection of the proposals targeting trawling reflects not only a win for sound data and science but also a profound moment of solidarity for sustainable fisheries among stakeholders who sometimes compete for resources. The realization that, during challenging economic times, the survival of the Alaska seafood industry requires collective effort, has set a precedent for cooperation that all Alaskans can take pride in.
 
“This wasn’t a victory only for the trawl fishery,” said Julie Bonney, executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank. “It was a victory for every fishing family, crew member, and processor who depends on sustainable Alaska fisheries to keep our coastal communities alive. When Alaskans stick together, we are stronger – and this meeting proved that.”
 
Community members, salmon fishermen, and processors joined forces in vocal opposition to the proposals, recognizing the significant role the PWS trawl fishery plays in supporting Alaska livelihoods. Beyond the economic contributions, testimony highlighted that many small businesses, processing workers, and fishing families rely on trawl landings for their survival.
 
“Fishermen understand that we are all connected,” said Bonney. “From salmon to pollock, our fisheries must work together. The success of pink salmon in Prince William Sound relies in part on pollock harvests, and the local fishing community understands that more than anyone.”
While a well-known advocacy group pushed misleading information online and at the meeting in attempts to sway the Board, the Board of Fisheries and public alike saw through these efforts. Testimony underscored that well-designed conservation management measures – not blanket bans – are the appropriate response to fishery challenges.
 
Contrary to the opposition’s claims, the PWS trawl fishery is a clean fishery with minimal rockfish bycatch, when compared with incidental catch in other fisheries. Additionally, testimony revealed that rockfish conservation proposals aimed at addressing real conservation issues saw no interest from the same advocacy group calling for the ban, calling their real motivations into question.
 
Particularly impactful were hallway conversations and testimonies from Kodiak fishermen, who delivered firsthand accounts of how trawl fishing works, the economic and cultural importance of maintaining the trawl fishery in Prince William Sound. Trawl fishermen also explained their co-dependance on the PWS salmon fishery to local Cordovan fishermen since many of these same trawl vessels tender salmon for the local salmon fleet. Their words resonated across gear types, sparking conversations and building understanding among fishermen.
“It was heartening to see salmon and trawl fishermen stand shoulder-to-shoulder on this issue,” said Paddy O’Donnell, board president of the Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association and skipper of the Kodiak-based F/V Caravelle. “We don’t always agree, but we recognize now is the time to support each other. When fishermen join forces and speak the truth, others listen.”
 
The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance believes this outcome underscores the importance of science, data, and collaboration in fisheries management. More importantly, it highlights the resilience of Alaska’s fishing communities, who understand that a thriving fishery benefits all.
“We hope this spirit of unity continues,” O’Donnell concluded. “When times are tough and the survival of our way of life is on the line, we speak with one voice for the benefit of all.”

Trident wins majority of USD 2 million worth of USDA pollock contracts

November 22, 2024 — Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Trident Seafoods won the majority of new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contracts to supply Alaska wild pollock.

Trident will supply USD 1.6 million (EUR 1.5 million) worth of pollock out of a total USD 2.05 million (EUR 2 million) worth of contracts, while Channel Fish Processing in Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.A., will supply around USD 448,000 (EUR 423,000) in pollock.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Pollock trawl closure sends economic ripples across Kodiak as fishermen adapt

November 1, 2024 — Cole Hockema has been fishing since he was a teenager growing up in Oregon. For 12 years now he’s been trawling for pollock in the Gulf of Alaska, but today he’s sitting at home with his young daughters in Kodiak.

“We had lots of projects and stuff scheduled that we wanted to do at the end of the year and now we have a lot of time to do those, but we’re putting those on hold now until next year just because of a lack of money,” Hockema explained.

Hockema captains the Pacific Storm, a 100-foot trawler based out of Kodiak, which his father owns. The vast majority of the Central Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet is made up of local boats like his.

According to the trade group Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, 19 boats were fishing in the Central Gulf of Alaska when the pollock fishery closed on Sept. 25. 15 of those are homeported in Kodiak.

Normally, fishermen like Hockema would be out on the water until early November, when the Gulf of Alaska’s pollock B season typically closes. But this fall season ended just three weeks into fishing, when two vessels incidentally hauled in approximately 2,000 Chinook salmon, which exceeded the fishery’s annual bycatch limit. Hockema said the Pacific Storm was offloading its catch on Sunday, Sept. 22 when they first got the news about the bycatch and he knew the fleet would need to stop fishing immediately.

Bycatch from the trawl fleet has caught a lot of negative attention over the years, especially as king salmon runs decline across the state.

Since the closure, the Central Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet has separated out into a few camps – some are trying to switch into rockfish and or flatfish to make up lost revenue, others are doing a couple trips for Pacific cod, and a few like Hockema are done fishing for the year.

“Yeah we just can’t invest in nicer, better gear to go get this one [Pacific] cod trip,” Hockema said. “And then we just don’t want to take the risk of going backwards out there, messing up gear, ripping up gear, costing us more money.”

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: Chinook bycatch shuts down pollock fishery in Central Gulf of Alaska

October 8, 2024 — Commercial fishing for pollock in the Central Gulf of Alaska came to a halt on Sept. 25, leaving 50,000 tons of the whitefish in the water, when shut down by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to prevent exceeding the limit on Chinook salmon prohibited species catch (PSC). The action taken by Jon M. Kurland, regional administrator for the Alaska Region of NMFS, came after the captain of one of 19 trawlers fishing for pollock in the Central Gulf pulled up a net with an estimated 2,000 Chinook salmon.

The Chinook prohibited species catch in this pollock trawl fisheries is 18,316 Chinook salmon. As of Sept. 27, NMFS data indicated the PSC estimate for Chinook salmon in the central Gulf pollock fishery at 19,665 fish. In last week’s incident, the captain immediately notified the partner trawler he was fishing with and they both notified the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank of the bycatch. Both are local vessels based in Kodiak.

Total PSC estimates are calculated using verified information collected by observers.

“This was unprecedented,” said Julie Bonney, owner and executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank. “Over the last 20 years, there has never been that much prohibit species salmon taken in one tow of the trawlers fishing in the Central Gulf for pollock.”

Measures taken by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to minimize bycatch worked —but the cost to fishermen, processors and the city of Kodiak will be in the millions of dollars, Bonney said. The 19 trawlers had caught just 18,000 tons of pollock.

Closing down the fishery left 50,000 tons of pollock in the ocean, which will impact jobs of commercial fishing crews, processing company workers, and myriad businesses that are engaged with the fishing industry. Bonney said she even got a call from a Kodiak man whose company services vending machines in the processing facilities in Kodiak.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

New Evidence of Seasonal and Temperature-Driven Movement of Alaska Pollock across the U.S.-Russia Maritime Boundary

June 22, 2024 — Scientists placed specially designed moorings, equipped with sonar, on the seafloor to acoustically monitor pollock abundance and movements between U.S. and Russian waters. They found that a substantial amount of pollock travel between the two exclusive economic zones (EEZs) seasonally.

The study was conducted from summer 2019 to summer 2020. During this time, pollock moved southeast over the maritime boundary in winter as the sea ice formed. They were largely absent in late spring when ocean temperatures were near freezing and the sea ice was still present. They subsequently migrated northwest in late spring and early summer as waters warmed. The extent of the movement between EEZs) appears to be partially driven by water temperature.

When the moorings were deployed in summer 2019 the area was unusually warm. Following the winter migration into U.S. waters, conditions were cooler in summer 2020. Over the year of observations, 2.3 times more pollock moved into the U.S. EEZ in fall and winter then exited during the subsequent spring and summer. Scientists believe the cooler conditions in 2020 led to fewer pollock moving into Russian waters than had the previous year.

“There are some important implications for pollock management,” said Robert Levine, physical scientist and lead author on a new paper published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science. “Our research suggests that in years when water temperatures are warmer than average, the proportion of fish moving across the boundary will be greater.”

Scientists suspect that continued warming in the eastern Bering Sea will increase the proportion of the pollock stock found in Russian waters. Currently, pollock support the top U.S. commercial fishery, which harvests more than 1 million metric tons annually.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

ALASKA: Peltola sponsors a bill to limit salmon bycatch. The pollock industry calls it ‘unworkable.’

May 23, 2024 — Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola introduced two bills Wednesday that aim to deliver on one of her campaign themes: Reducing the number of salmon that the Bering Sea fishing fleet catches by accident.

One of the bills would curtail the use of fishing nets that scrape sensitive parts of the sea floor. It would require regional fisheries management councils to designate bottom trawl zones and limit that kind of fishing to those areas.

It also attempts to crack down on fishing gear that hits the sea floor but goes by a different name. Peltola said areas that are closed to bottom trawling off Alaska’s coast are too often open to pelagic trawling, which in theory means the nets are in the mid-water.

“I think 40 to 80% of the time, that ‘pelagic’ gear is actually on the bottom,” she said. “So I think that defining these terms and having a more accurate definition of what bottom trawl is, and the percentage of time that those nets are on the bottom, is really important.”

A second bill would increase the money available for a grant program that funds research and equipment to help fishing fleets reduce bycatch. That program would get up to $10 million per year, $7 million more than its current cap.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

ALASKA: NOAA denies emergency petition to zero out Alaska pollock fishery’s permitted king salmon bycatch

April 22, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has denied a request for emergency action to institute a cap of zero on Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, which would have closed the fishery for the first half of 2024.

Group’s representing Alaska’s commercial and recreational salmon fisheries and Native Alaskan groups have clashed with the Alaska pollock sector over the cause of smaller Chinook salmon runs and actions that can be taken to reverse the decline.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance formed to create “more balanced conversation” around Alaska’s pollock trawl fishery

March 28, 2024 — The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance (APFA) was created on 7 March to provide unified industry representation of Alaska’s pollock trawl fishery in public forums.

APFA will have the goal of emphasizing the industry’s commitment to a science-based management approach and to sustainable harvesting of Alaska pollock.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource