Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Bristol Bay Fishermen Thank USACE for Pebble Mine Permit Decision

November 27, 2020 — In an unexpected turn, the Army Corps of Engineers has denied a Clean Water Act permit for the proposed Pebble Mine, an open-pit copper extraction project located near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. The Pebble site contains one of the largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits in the world, and its backers have signaled their intention to appeal.

“In its record of decision, USACE determined that the applicant’s plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest,” the agency’s Alaska District said in a statement.

Pebble Partnership’s share price fell from $0.87 to $0.40 within hours of the announcement. The project’s opponents hailed the decision as a recognition of the Pebble Mine’s risk to the billion-dollar-per-year Bristol Bay fishery.

“A permit denial from the Army Corps is a triumph for the people of Bristol Bay who have fought tirelessly against Pebble mine for well over a decade,” said Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) president and CEO Jason Metrokin. “We thank the Corps for acknowledging this reality in its decision.”

“Sometimes a project is so bad, so indefensible, that the politics fall to the wayside and we get the right decision. That is what happened today,” Tim Bristol, the executive director of SalmonState, which represents Alaska’s salmon fishing industry.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

Bristol Bay Native Corporation acquiring Blue North and Clipper

September 17, 2019 — Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) is planning to acquire Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods, making it a major player in the Bering Sea longline cod fishery. The acquisition also gets BBNC, former owner of Peter Pan Seafoods, back into the industry.

The acquisition will close on 30 September, and Blue North and Clipper Seafoods will be organized under Bristol Bay Alaska Seafoods, a newly-formed subsidiary of BBNC.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Analysis: Alaska’s Native corporations, once shy of seafood, may now view it as the next frontier

September 13, 2019 — Most seafood industry members have likely never heard of Alaska’s Native Corporations, but with the news this week that Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) was cleared by the US Department of Justice to acquire and merge Pacific cod giants Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods, most people will know about them soon enough.

The deal, which is expected to close as early as next week, a source familiar with the process told IntraFish, would create a group with roughly 33,000 metric tons of owned Pacific cod quota, another 13,000 metric tons for management or lease, and $95 million in revenues.

Alaska’s Native Corporations have plenty of assets, and are much, much bigger than you might expect. Alaska’s 12 Native Corporations, created under a federal law in 1971 called the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, employ 58,000 people worldwide, according to the Alaska Resource Development Council. They are the state’s largest landowners, and combined corporate revenues for the companies is estimated at over $8 billion.

Read the full story at IntraFish

DOJ green lights Clipper, Blue North merger

September 12, 2019 — The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has greenlit a proposed merger between the two largest Pacific cod longline companies, sources told Undercurrent News.

The DOJ review of the merger of Clipper Seafoods and Blue North, which is expected to include the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) taking a majority stake in the combined company, was undertaken to ensure that the combined company wouldn’t create a monopoly. Sources told Undercurrent that the DOJ’s seal of approval means that the deal is likely to close this week.

Despite the combined company’s heft in the market, Clipper and Blue North argued that there are several factors that go into cod prices, like other species, “so there shouldn’t be any antitrust problems”, sources previously told Undercurrent.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Alaskan native group still set to buy US Pacific cod catchers if DOJ approves merger

August 1, 2019 — The merger of the two largest US Pacific cod longline catching companies is under review by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), sources familiar with the deal told Undercurrent News.

If the DOJ approves the merger, the combined company will be renamed Blue North Clipper (BNC) and then, around 30 days later, acquired by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC), the sources said. BBNC is set to take 75% of BNC, with the existing shareholders of both companies owning the rest.

It’s thought BNC will be relocated to the offices of Clipper, which is seen as being the driver of the deal, they said. It’s also thought Dave Little, the main shareholder in Clipper, will ultimately head up the combined company. Patrick and Michael Burns, the brothers who founded Blue North, will also remain involved, sources said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Fight renewed over Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska

April 5, 2019 — Opposition is growing to a renewed effort to launch a massive mining project near Bristol Bay, Alaska, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

Mining conglomerate Pebble Limited Partnership applied for a permit in December 2017 for an open pit copper, gold, and molybdenum mine that would sit near critical headwaters that feed the Bristol Bay fishery. Opponents say the Pebble Mine would undermine the area’s pristine habitat – a calling card of the Bristol Bay brand – and that a tailings dam failure could prove catastrophic to the fishery. The most recent public opinion poll by the BBNC shows 58 percent of Alaskans oppose the mine, with 33 percent supporting it.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on 20 February, 2019, but the wide-ranging opposition in Alaska and beyond has lambasted the document.

“People around here understand on a very visceral level the importance of fisheries in general and Bristol Bay in particular. Commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, tribal entities that are interested in subsistence, biologists; we’re not always aligned, but we’re certainly aligned on this particular issue,” said Daniel Cheyenne, the vice president of lands and natural resources for the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC).

Norm Van Vactor, the CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, said the EIS is incomplete.

Read the full story at Seafood Source