Saving Seafood

Fever pitch: Alaska implements new covid-19 mandates for the fishing industry

April 29, 2020 — Strict new rules are now in place for Alaska fishermen and their vessels to protect against and prevent the spread of covid-19 during the 2020 salmon season.

Effective April 24, Gov. Mike Dunleavy provided 11 pages of mandates that specifically apply to those who have not “agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association or entity” representing them.

Developing Vessel Procedures and Performing Symptomatic Crew Assessment in the Midst of COVID-19.

Among other things, each independent skipper must sign a Health Mandate Acknowledgement Form prior to going fishing. They are required to maintain a written or time-stamped electronic log acknowledging that they will comply with the mandates, along with a clear description of which protective plan they are enforcing on their vessel. Skippers also must certify that crew members have been screened upon arrival and that they have completed self-quarantines.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Alaska steps up COVID-19 safety measures ahead of summer salmon season

April 29, 2020 — Governor Mike Dunleavy’s administration released an extensive new health mandate laying out the latest guidelines for Alaska’s upcoming fishing seasons last week, amidst concerns of the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas of the state.

Health Mandate 17 – which went into effect on Friday, 24 April, and which will be reevaluated on 20 May – is designed “to ensure a safe, productive fishing season this year, while still protecting Alaskan communities to the maximum extent possible from the spread of the virus,” according to the document.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Sole Bristol Bay Health Care Provider Says 2020 Fishing Season Should Remain Closed

April 27, 2020 — With no promises from the State of Alaska or the City of Dillingham to strengthen the health care response to a COVID-19 outbreak this season, the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation opposes opening the world’s largest salmon fishery “in order to protect the 28 villages [we] serve in the area.”

BBAHC’s statement came just hours before Alaska’s Govenor Mike Dunleavy issued his now nearly daily update on COVID-19 in Alaska. When asked to comment on the statement, Dunleavey reiterated the administrations ongoing discussions with health experts in coastal communities.

Read the full story at Seafood News

ALASKA: Debate over closing Bristol Bay fishery continues as new fishing mandates are issued

April 27, 2020 — There are more calls to close the commercial fishery this season in Bristol Bay.

“To date, there are no reported cases of COVID-19 in Bristol Bay, and BBAHC fears the arrival of several thousands of people from around the world will put its communities and resources at risk,” read a news release from the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation.

The BBAHC says it is the sole provider of medical care in the region and has a surge plan in place for year-round residents, but does not have the resources for an influx beyond that surge.

“BBAHC has not received a commitment from the State of Alaska or the City of Dillingham regarding what additional resources would be provided in the case of an onset of COVID-19. Without a plan of action, BBAHC resources will most likely will be strained and overwhelmed,” according to the release.

Read the full story at KTVA

Alaska’s 2020 salmon catch expected to be down 36% after a big 2019 season

April 22, 2020 — Alaska’s total salmon catch for 2020 is projected to be down 36 percent from last year’s haul of 207 million fish, the eighth largest on record that was valued at nearly $658 million at the docks.

In the Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections and Review of the 2019 Season just released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, managers are calling for a harvest of just under 133 million salmon across Alaska. The decline is driven by a much lower forecast for those hard-to-predict pink salmon of just over 60 million fish, down nearly 53 percent.

Here are the salmon harvest forecasts and outlooks for most Alaska regions:

A catch of 4.2 million coho salmon is projected this year, a 300,000 fish increase. For chums, a catch of 19.5 million would be a drop of 100,000 fish.

For sockeye salmon, a harvest forecast of just over 48 million compares to 55.5 million reds taken in Alaska last year, or a drop of 13.3 percent.

A run of nearly 50 million sockeyes is expected to surge into Bristol Bay’s nine river systems, 6 percent higher than the 10 year average. That should produce a catch of 37 million reds, down from nearly 42 million last year.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Opponents lose court case against Alaska mine near fishery

April 21, 2020 — Opponents have lost a court case against the proposed copper and gold mine near a major salmon fishery in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could withdraw a “proposed determination” about potential negative mine impacts dating from 2014, Alaska Public Media reported Sunday.

The determination had concluded the mining project, named the Pebble Mine, posed too great a threat to the salmon-rich waters of Bristol Bay.

The judge’s ruling was based on the amount of latitude government agencies have and what is subject to legal review, rather than the merits or dangers of the mine.

The case focused on a “preemptive veto” the EPA issued during the administration of President Barack Obama, before Pebble Limited Partnership filed an application for the mine in Southwest Alaska.

The mine’s federal permit application is pending with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the EPA retains the right to veto the permit, a power that was not diminished by Friday’s ruling.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Seattle Times

ALASKA: No plans to close Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery over COVID-19

April 20, 2020 — Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang says it would be premature at this time to decide to close the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery, since there are a couple months before it even gets going. However, he says the state is keeping a close eye on things, including the Copper River salmon fishery.

“From that experience, which brings in an influx of fishermen into the Cordova area, we’re meeting with the local representatives of the Cordova community as well as the fishing processing sector to figure out how to safely bring in processing workers to make sure that that fishery can occur. Right now that’s scheduled to occur. What we learn from that will inform us on how we manage the Bristol Bay fishery,” said the commissioner.

Dillingham Mayor Alice Ruby and First Chief of the Curyung Tribal Council Thomas Tilden wrote a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy asking him to consider closing the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery because of the many fish processing employees who will come to the area.

“There is no way to prevent a potential mass disease situation when a few hundred people are in close proximity with each other. There is no way that they can comply with Health Mandate 11 on Social Distancing. Whether it is infection spread in the community by direct contact with residents during their travel to and within the community, or whether it will by draining precious resources when processing employees becomes infected,” read the letter.

Read the full story at KTVA

As Alaska fishing season set to begin, fearful communities and seafood industry try to prevent spread of coronavirus

April 20, 2020 — Early next month, Trident Seafoods vessel-operations manager Tod Hall will bid his wife goodbye, then leave his Lakewood home for the start of a six-month season catching and processing fish off Washington and Alaska. This year, instead of boarding the 316-foot Island Enterprise now moored at a Tacoma dock, he first will check into a hotel on the outskirts of Seattle. For the next 14 days, he will remain quarantined in his room with all meals delivered and even an occasional hallway stroll off-limits.

Hall will be one of the first of some 4,000 Trident shoreside processing workers and at-sea crew to undergo this two-week quarantine in Seattle-area and Alaska hotel rooms. Their confinement will be monitored by security guards and nurses who will do daily temperature checks. Two days before they exit, if Trident can secure enough supplies, they will be tested for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Such measures might seem extraordinary, but these are extraordinary times for Alaska’s seafood industry, which each year delivers more than half of the U.S. harvest from coastal and offshore waters.

Trident and other seafood-company officials hope to ensure that factory trawlers making their way through remote swaths of the Bering Sea do not replay any of the harrowing scenarios that unfolded on cruise ships this year, when waves of the virus sickened passengers.

Read the full story from The Seattle Times at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Bristol Bay leaders cautiously optimistic, but ask state for fishery closure if protocol can’t be met

April 17, 2020 — Friday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s communications director provided the following statement responding to the letter from the Bristol Bay Working Group:

“The State of Alaska continues to build testing capacity every day. Currently, testing capacity is not available to meet the requests made by the Bristol Bay work group, however, work is underway with communities, businesses, and all stakeholders in search of a balance that protects Alaskans and gives our critical fishing industry an opportunity to exist during upcoming fishing seasons.”

Leaders of several major organizations in Bristol Bay say they are more confident that a salmon season may be held safely this summer, but have joined in asking Gov. Mike Dunleavy to close the fishery if certain requirements can’t be met.

Wednesday evening, the Bristol Bay Working Group sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling on him to close the Bristol Bay fishery for 2020 if the steps it outlined earlier in the month cannot be met. The group comprises leaders of the Bristol Bay Housing Authority, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and United Tribes of Bristol Bay.

The group’s protocols outlined in the letter include testing for people coming into the region, both before traveling to Bristol Bay and after arriving, as well as continued health screenings and other precautions.

“In the intervening two weeks, very little has happened,” said Norm Van Vactor, CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. “We’re sensing as community members that this freight train that’s bearing down on us is not slowed down, and to some extent has accelerated.

Read the full story at KTUU

ALASKA: What if there’s no salmon fishery? How covid-19 could affect salmon populations

April 15, 2020 — The covid-19 public health crisis spreading across the globe is causing economic turmoil in most industries, including fisheries. For Alaska salmon fisheries, covid-19 presents unique challenges that are an immediate threat to the 2020 season.

The seasonal influx of thousands of harvesters and workers from around the world, starting in May, represents a substantial risk for introducing covid-19 to remote communities — where it has yet to be detected, and where people are particularly vulnerable and medical resources are distinctly limited. Further risks are associated with the often crowded conditions aboard fishing vessels and in fish processing facilities that create perfect conditions for the rapid spread of covid-19.

Concern that the Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fishery represents a substantial public health risk has prompted requests for severe restrictions or even complete closure of the fishery until the threat of covid-19 has passed. In addition to the immediate economic impacts of such a policy, these discussions have generated widespread concern about “over-escapement” — that severely restricted fishing would result in spawner abundances (escapements) beyond what watersheds can withstand, thereby severely depressing future salmon production.

Read the full story at National Fisherman