Saving Seafood

Bristol Bay salmon would benefit from added protection in federal law

May 29, 2024 — As we write, tens of millions of salmon are swimming their way back to Bristol Bay. And for the second year running, those who work the 15,000 jobs the salmon provide each year can celebrate that the proposed Pebble mine no longer threatens to contaminate the headwaters of the greatest wild sockeye salmon fishery in the world.

At least for now.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Clean Water Act protections for this amazing fishery in January 2023. That news was welcomed by residents of the region and scores of businesses that are reliant upon the Bristol Bay fishery, along with its $2.2 billion annual economic impact. Since then, Pebble and the state of Alaska have filed four lawsuits in an attempt to keep this ill-conceived, acid-producing mine on life support. Math and science aren’t on their side — not only would the mine irreversibly harm a fishery that could, if not contaminated, continue to produce and provide jobs for centuries to come, but the state of Alaska made a basic math error in one of its lawsuits, leading it to inflate the amount they’re suing American taxpayers for by $630 billion. Clearly, those seeking to exploit Bristol Bay at the risk of its sustainable fishery aren’t taking “no” for an answer.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

Peltola pushes bill to permanently block Pebble mine in Alaska

May 2, 2024 — Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska on Wednesday introduced legislation to permanently block mining in her home state’s pristine Bristol Bay, one of the world’s premier salmon fisheries.

Peltola’s “Bristol Bay Protection Act” would codify EPA’s veto last year of the proposed Pebble mine under the Clean Water Act in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska. EPA at the time said its decision was based on decades of research showing discharges tied to the mine would have adverse effects on salmon fishery areas within the Bristol Bay watershed.

“I came to DC to stand up for fish — to make fishing and the livelihoods of our fishing communities the national issue it deserves to be,” the congresswoman said, adding that entire communities rely on Bristol Bay’s watershed for subsistence, which is deeply interwoven into their social and cultural practices.

Read the full story at E&E News

Controversial mine project sues over EPA veto

March 18, 2024 — In a statement Friday, the Pebble Partnership alleged the EPA’s veto was issued before the completion of the permitting process.

Rather than waiting for the Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) permitting process to conclude, the EPA made its decision under a provision of the Clean Water Act that allows it to restrict mining activity in the Bristol Bay watershed.

The bay contains the world’s single largest sockeye salmon fishery.

Read the full article at The Hill

Regional council opposes further regulations in Bristol Bay savings area

March 12, 2024 — At their February meeting, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council decided not to move forward with the request to close the Bristol Bay red king crab 4000-square nautical mile saving area to all commercial fishing. The council investigated the effectiveness of closing this eastern Bering Sea section to commercial trawl, pot, and longline fishing. However, they advised that they will not tighten regulations in this area.

The savings box was established in 1996 as a haven for red king crabs. However, other fishing, such as midwater/ pelagic trawlers, pot fishing, and longlining, is allowed in the area. According to the AFDG Status of King Crab Stocks, the area is closed to bottom trawling. The year after the saving box was established, the mature male red king crab stock increased from 8.5 million to 10.5 million.

According to KUCB, at this meeting, the Council also evaluated a pot gear closure of a large section in the eastern portion of Bristol Bay, known as Area 512, to address drops in the Bristol Bay red king crab stock. Trawling has also previously been prohibited in that area.

Read the full article at The National Fisherman

Debate over Pebble mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region moves to dueling Supreme Court briefs

November 16, 2023 — The company trying to build a huge copper and gold mine in the salmon-rich Bristol Bay will keep fighting for the project, despite a decision by the federal government to keep the proposed development site off-limits to large-scale metals mining.

John Shively, chief executive officer of the Pebble Limited Partnership, made that vow in a presentation at the Alaska Miners Association annual convention in Anchorage.

He said the Pebble mine had the potential to transform the economy and improve lives in the rural Bristol Bay region, just as he said the Red Dog Mine, one of the world’s biggest zinc producers, has done in Northwest Alaska.

“That’s why we’re still fighting this. The resources are there. We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere,” he told the convention audience in his presentation on Thursday.

The company’s fight is backed by the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy. At his direction, the state in July filed a lawsuit directly to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to overturn a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency that bars permitting for any Pebble-type mine in key areas of the Bristol Bay watershed.

Dunleavy, in brief remarks earlier this week at the miners’ convention, expressed pride in his support of the controversial project.

“I was told if I supported Pebble, I would never win another election. Well, I don’t know. I’m here. I’m still here,” he said on Tuesday, drawing applause from the audience. The Republican governor was handily reelected last November.

The EPA decision invoked a rarely used provision in the Clean Water Act to preclude any wetlands permit for the project. The agency determined that the Pebble mine posed an unacceptable risk to the Bristol Bay watershed, essential to a region with the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs and with major fisheries and wildlife populations that depend on that salmon.

To help reverse that decision, the Pebble Limited Partnership and its owner, Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., in September filed an amicus brief in support of the state’s Supreme Court effort. Filing supportive briefs, too, were the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and numerous Alaska and national resource-development groups.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: Crabbers get 2 million pound quota for Bristol Bay red king crab

October 10, 2023 — Alaska fishermen will get a brief respite from crab closures, with a modest three-month opening for Bristol Bay red king crab, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Friday.

Bering Sea crabbers get their shot at Bristol Bay red king crab from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15 under a quota of 2.150 million pounds, 1.95 million pounds of which has been allocated to IFQ holders with the remaining 215,000 pounds reserved for Community Development Quota (CDQ) shares. The Oct. 6 announcement had been predicated upon earlier trawl surveys which indicated a harvestable surplus of crab.

“Based on preliminary review of 2023 NMFS trawl survey and stock assessment results, ADF&G has determined that the estimate abundance of mature size Bristol Bay red king crab exceeds minimum population thresholds established in the state regulatory strategy,” says Ethan Nichols, area management biologist with ADF&G in Dutch Harbor.

The Bering Sea tanner crab population survey also warranted a fishery opening with a quota of 2.8 million pounds. The season opens on Oct. 15 and closes on March 31. 

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

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

EPA head says he’s ‘proud’ of decision to block Alaska mine and protect salmon-rich Bristol Bay

August 30, 2023 — The nation’s top environmental official said he fully supports his agency’s decision to block a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay, even as the state of Alaska has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that action.

“Let me be clear, we are very proud of our decision to really evaluate the Pebble Mine project and do what is necessary to protect Bristol Bay,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday as he began a four-day tour of Alaska, starting in a Bristol Bay village.

The EPA in January vetoed the proposed Pebble Mine, citing concerns with possible impacts on the aquatic ecosystem in southwest Alaska that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The region also has significant mineral resources.

Read the full article at the Associated Press