Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: The $50 million question: Can California’s Dungeness crab fishery coexist with whale conservation efforts?

February 4, 2025 — At 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 4, commercial fisherman Barry Day is 10 miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay, watching the clock. One minute to go until the start of Dungeness crab season.

In the pitch black sea, Day’s radiant orange buoys bob with the promise of a payday. In total, he has set out 250 crab traps. Every buoy is attached to a thin rope that stretches 200 feet down to a cylindrical, metal-and-wire pot on the ocean floor. Day spent the previous month readying the pots: inspecting every piece of wire, splicing and joining ropes, repairing rubber wrappings, painting buoys.

Each trap costs around $300 all accounted for — $75,000 of gear now at the bottom of the ocean. Insurance for his boat and two deckhands is another $30,000. Then there’s the cost of slip space at the harbor. Thirty percent of sales goes to his crew. These are the numbers crawling in the back of his mind as the seconds tick by.

Read the full article at Palo Alto Online

CALIFORNIA: California Invests $15 Million On Salmon, Trout Habitat Resiliency

January 31, 2025 — California is investing $15 million to offset climate change threats to salmon and steelhead trout in river and stream habitats through projects that improve watersheds such as adding wood and plants.

In December, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries determined after a five-year review of recovery efforts that four salmon and steelhead species of fish in northern California and southern Oregon should continue to be designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Read the full article at Forbes

Researchers assess damage done to marine life by California wildfires

January 27, 2025 — Heavy smoke, ash and debris from Southern California’s raging wildfires blowing and drifting far offshore are creating a toxic threat to marine life, scientists are warning.

Crew members aboard a NOAA research vessel reported conditions ranging from yellow-colored skies as far as 100 miles offshore to impenetrable smoke that required deck workers to don masks and goggles.

NOAA’s Noelle Bowlin, director of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program, who has been in daily contact with the vessel, said crew members reported “giant pieces of confetti everywhere” on the ocean surface and white-colored plankton nets used for research turning “completely black and coated in tons of soot and ash and burned material.”

Read the full article at E&E News

Seafood companies rally to help fire-affected California communities

January 22, 2025 — As wildfires continue to affect communities around Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., and as new ones have broken out to the south in San Diego, several seafood companies are rallying to help out by donating food and supplies.

Santa Monica Seafood, the largest seafood wholesaler in the area, is donating lobsters to Bracken’s Kitchen, a charitable food organization, so it can provide Lobster Mac & Cheese meals to those in need, according to President and CEO Roger O’Brien.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles seafood industry takes hit after California fires destroy homes and businesses

January 13, 2025 — The seafood industry in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., is stepping up to help victims of devastating wildfires after multiple fast-moving blazes destroyed homes, restaurants, and grocery stores – including some long-running seafood establishments.

Malibu, California-based seafood eatery Reel Inn, which has been open for more than 40 years in Topanga State Park, was completely destroyed, according to the Los Angeles Times. Owners Andy and Teddy Leonard were getting ready to renegotiate the restaurant’s lease with state officials, and now, they worry “they won’t let us rebuild,” they told the newspaper.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

San Francisco fisherman hid illegally caught species

January 7, 2025 — Last week at San Francisco’s Pier 45, a commercial fisherman found themselves in hot water after being caught with over 2,000 pounds of unlawfully caught fish. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Monday that the fisherman had gone to great lengths to deceive authorities, hiding fillets of salmon behind a false wall on their trawl boat.

The bust came after a period of surveillance by CDFW officers, who observed the fisherman unloading burlap sacks from the boat into a vehicle. The situation escalated when the fisherman attempted to hide the fish at a restaurant and evade capture. However, CDFW officers were quick to locate and apprehend them.

The haul included several species, including halibut, sole, sanddabs, and salmon. When landed, none of this catch had been reported as required for commercial fishing, a serious breach of regulations. Notably, all recreational and commercial salmon fishing in California has been prohibited since 2023 to aid in the recovery of dwindling salmon populations.

Further investigation revealed an additional 2,365 pounds of halibut, which authorities seized. The confiscated halibut was later sold, with proceeds donated to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, showing the state’s commitment to conservation.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US government confirms fishery disasters took place in California salmon runs

January 6, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that fishery disasters affected multiple California salmon runs, including the 2024 Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon fishery and the 2024 Klamath River fall Chinook salmon fishery.

The official determinations open up those fisheries to federal financial relief, which will be allocated to the state and Tribal governments to distribute to affected fishers and businesses.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US West Coast governors seek financial relief for albacore fishers

January 3, 2024 — The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington have asked the U.S. federal government to provide financial aid for the states’ struggling commercial West Coast Pacific albacore troll/hook-and-line fishery.

Last year was the fishery’s worst performing season in 30 years, California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a recent statement. The fishery generated USD 9.5 million (EUR 9.3 million) in ex-vessel value in 2024, notably lower than the five-year average of USD 24.6 million (EUR 24 million).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

West Coast whale entanglements up in 2024

December 20, 2024 — Whale entanglements in fishing gear off the Pacific Coast rose in 2024 despite state and federal measures to reduce such incidents, including efforts to deploy “ropeless“ fishing gear that could eliminate risk of entanglements.

Preliminary data from NOAA Fisheries shows 34 whales became entangled in 2024, the highest number since 2018. Another entangled whale was reported off Orange County, California, earlier this month but has not been seen since last week, NOAA said.

NOAA spokesperson Nick Rahaim confirmed the latest entanglement numbers for California, Oregon and Washington state, which were released to the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group on Wednesday and will be publicly released next year.

Read the full article at E&E News