Saving Seafood

LEIGH HABEGGER: Alaska fisheries and restaurants need immediate relief

November 5, 2020 — Alaska is often referred to as the “seafood powerhouse,” and rightfully so. With more than 50% of our country’s seafood landed here, options for seafood are plentiful — whether you’re looking for a buttery halibut fillet to go with a glass of chardonnay or a cod sandwich and cold beer. But our fishermen and our restaurant partners are struggling because of COVID-19.

In addition to supplying Americans and the world with some of the freshest, most sustainable seafood, the state’s seafood industry created $5.6 billion in total annual economic activity for Alaska in 2018. Fishing is a huge economic driver for the state. But, between March 1 and April 16 of this year, more than half of restaurants in Alaska closed temporarily and more than 80% of restaurant employees were laid off or furloughed. We saw halibut prices cut in half practically overnight.

Nationwide, independent restaurants have lost more jobs than any other industry, affecting 11 million employees within the industry and more than 5 million workers they support in the supply chain. Alaska is no different: Leisure and hospitality have accounted for 38% of all jobs lost in our state during the pandemic. This pandemic directly endangers the 31,800 Alaskans working restaurant and food service jobs, and the countless farmers, fishermmen and other livelihoods that depend on restaurants’ supply chains.

Read the full opinion piece at the Anchorage Daily News

ALASKA: Reply All: Bristol Bay associations sign new letter to Dunleavy

October 30, 2020 — We’ll be setting our clocks back this weekend, but a passionate letter-writing exchange in Alaska is making this feel like a moment from the distant past. Unlike your average political correspondence, the parties involved in this exchange are laying pretty plain how they really feel.

This series of missives between Gov. Mike Dunleavy and two state legislators, Reps. Bryce Edgmon and Louise Stutes, is one component of the fallout of the controversial Pebble Tapes, in which activists posed as potential mine investors and recorded Pebble and Northern Dynasty executives Tom Collier and Ronald Thiessen bragging about the mining conglomerate’s use of the governor’s office to launder communications for the White House.

“Your letter does not address Pebble’s blunt characterization of you and others within your administration as acting behind closed doors on Pebble’s compensatory mitigation plan,” Edgmon writes in an Oct. 26 reply to the governor, which started with a September message from Edgmon and Stutes. “Similarly, we note that your letter does not address Tom Collier’s admissions that he interfered in Alaska’s election process. Silence on these points undercuts the integrity of state government in ways that go far beyond Pebble, and we urge you to speak to them.”

The letter recognizes Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan for making direct statements against the project after the Pebble Tapes called attention to their tendency to fade into the background when it came to Pebble.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Murkowski says she’ll use appropriations to block Alaskan mine

October 19, 2020 — Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued her strongest objection to date against the Pebble Mine project, a proposed mining site of copper, gold and molybdenum near the ecologically sensitive Bristol Bay, pledging to use the federal appropriations process to protect the region.

Speaking virtually at a convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives on Thursday, Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, said she would use spending legislation to protect Bristol Bay, home to the world’s biggest salmon run and one of its largest commercial fisheries. She is also chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“I simply think that this is the wrong mine in the wrong place,” Murkowski said. “We need longer-term protections for the region that can also provide enduring value for Alaskans.”

Murkowski submitted language in the fiscal 2020 Interior-Environment spending bill that directed the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a more rigorous environmental assessment of the project’s risks. “I plan to build on my appropriations language from last year to make sure that the Bristol bay region remains protected,” she said Thursday.

Read the full story at Roll Call

ALASKA: Murkowski denounces Pebble mine at AFN and says she will take additional steps to protect Bristol Bay

October 16, 2020 — Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Thursday denounced the Pebble mine project and said that she will take further congressional action to protect the Bristol Bay region in Southwest Alaska.

“I recognize the need for new economic development in Southwest Alaska, I think we all do,” she said in a speech before the Alaska Federation of Natives.

“But I simply think this is the wrong mine in the wrong place,” the senator said, echoing the words of the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Murkowski, speaking by video during AFN’s annual convention, said she would introduce report language into the Senate Appropriations Committee next year to help protect the region where the mine is proposed for construction.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Senator Murkowski Leads Bipartisan Call to Ensure NOAA Surveys Proceed in 2021

October 5, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

In May 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries started canceling research surveys to protect the health of its crews and personnel at sea on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. In support of coastal communities across the country who rely on these surveys as a basis for their livelihoods, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led a letter, co-signed by 18 of her Senate colleagues, calling on NOAA to identify and resolve any challenges created by COVID-19 that prevented surveys from occurring in 2020 in order to ensure surveys could be successfully executed in 2021.

“The COVID pandemic created formidable challenges for NOAA this year as the agency prepared to execute its annual research surveys. While I understand the decision to cancel this year’s surveys as a result of COVID, it is critical that NOAA Leadership begin preparing immediately for a safe and successful field season in 2021. We cannot lose another year of critical data to this pandemic. I look forward to reviewing the agency’s strategy to ensure that the data we need to properly manage our fisheries and marine resources is collected, while ensuring the safety of all federal personnel,” said Senator Murkowski.

In their letter, the Senators highlight the value of NOAA’s work to fisheries and the blue economy.

“Fishery and ecosystem research surveys are essential to support the U.S. blue economy and provide valuable fishery-independent data needed to carry out provisions of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Data collected from NOAA’s research surveys are used to manage commercial and recreational fisheries that contributed 1.74 million jobs, over $240 billion in sales, and $111 billion in gross domestic product to the U.S. economy in 2017. The economic output of U.S. fisheries is maximized by setting accurate quotas and catch limits, which depend on the long-term, fishery-independent datasets collected by NOAA’s research surveys,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators acknowledge their appreciation for NOAA’s swift, initial response to supplement lost survey data by identifying alternative data collection methods. However, they reiterate that the methods to respond to the early impacts of COVID-19 are not sufficient replacements for the typical large-scale, long-term research surveys required to sustainably manage fisheries under the MSA. In closing, the Senators request a clear, written plan for FY21 surveys before December 15, 2020.

In addition to Senator Murkowski, the letter was co-signed by U.S. Senators Doug Jones (D-AL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) , Edward Markey (D-MA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Margaret Hassan (D-NH), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jack Reed (D-RI), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Angus King (I-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Cornyn (R-TX), Christopher Coons (D-DE), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

A full copy of the letter can be found here and below.

ALASKA: New grant helps fund cold-storage facility at Anchorage airport

September 22, 2020 — Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport will be the recipient of a USD 21 million (EUR 17.9 million) federal transportation grant that will help fund a large cold-storage facility at the site, the U.S. congressional delegation from Alaska announced last Monday.

Plans for the site itself had already been announced, but the grant, which was awarded to the Alaska Energy Authority, was made public last week.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Paycheck Protection Program Deadline Extension

July 1, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation to extend the Paycheck Protection Program to August 8, 2020. The small business loan program expired yesterday, on June 30. It now needs to pass the House in order for it to be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Just last week the Department of Treasury and Small Business Administration announced a rule allowing commercial fishing businesses to account for crew member payroll when applying for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, a change that the Alaska Congressional Delegation had been seeking for weeks. While commercial fishing businesses were previously eligible for PPP loans, before June 25th they were not fully able to take advantage of the PPP due to the Department of Treasury’s previous interpretation of eligible payroll costs. Treasury issued a rule on June 25th to address this. While the fix was welcome news, this gave commercial fishing businesses just days to apply for PPP funds before the June 30 deadline.

“We’ve seen the importance of the Paycheck Protection Program to countless small businesses in Alaska. During this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, it has been helped them weather the storm,” said Senator Murkowski. “With last week’s fix to finally allow commercial fishing businesses to take full advantage of the program, this extension is absolutely necessary to give them the opportunity and time they need to apply. My hope is that the House quickly takes this legislation up so that we can give these small business owners, including our fisherman, the peace of mind they need.”

“The recent rule change enabling commercial fishermen to more fully access the Paycheck Protection Program was a big win for Alaska, but the narrow window of time left to apply—especially in the middle of fishing season for many—threatened to blunt the benefits,” said Senator Sullivan. “I thank my Senate colleagues for extending the PPP application deadline and, if this bill makes it past the House and the President’s desk, I urge all interested Alaska small businesses, including our hard-working fishermen, to apply quickly so they don’t miss out on the remaining PPP relief funds.”

Click here for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program.

US lawmakers calling for more fishery relief funding and changes in allocation

June 4, 2020 — U.S. lawmakers are continuing the call for more funding for the seafood industry, which has been battered by the COVID-19 crisis. However, the window for such funding may be closing.

States with seafood industries received a collective USD 300 million (EUR 264.2 million) in funding through the CARES Act in March, and officials from the Trump administration announced the allocation splits of those funds last month. However, even before those allocations were announced, elected officials from both parties and fishing sector leaders were saying it would not be enough to cover the damage the coronavirus has wreaked on the industry.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sen. Murkowski pushes for an additional $1 billion in federal fisheries relief funds

June 3, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

Alaska’s fishing industry was allocated $50 million in CARES Act funding in early May to ease financial losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commercial and sport fishing businesses that incur more than 35% in losses will be eligible for aid. NOAA Fisheries and The Pacific Marine Fishery Commission will evaluate each entity’s spending plan. According to NOAA, submissions and approvals will “occur on a rolling basis.”

Additional money could be on the way for the fishing industry. Senator Lisa Murkowski said that she is working to add more fisheries funding in the next round of pandemic relief legislation.

“As we think about the impact to our fisheries, $50 million is not going to be sufficient to address the need,” she said. “I have been working with colleagues to urge us in this next round of relief to include $1 billion in fishery assistance funds.”

Murkowski also wants to change language in the second rollout of funding to help individual fishermen access the Paycheck Protection Program. She says the original PPP did not accommodate fishing wages and crew payroll expenses.

“The PPP really didn’t account for the fact that so many of our businesses in Alaska are seasonal,” she said. “When you think about the fisheries in Bristol Bay that’s certainly a seasonal business. It’s the very definition of it. And so we’ve been successful in changing the definition, but now we’re working with treasury to allow for when those funds need to be paid out.”

The House of Representatives passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act May 12. The bill now moves on to the Senate. Murkowski hopes they can negotiate and address some of the shortcomings from the CARES Act.

“We moved this legislation through very, very quickly. In the matter of a couple weeks, and a couple trillion dollars in spending,” she said. “It is not unusual that we didn’t get the legislation right the first time. It’s been frustrating, I know, for many, but we remain pretty vigilant in trying to address the areas where we did not meet the mark, where we underestimated or we just — we built it wrong.”

Alaska and Washington both received most of the $300 million made available nationwide to the fishing industry. Halibut and salmon fishing are currently underway around the state, and Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery kicks off this month.