Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Increase in observer fees has people in the fishing industry questioning how their dollars are being spent

November 11, 2019 — In Kodiak’s Dog Bay harbor Jake Everich is puttering around the galley of his trawler, the Alaskan. He bought his boat in March to fish for rockfish and pollock around the Gulf of Alaska. It’s just under 75 feet — a relatively small operation.

Everich is among the fishermen affected by a recent decision from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to increase observer fees from 1.25 to 1.65 percent of their catch value. When he sits down at the little galley table with his cup of coffee, he doesn’t seem worried the fee hike will put him under.

“I would say for my own business, no, it’s not that tight that,” he said. “You know, 0.4 percent isn’t gonna put me into bankruptcy.”

He’s clear that he doesn’t speak for all vessel owners when he says that. In an average season Everich’s gross is about half a million dollars, so the bump to observer fees means an extra $20,000 out of his profit margin.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

NPFMC December Meeting – Anchorage

November 5, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Council will meet December 2-10, 2019 at  the Hilton Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska. The meeting Agenda, schedule and a list of documents for review are posted and will be updated as items are available.

Other meeting information can be found on the Upcoming Meetings webpage.

REMINDERS

For attendees presenting during public comment, or for other presenters, the Council will be uploading presentations in advance to a single, shared, computer.  Please contact a staff person and have your presentation ready to be uploaded before the agenda item is scheduled.

The Council is accepting nominations for the AP and SSC. Nominations, letters of interest, and a resume should be submitted to the Executive Director through our comment portal by November 29th at 12pm Alaska time.

Public comments on all agenda items will be accepted until 12pm (Alaska time) on Friday, November 29, 2019.

NPFMC October Newsletter

October 15, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Council met in Homer AK, from September 30- October 10. Our digital newsletter is published! For those interested, all the articles on one page to print is available here, and the three meeting outlook here.  As always, you can access all other meeting information through the Agenda.

The Council is accepting nominations for its Scientific and Statistical Committee and its Advisory Panel. Nominations, letters of interest, and a resume should be submitted to the Executive Director through our comment portal by November 29th at 12pm Alaska time.

Read the full release here

Alaska fishermen push for changes to how managers deal with bycatch

October 9, 2019 — Halibut catches fluctuate based on the ups and downs of the stock from California to the farthest reaches of the Bering Sea. If the numbers decline, so do the catches of commercial and sport fishermen.

But similar reductions don’t apply to the boats taking millions of pounds of halibut as bycatch in other fisheries.

In the Bering Sea, for example, there is a fixed cap totaling 7.73 million pounds of halibut allowed to be taken as bycatch for trawlers, longliners and pot boats targeting groundfish, with most going to trawlers. The cap stays the same, regardless of changes in the halibut stock. Much of the bycatch gets tossed over the side, dead or alive, as required by federal law.

Stakeholders are saying it is time for that to change.

This month, after four years of analyses and deliberation, managers are moving toward a new “abundance based” management plan that would tie bycatch levels to the health of the halibut stock as determined by annual surveys.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Homer meeting will break new ground for North Pacific council

September 27, 2019 — From Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, the Spit will be aswarm with attendees of the next North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting. The 15-member council oversees more than 25 stocks in waters from three to 200 miles offshore, the source of most of Alaska’s fish volumes.

The region’s council meeting locations rotate, but it hasn’t met in Homer for more than 35 years.

“The council certainly is interested in engaging more stakeholders, particularly from rural and Alaska Native communities. And by going to more coastal communities, it allows them more opportunity for input into the process,” said Dave Witherell, council executive director, adding that in recent years the council has expanded beyond Kodiak, Juneau and Sitka to convene in Nome and Dutch Harbor.

At Homer, following the lead of the state Board of Fisheries, a first ever Intro to the Council Process workshop will be held to make the policy process less daunting. Witherell said that came at the suggestion of the council’s local engagement committee, created in 2018.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Adak Based Fish Processor Fears for Future Without Restored Cod Allocations in 2020

September 27, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In 2016, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council enacted amendment 113 as a way to give onshore fish processors in Western Aleutian communities like Adak and Atka a fighting chance. AM113 carves out a portion of 5,000 metric tons of Pacific cod to be delivered to these facilities as part of an effort to prevent fish factory “motherships” from taking in the bulk of the harvest for processing.

In Adak, Golden Harvest Seafood is one of the processors that depends on cod deliveries to maintain is operations. The company currently has an arrangement with Costco, providing fresh Alaska-caught seafood to its stores.

But the amendment designed to protect these smaller processors isn’t without opposition from large processors, such as the Groundfish Forum, a trade organization representing five companies operating 19 trawl catcher-processor vessels in the region.

Initially, the Groundfish Forum and the Katie Ann LLC, United Catcher Boats & B&N Fisheries filed legal complaints over AM113. Washington D.C. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly Judge ruled against amendment 113, citing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a set of federal rules that are meant to encourage the sustainable and optimal exploitation of U.S. coastal fisheries.

The City of Adak, the Aleut Corporation and several other parties of interest have appealed the ruling. B&N Fisheries has subsequently dropped from the lawsuit.

The judge’s decision has caused some to call the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s ability to protect Alaska communities into question.

Meanwhile, affected communities are looking for some relief from the federal government over the potential revenues that were lost when AM113 was struck down.

Steve Minor, a spokesman for Golden Harvest Seafood, told KTUU on Monday that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce has denied a petition requesting emergency action regarding the cod allocation at the start of the new year. The petition asked for relief from January 20 through March 15, 2020 on the grounds of recent and unforeseen events and the time needed to process said petition.

According to the petition, the events listed below qualify as “recent and unforeseen” circumstances that form the basis of the request:

“Event 1: On March 21, 2019 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion that vacated Amendment 113 to the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands Groundfish FMP, and remanded the Amendment to the Service (NMFS) for reconsideration consistent with the opinion.

Event 2: In January, 2019 the Aleutian Islands CV Trawl Pacific cod fishery nearly closed before the fishery ever began because of the race for fish in the Bering Sea.”

Golden Harvest Seafood has invested millions in the processing operations on Adak, becoming the primary employer in a community that sees anywhere from 50 to 200 residents depending on the time of year. Locals are concerned that the plant’s closure would result in the closing of the local school, which currently serves less than 20 students.

KTUU has reached out to multiple members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council seeking comment on its stance on AM113, as well as the council’s interest and ability to continue seeking assistance for Western Aleutian fish processors. At the time of this article’s publishing publishing, we are still awaiting an official response.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets next week in Homer

September 25, 2019 — Federal stewards of Alaska’s fisheries will meet in Homer for the first time since 1983 as they continue their pursuit of involving more people in policy making.

From Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, the Spit will be aswarm with entourages of the 15-member North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees more than 25 stocks in waters from 3 to 200 miles offshore, the source of most of Alaska’s fish volumes.

The NPFMC is one of eight regional councils established by the Magnuson-(Ted) Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976 that booted foreign fleets to waters beyond 200 miles and “Americanized” the Bering Sea fisheries.

“The council certainly is interested in engaging more stakeholders, particularly from rural and Alaska Native communities, and by going to more coastal communities, it allows them more opportunity for input into the process,” said Dave Witherell, council executive director, who added that in recent years the council has expanded beyond Kodiak, Juneau and Sitka to convene in Nome and Dutch Harbor.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

NPFMC meets in Homer September 30 – October 9

September 10, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Homer for the first time since July 1983, when Homer-area resident Clem Tillion was then serving as Council chairman. The Council will be in Homer again September 30 through October 9, 2019. Fishery managers, commercial and recreational fishermen, fishing families, and other local and regional stakeholders are all encouraged to attend.

The Council agenda includes an evaluation of modifying halibut bycatch limits in the Bering Sea to take into account halibut abundance, a final action on a proposal to change observer fees for partial coverage fisheries, discussion of potential changes to the Bering Sea cod fisheries, and development of salmon management for the portion of the Cook Inlet fishery access and management that occurs in Federal waters. “We’re excited for the Council back to meet in Homer and to hear directly from the local fishermen and stakeholders that have an interest in Federal fisheries.” – Simon Kinneen, Council Chair.

Read a short summary of each agenda item here.

The Council will be holding its first “Introduction to the Council process” workshop on Tuesday, October 1 from 5:30 – 7pm at the Best Western. “We are reaching out to stakeholders who may not normally have a chance to attend a Council meeting, to provide an opportunity to learn about the process, and how to participate effectively,” notes David Witherell, Executive Director. The Council introductory workshop will also offer a brief outline of what topics are on the agenda so participants can gauge how they might be of interest.

Local stakeholders may also be interested in some of the Council committees that are meeting this week. Monday September 30, from 9-5 at the Best Western, the Council’s Cook Inlet Salmon Committee will be informally discussing progress on federal management of the salmon fishery in the EEZ of Cook Inlet. The Council’s Community Engagement Committee will be meeting Tuesday, October 1 from 8-5 at the Land’s End to develop strategies to improve the Council’s engagement with rural and Alaska Native communities. NMFS is also hosting a Recreational Fishery Roundtable Wednesday, October 2 from 5:30 – 7pm at the Best Western.

All of the Council’s meetings are public, with the exception of executive session. Local input is important and can provide critical insight from those ‘on the water’ who are affected by the Council’s actions. The Council’s meetings and presentations are broadcast through a link on the webpage (www.npfmc.org) and public comment is accepted for every meeting ahead of time through the electronic meeting portal: meetings.npfmc.org. That same meeting portal includes all details, documents and related materials for every meeting.

New Bering Sea management plan to incorporate local and traditional knowledge

July 23, 2019 — For the first time in its more than forty-year history, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) will incorporate Traditional Knowledge from local communities into its core management plans for the Bering Sea region. Many believe Local and Traditional Knowledge will help the council better manage the complex ecosystem and bring new light to regional issues—such as the changing climate. KNOM’s JoJo Phillips reports:

The NPFMC has developed a new model, the Core Bering Sea Fisheries Ecosystem Plan, consisting of five strategic modules. Work has already begun on two of them: evaluating the impacts of climate change on fish species and beginning to use Traditional Knowledge in management of the region.

The NPFMC is one of eight councils in the United States responsible for managing the nation’s coastal fisheries, established when Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1976.

According to NOAA spokesperson Julie Speegle, the National Marine Fishing Service and the Council quote, “work together to get the most out of our fisheries for food and economic well-being.”

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

NPFMC October Meeting Information/Call for Nominations

July 1, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The October Council meeting will be in Homer, AK at the Land’s End Hotel, September 30th to October 9th.  For planning purposes, we are releasing a preliminary agenda and schedule which will be finalized in early September.  Please be aware the Advisory Panel will start on TUESDAY OCTOBER 1, and the Council will begin on THURSDAY OCTOBER 3.  Because of logistics, changes may occur with the scheduling of agenda items.  Please call (907) 271-2809 if you have questions.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Council is seeking nominations for membership for two taskforces to work on two Action Modules, or projects, that implement the Council’s Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP). The two initiated Action Modules are the following:

  • Climate Change Action Module: Evaluate short- and long-term effects of climate change on fish, fisheries, and the Bering Sea ecosystem, and develop management considerations.
  • LK/TK/Subsistence Action Module: Develop protocols for using local knowledge (LK) and traditional knowledge (TK) in management, and understanding impacts of Council decisions on subsistence use.

More information on the nominations HERE.