Saving Seafood

Surface Trawl Survey Reveals Shifting Fish Populations

November 23, 2021 — Researchers are predicting low fish runs in the Norton Sound and Northern Bering Sea region again next year, according to research biologist Jim Murphy.

Murphy, who works with the Salmon Ocean Ecology and Bycatch Analysis Group at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau, presented the findings of the recent 2021 surface trawl survey during a Strait Science event. The survey, which tracks marine life across the surface and midlevel of the northern Bering Strait, was conducted in September this year. Researchers studied salmon, seabirds, shrimp, zooplankton and several other marine species.

The surface trawl survey has been conducted every year for almost two decades, and Murphy says when the survey is conducted is crucial. “The timing of the survey was established at the beginning to match the timing of marine entry and dispersal of juvenile salmon from estuarine habitats, and we’ve attempted to keep the timing of the survey as consistent as possible.”

Though the primary purpose of the surface trawl is to track pelagic fish, or species found in the middle and upper water columns, and invertebrate populations, researchers also collect zooplankton and sediments, as well as bottom-dwelling fish, crab and invertebrates.

Read the full story at Seafood News

ALASKA: 2019 Norton Sound crab fishery gets disaster status

July 6, 2021 — The 2019 Norton Sound red king crab fishery has been determined by Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo to qualify for disaster status.

Positive determinations make this and other fisheries eligible for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They may also qualify for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration.

Raimondo worked with NOAA Fisheries to evaluate the fishery in the Nome area. A declared fishery disaster must meet specific requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act or the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. For example, there must be commercial fishery economic impacts and declines in fishery access or biomass resulting from specific allowable causes due to the fishery disaster event.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times

ALASKA: Northern Bering Sea trawl survey shows fisheries in flux

November 19, 2019 — Norton Sound red king crab are moving, Arctic cod numbers have dropped significantly and Pacific cod are continuing to increase as the Northern Bering Sea ecosystem undergoes drastic change. That’s all according to preliminary results from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration trawl survey this summer in the Northern Bering Sea (NBS).

Before Lyle Britt even began leading the NOAA Fisheries’ study of the NBS in September, he anticipated seeing more warm water fish in a region that stretches from Nunivak Island north to the Bering Strait.

“We can tell that the ecosystem is very much in flux up here,” Britt said. “We’re seeing expansion of ranges of some fish and invertebrates, and we’re seeing the retraction of others. Now how permanent or ephemeral those are, I think is still in question.”

As an example of a species that’s expanding its range based on what was discovered in the 2010 baseline survey of the Northern Bering Sea, Britt points to Pacific cod.

“Between 2010 and 2017 there was about a 900% increase in the amount of Pacific cod we saw in the Northern Bering Sea region, based on that biomass or total weight estimate,” he said. “That number sounds really dramatic in part because there were so few in 2010 and now there are some. That number increased between 2017 and 2019 by about 30%, so it’s continued to go up.”

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Protects Crab and Salmon from Mining Operations in Alaska

May 23, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently released for public comment a General Permit for Floating Mining Operations in Alaska State Navigable Waters, including marine waters. The permit includes new measures to protect red king crab and salmon which migrate through Norton Sound and into rivers to spawn. NOAA Fisheries reviews public notices and offers expertise to the USACE for the conservation of living marine resources.

Floating mining operations use a dredge in nearshore waters to ‘vacuum’ up gravel and sand substrates which are then sifted to retain gold. The new protections restrict mining operations during certain spring and summer months when juvenile red king crab settle to the seafloor. Mining operations will also be restricted in waters deeper than 30 feet and within one nautical mile of stream mouths to avoid areas where salmon concentrate.

An Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation with NOAA Fisheries is required whenever a federal agency authorizes, funds, or undertakes activities in an area that will affect EFH. Together, the agency and NOAA determine how best to conduct the coastal activity while supporting fish habitat and minimizing or avoiding environmental damage. The science conducted through this consultation helped USACE make management decisions; balancing mining and fishery interests in the Norton Sound.

In recent years, researchers and scientists from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center used regular baseline sampling, analysis, monitoring, and new side-scan sonars technologies to inform studies on the benthic environment and red king crab in Norton Sound. Results showed that habitats deeper than 30 feet of water take more time to recover, while shallower habitats are routinely disturbed by natural events and recover quickly. Surveys also showed that crab larvae settle in nearshore substrates. These findings were used to better inform managers with the most recent science for the EFH consultation process.

NOAA Fisheries has provided USACE with EFH conservation recommendations relating to suction dredging operations in Norton Sound since 1999.

Read the full release here

ALASKA: Heavy nets, and wallets, for Bristol Bay and Norton Sound fishermen

September 28, 2018 — Despite poor salmon runs dominating the news across the Gulf of Alaska, fishermen in Bristol Bay and western Alaska brought home heavy nets and wallets this year.

Salmon runs in Bristol Bay and Norton Sound arrived in force and smashed records — again. It’s the second year in a row that runs have come in exceptionally large in the two areas.

Bristol Bay measured an inshore run of 62.3 million sockeye, the largest run since 1893 and more than 69 percent greater than the 20-year average run of 36.9 million. It’s the fourth year in a row that Bristol Bay inshore runs have topped 50 million, and this year came in far above the preseason forecast of 51.3 million fish.

Set and drift gillnet fishermen brought in a total harvest of 41.3 million, the second-highest harvest on record, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s year-end season summary for the area. On top of that, prices stayed significantly higher than usual as the supply flooded the market, bringing in a record ex-vessel value for the area as well— more than double what fishermen have made in the history of the fishery.

The preliminary ex-vessel value of $281 million is more than 242 percent above the 20-year average of $116 million, and 39 percent above the previous record of $202 million, set in 1990.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce

Early salmon prices point to good paydays across Alaska

August 1, 2018 — Salmon prices are starting to trickle in as more sales are firmed up by local buyers, and early signs point to good paydays across the board.

At Bristol Bay last week, Trident, Ocean Beauty and Togiak Seafoods posted a base price of $1.25 a pound for sockeyes, according to KDLG in Dillingham. Trident also was paying a 15 cent bonus for reds that are chilled and bled, and the others may follow suit.

Copper River Seafoods raised its sockeye price from $1.30 to $1.70 for fish that is chilled/bled and sorted.  That company also reportedly is paying 80 cents a pound for coho salmon and 45 cents for chums and pinks.

The average base price last year for Bristol Bay sockeyes was $1.02 a pound, 65 cents for cohos, 30 cents for chums and 18 cents a pound for pinks.
Kodiak advances were reported at $1.60 for sockeyes, 55 cents for chums and 40 cents for pinks. That compares to average prices of $1.38 for sockeyes, 40 cents for chums and 31 cents for Kodiak pinks in 2017.

At Prince William Sound a sockeye base price was reported at $1.95 and chums at 95 cents.

At Norton Sound the single buyer was advancing 80 cents a pound for chums and $1.40 for cohos, same as last year, and 25 cents for pinks, an increase of 22 cents.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Reduced catch brings record prices for crab

March 10, 2017 — Alaska crabbers are hauling back pots from the Panhandle to the Bering Sea, and reduced catches are resulting in record prices for their efforts.

The year’s first red king crab fishery at Norton Sound has yielded 17,000 pounds so far of its nearly 40,000 pound winter quota for more than 50 local fishermen. The crab, which are taken through the ice near Nome, are paying out at a record $7.75 a pound. A summer opener will produce a combined catch of nearly half a million pounds for the region.

Red king crab from Bristol Bay also yielded the highest price ever for fishermen, averaging $10.89 per pound. That catch quota of eight million pounds was down 15 percent from the previous season.

The Bering Sea snow crab fleet has taken 80 percent of its 19 million pound quota, down by nearly half from last year. That’s pushed market prices through the roof, topping $8.30 a pound at wholesale in both the US and Japan, compared to over $5.50 per pound a year ago.

Alaska produces only about 10 percent of the world’s snow crab, with most of the pack by far coming from Eastern Canada, followed by Russia.  On the snow crab menu front – McDonald’s has begun testing a new snow crab sandwich in several San Francisco Bay locations. If it’s a hit, the sandwich could advance to nearly 250 outlets this year.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times