Saving Seafood

Chris Oliver Supported by Industry to Lead NOAA Fisheries

January 25, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — An industry letter signed by more than 50 companies and fisheries groups to Vice President Pence and Secretary of Commerce nominee Wilbur Ross, urges the appointment of Chris Oliver to the post of Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

Oliver is the executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, a position he has held for 16 years. Prior to that, he worked as staff for the council for another ten years.

The letter, which is signed by most major processors and industry organizations from Unalaska to southern California, national groups such as National Fisheries Institute, and recreational users of the marine resource, points out that NOAA Fisheries oversees a marine economy of $214 billion in sales that supports 1.83 million jobs.

“However,  the industry faces tremendous pressure from overseas competition — 90 percent of the seafood we consume is imported and our country has a trade deficit of $13.2 billion (mostly with China.),” the letter says.

“We need a leader of NOAA Fisheries who is committed to the economic productivity of American waters, and we are confident that Mr. Oliver is the right choice.”

The letter notes Oliver’s experience over three decades “promoting economic prosperity in our nation’s largest and most productive fishery” and “balancing competing interests among communities, fishing sectors, and environmentalist to become the most sustainably managed and productive fishery in the world” makes him uniquely well qualified to hold the post.

Oliver has worked closely with all eight regional councils through the Council Coordination Committee, successfully building consensus on controversial issues that restrict efficient fishing practices in the industry.

“Chris Oliver understands the regulatory framework of U.S. fisheries,” the letter’s authors say. “He supports easing regulatory burdens” while supporting conservation practices for long-term sustainability.

His advocacy for streamlining the rule-making process and decentralizing fisheries management are key recommendations for his appointment to the post.

Oliver has experience working with international groups to resolve fisheries issues and promote research initiatives. A native of Texas, he also has a track record of working closely with the recreational sector, and successfully balanced both sectors need when he worked with the council on the halibut catch sharing plan in Alaska.

There are also reports of other candidates from other regions who may not have the same level of experience with the commercially important fisheries.   The signers make clear that Oliver is a consensus choice that would unite the US seafood industry.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Cook Inlet Fishermen Tell N. Pacific Council They Have Lost Faith in Alaska’s Salmon Management

October 18th, 2016 — Concerned fishermen gathered at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s October meeting in Anchorage to discuss a recent federal court decision that turns control of salmon fisheries in Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and the Alaska Peninsula over to state management.

Though stakeholders brought their suggestions, the council did not direct its staff to any action related to the subject of a salmon FMP. Instead, the council reiterated that the decision will be remanded back to the lower court where it could either be appealed or produce a directive for the council to write a salmon FMP.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council governs federal fisheries, which take place from three to 200 miles offshore.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

NPFMC October 2016 Agenda

September 2, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Council meets the week of October 3, 2016 at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska.

The AGENDA and SCHEDULE are now available. Alaska Airlines offers Travel Discounts to the meetings. Documents will be posted through the links on the Agenda. The deadline for public comments is 5:00 PM (AST) Tuesday, September 27, 2016.

Submit comments to npfmc.comments@noaa.gov

AL BURCH: Governor should recognize value of Alaska groundfish industry

July 25, 2016 — My brother and I were some of the pioneers of the trawl fishery here in Kodiak. We started from scratch when the United States claimed a 200-mile zone. I remember the foreign fleets off our shores, and once they were replaced by U.S. vessels like ours, I remember how the trawl fishery for pollock and cod helped put the town back on its feet after the collapse of the crab and shrimp fisheries in the late 1970s. I am proud of the fact that the fishery I helped pioneer now supports a year-round fishing economy here in Kodiak.

Although I am retired now, I continue to follow how the fishery is run. And I am concerned.

In the past, when we were struggling to build the fishery, the state of Alaska was on our side. We worked hard together to build a fishery that was managed by scientific principles and research, with no overfishing. We pioneered putting observers on U.S. vessels, and unlike a lot of other fisheries here in Alaska we have had observers for roughly 30 years. We worked alongside the state and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to meet conservation and management challenges together, to ensure practical solutions that ensured an economically sustainable fishery for Kodiak and other Alaska coastal towns.

But now it seems that the state of Alaska is not concerned about the impacts of its decisions on the hard-working participants in this fishery and communities like mine that are dependent on groundfish.

Read the full opinion piece at Alaska Dispatch News

U.S. Commerce Department announces 2016 regional fishery council appointments

June 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The U.S. Commerce Department today announced the appointment of 19 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. One at-large seat on the Mid-Atlantic Council will be announced by the Secretary at a later date. The new and reappointed council members begin their three-year terms on August 11.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act established the councils to prepare fishery management plans for their regions. NOAA Fisheries works closely with the councils through this process and then reviews, approves and implements the plans. Council members represent diverse groups, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental organizations and academia. They are vital to fulfilling the act’s requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks and manage them sustainably.

“U.S. fisheries are among the most sustainable in the world, and NOAA Fisheries is grateful for the efforts these individuals devote to our nation’s fisheries management and to the resiliency of our oceans. We look forward to working with both new and returning council members,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Each council faces unique challenges, and their partnership with NOAA Fisheries is integral to the sustainability of the fisheries in their respective regions, as well as to the communities that rely on those fisheries.”

Each year, the Secretary of Commerce appoints approximately one-third of the total 72 appointed members to the eight regional councils. The Secretary selects members from nominations submitted by the governors of fishing states, territories and tribal governments.

Read the full release and list of council appointments

NPFMC Newsletter June 2016

June 21, 2016 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Council Newsletter is now available online. Documents, handouts, and motions are still available through links on that meeting’s Agenda.

Our next scheduled meeting will be in Anchorage, Alaska the week of October 3, 2016 at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel.

Fisheries scientists plan for a changing Bering Sea

February 21, 2016 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council heard a draft plan for addressing climate change in the eastern Bering Sea earlier this month.

The plan was put together by scientists at the Seattle-based Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which is part of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Mike Sigler, program leader for the habitat and ecological processes research program at the science center, said the plan pulls together work that scientists there are already doing, and research they’d like to undertake.

“We have a clear understanding of species like walleye pollock, northern rock sole, red king crab, what will happen to them, and we can make quantitative forecasts of where they’re going. They’re not completely certain, but we have some good ideas of ecological processes,” Sigler said. “But then, we don’t have such good understanding for other species, like yellowfin sole, and we’re making a qualitative assessment of their vulnerability to climate.”

Eventually, the group wants to provide fisheries managers, like the North Pacific council, with a better look at what might be coming in 10 years — or even further down the road. One of the first parts of the plan is just putting together that qualitative assessment for more than a dozen species, which he expects to happen this year.

Read the full story from Alaska Dispatch News

 

FDA: only Alaska pollock is ‘Alaska pollock’

January 21, 2016 — Alaska pollock is having a good 2016 so far, with boosted quotas, favorable certifications, and a federal rule that will give Alaska an edge over Russia.

“I have long fought to resolve this issue, and I am thrilled that this change has been made to protect both our fisheries and consumers,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a statement. “Alaska is the gold standard of fish management. It is disingenuous and harmful to our fishing industry for Russian-harvested pollock to be passed off as Alaskan. Now consumers can be confident that pollock labeled as ‘Alaskan’ is caught only in our state’s healthy, sustainable waters.

Pollock is the largest fishery in the U.S., producing 2.9 billions pounds and accounting for 11 percent of U.S. seafood intake. In the North Pacific management region, pollock accounted for $406 million worth of landings.

The pollock season began Jan. 20 with an increased quota of 1.34 million metric tons, thanks to a December 2015 North Pacific Fishery Management Council aimed at curbing halibut bycatch in other groundfish sectors. This is 30,000 metric tons more than the year before.

Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce