Saving Seafood

Alaska’s northern rock sole another climate change winner

December 3, 2019 — Count Alaska’s northern rock sole among the fish species that appear to have more promise as water temperatures continue to increase as a result of climate change, Alaska TV station KTUU reports.

Using biomass data collected from 1982 through 2014 as well as wind and temperature data, Dan Cooper, a fish biologist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and his team have determined that the flatfish species has higher reproductive success in warmer years, according to the NBC affiliate.

Though its females grow to a size of up to 27 inches in length and males up to 19 inches, northern rock sole is harvested significantly less than pollock and Pacific cod, in Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set the acceptable biological catch for the fish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands at 143,000 metric tons for 2020, yet in 2018 only 60% of the total allowable catch was harvested, the news service noted.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ALASKA: US Gulf of Alaska cod harvesters running out of time

November 29, 2019 — The North Pacific Marine Fisheries Council is reviewing the state of the Pacific cod population in the Gulf of Alaska and most likely will announce that the fishery is being shut down in just a few weeks, advises Alaska Public Media in a recent article.

The cod, a major driver of Kodiak, Alaska’s winter economy, are now below the federal threshold that protects cod as a food source for endangered Stellar sea lions, and don’t look ready to bounce back any time soon.

From their last peak in 2014, at 113,830 metric tons, the level of mature, spawning cod have lost more than half their number in the gulf, according to stock assessment data noted by the news service. The fishery had 46,080t in 2017.

The article blames the beginning of the decline heavily on the emergence of “the blob,” a massive marine heatwave across the Pacific that caused surface ocean temperatures to rise 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit between 2014 and 2016.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ALASKA: Warmer Bering Sea may benefit an Alaskan flatfish

November 27, 2019 — While the repercussions of climate change are complex and many impacts are unknown, newly published research suggests that one winner in a shifting environment is Alaska’s Northern rock sole.

The Northern rock sole is a flatfish that is commercially harvested, although it is fished significantly less than Pollock and Pacific cod.

Females grow up to 27 inches, while makes grow up to around 19 inches. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council set the acceptable biological catch for the fish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands at 143,000 metric tons for 2020, yet in 2018 only 60% of the total allowable catch was harvested.

Research by NOAA Fisheries biologists suggest that the fish have higher reproductive success in warmer years, meaning that a higher percentage of eggs laid will grow to become part of the catch-able population.

The investigation started after surveys of juvenile showed dramatically different results in the same location.

“One year we went in this area between Nunivak Island and Cape Newenham offshore and we found very high densities of the animals. We estimated that there were billions and that was in 2003 – a warm year,” said Dan Cooper, a research fisheries biologist with NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

He said it’s the opposite in cold years.

Read the full story at KTUU

ALASKA: City of Adak Asks Court for One-Year Stay to Keep Plant Open for Cod A Season

November 19, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Last week the city of Adak asked a federal court to stay their order from last March — until January 1, 2021 — so the city’s only processing plant can operate during the Pacific cod season next year.

The March 2019 court decision agreed with plaintiffs representing the Bering Sea bottom trawl fleets that target flatfish, mackerel and cod, that Amendment 113, setting a 5,000 mt cod set-aside for remote villages in the Aleutian Islands, was not compliant with the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The court vacated Amendment 113 and instructed the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to work on an amendment that would comply with the legislation in specific areas.

The Council took up the issue, beginning an arduous process of analysis, developing alternatives, and public comment that will take at least another 18 months.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Adak plant, central to the economy of the 350-resident community, began an ambitious effort to find a pathway that would allow the set-aside to continue while the Council worked on corrections to a new amendment. But their efforts fell short, whether it was a plea for emergency action or language in new federal legislation for a temporary fix, last summer.

Even though the Council asked industry sectors to work together for a solution that could keep the Adak plant viable, there was no longer any authority providing a separate allocation for Adak, and little incentive to find an industry-based workaround.

In addition, all fleets targeting Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands were well aware of the recent situation for cod stocks. Recent scientific assessments indicate the biomass is increasing in the northern Bering Sea and decreasing in traditional areas. Was the biomass moving north? How fast? Could the fish be crossing over to Russian waters? The ‘race for fish’ nature of the BSAI fishery made even the previously acceptable 5,000 mt set-aside — now vacated and available to anyone — more valuable than it was a few years ago.

Last Wednesday’s Memorandum in Support of Defendant-Intervenors’ Motion for Limited Relief From Judgment and Indicative Ruling included declarations of support from Adak as well as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Golden Harvest plant owner Jason Ogilvie, the Adak School District, and other private enterprises that rely on the winter operations of the plant.

City Manager Lyle Lockett noted that without continuous operation of its sole fish processing plant, Adak will see cascading economic impacts causing irrepairable harm to the community, including the city stopping subsidies to the school district, the medical clinic, the library, the gymnasium, and the community center.
“Shutting down the City Hall building would force all of these services to scramble to find a new location on the island, perhaps in private residences, which would be disruptive and likely expensive for Adak’s residents,” according to the memorandum.

Adak’s only school serves 19 students, 13 whose parents are employed directly or indirectly through the Adak plant. If enrollment drops to 10 or less, the state of Alaska’s subsidies stops and the school shuts down.

Both the crab and cod fleets that deliver to Adak would have no option other than Dutch Harbor to deliver their catch to — a 450-mile one-way trip.

The request asks the court to respond by January 10, 2020, ten days before the A season begins next year.  The motion supporting the stay was filed while the original decision is under appeal, and would be subject to that ruling if it came before.

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

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.

ALASKA: North Pacific Council Takes Up Amendment 113; Adak Cod Fishery Still Uncertain

October 29, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Earlier this month, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council asked for more information on ways Pacific cod could be managed for the community of Adak and its seafood processing plant, which represents about half of the town’s economy.

Amendment 113 to the Magnuson-Stevens Act was rescinded by a federal judge as a result of a lawsuit brought on by representatives of the largely Seattle-based trawl fleet. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs that the Amendment was poorly worded and encouraged the Council to make changes to comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and several of its National Standards.

The unanimous motion began the process by calling for a discussion paper “on management options available to promote conservation of [Aleutian Islands] AI Pacific cod and the sustained participation of AI fishing communities.”

The Council wants “an update to the June 2019 discussion paper, including changes to BSAI Amendment 113 to include the modifications approved by the Council in December 2018” as well as an update on the status of the Amendment 113 litigation, and a discussion of how Amendment 113 addresses the MSA’s National Standards, a point in the judges decision that has been contested by the government. The council also directed staff to submit “a thorough examination of options available under MSA 303A for Limited Access Privilege Programs and outside of 303A to meet these objectives.”

Steven Minor, a spokesperson for the Adak plant Golden Harvest Alaska, said the day after the vote, “Yesterday the Council took action to begin the process of restoring Amendment 113.

“We expect the Discussion Paper outlined in the Motion to be brought back at the December Council meeting. If the Council continues to give Amendment 113 priority, we believe that the Discussion Paper will lead to an expedited process similar to the current Mothership package, which could result in A113 being reimplemented by the 2021 season.”

The Mothership package is one of now two issues the Council is currently addressing about cod in the Bering Sea. The other is the BSAI Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel cooperative style-limited access privilege program. The stranded cod in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea was dropped from further discussion.

Opposition to providing the same protections to Adak as the rescinded AM113 does has changed, with two former plaintiffs now dropping their objections. But opposition remains on at least one front: there is less Pacific cod in the eastern Bering Sea than before, and any apportionment from any management program, regardless of who for or where they are located, should reflect that. AM113 set aside 5,000 mt of Pacific cod for Adak when certain conditions were met.

The current owners of the Adak plant have invested millions of dollars in the facility, equipment, and community infrastructure. It was sorely needed over the years when the plant went through a list of owners that included major seafood companies and cooperative entities created by fishermen themselves.

Now they are facing an uncertain future with the fishery starting early next year.  The Council meets next December 2-10, 2019 in Anchorage.

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

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