Saving Seafood

CARES Act draft spend plan for Oregon available for review

August 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

ODFW has posted a draft of the proposed spend plan for the second round of Oregon distribution of federal CARES Act fisheries relief funding at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CARES/index.asp.

Marine and coastal fishery businesses who have experienced economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to review the draft and provide input.

About $13 million is available for Oregon’s marine and coastal fishery sectors experiencing significant economic impacts from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The relief aid slated for Oregon is part of $255 million in fisheries assistance funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). ODFW is the lead State agency working with fishery participants to coordinate aid.

The spend plan details how the distribution of these relief funds will be conducted in Oregon.  The plan builds upon successful aspects of round one funding completed in January 2021, with adjustments to address identified gaps.

The plan must be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Once approved, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission will manage the application process and distribute funds.

Comments on the plan should be sent to ODFW.CARESACT@odfw.oregon.gov. Comments received by Sunday, Aug. 22 will be reviewed and considered during finalization of the spend plan.

“We want to provide one more opportunity for Oregon businesses to comment on the draft plan before we submit a final version, and also realize that some may have missed our June public meeting,” said Chris Kern, ODFW Deputy Fish Division Administrator.

A recording and materials from the June 2021 online meeting are available one the ODFW CARES Act web page.

Oregon Bill Aims to Fund Actions Supporting Fisheries, Communities in face of Changing Ocean

July 20, 2021 — Oregon is taking healthy oceans seriously. The state legislature passed House Bill 3114 in what proponents call a historic Oregon first in the fight against ocean acidification and hypoxia. It will help retain the successful sport and commercial fisheries on which coastal economies depend, proponents say.

It also shows Oregon leaders’ awareness of the importance of healthy oceans, according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oregon is an epicenter for acidification and hypoxia and was one of the first places in the world to observe direct impacts of ocean change when oyster hatchery production collapsed in 2007 from ocean acidification.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Oregon Sets New Regulations for Growing Market Squid Fishery

March 29, 2021 — While California’s market squid has dipped over the past few years, it’s hit the big time in Oregon: The state has established directed fishery regulations for the growing fishing effort for Doryteuthis opalescens.

More market squid have been showing up in Oregon waters since 2016 and fishermen followed. From the 1980s to 2015, the catch was sporadic, with the harvest off of Oregon totaling a little more than 4.5 million pounds for that entire time. The squid — and the fishermen — were most prevalent off of California.

Read the full story at Seafood News

EDF’s SmartPass program aims to bring artificial intelligence to US fisheries management

February 18, 2021 — Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is launching a new program with the aim of improving data collection and fisheries management.

The program, SmartPass, integrates shore-based cameras with artificial intelligence to get a more accurate assessment of the number of vessels fishing in a particular region, according to EDF Global Fisheries Initiatives Senior Manager Sepp Haukebo.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

OREGON: ODFW seeks nominees for Pacific fisheries council

January 21, 2021 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting nominations for a seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The deadline to request nomination materials is Feb. 19, and the three-year term begins Aug. 11.

The council manages fisheries for approximately 119 species of salmon, groundfish, coastal pelagic species (sardines, anchovies and mackerel) and highly migratory species (tunas, sharks and swordfish) off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California. It includes 14 voting members representing tribal and state fish and wildlife agencies, and private citizens knowledgeable about sport fishing, commercial fishing and/or marine conservation.

The ideal candidate would be knowledgeable about fishery resource conservation and management in marine waters off the West Coast. Specific knowledge of and experience in management issues and fisheries is important, as is a strong conservation ethic. The successful candidate also must work collectively with other council members, often making difficult decisions, to fulfill the standards set forth by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Members make a substantial time commitment to fully participate in council business and related activities.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times

SEATTLE TIMES: Sea lion culling is necessary for salmon runs

August 20, 2020 — One of the most obvious, inexpensive and beneficial ways to help endangered salmon will begin in earnest this winter.

Some of the sea lions that travel far up the Columbia River to gorge on dwindling salmon and steelhead runs will be culled by a coalition of states and tribes in the river basin.

Congress and regulators made the right call in allowing this to happen.

Sea lions may eat up to 44% of the Columbia spring chinook run and 25% of the Willamette River winter steelhead run each year, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A federal permit issued last week rightly authorizes the removal of up to 540 California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions over the next five years, though far fewer are expected to be taken.

Read the full opinion piece at The Seattle Times

Relief funds available to Oregon fishing businesses

August 10, 2020 — Financial assistance is available to Oregon fishermen and fishing-related businesses impacted by the coronavirus.

An application period for nearly $16 million in federal CARES Act funds has opened and extends through Sept. 8. The money is available to a wide range of fishing-related businesses, from small fishing vessels run by a handful of one or two people to large processing operations.

State leaders anticipate the federal funds will not be enough to address all the coronavirus impacts to the fisheries industry. They have provided an additional $2.5 million in state CARES Act relief funds.

Read the full story at The Astorian

Attention Crabbers: Whales spotted off Oregon Coast

July 8, 2020 — The following was released by the West Coast Seafood Processors Association:

Due to recent sightings of humpback whale aggregations on the inshore whale survey transects between Newport and North Bend and fishermen’s reports of humpbacks in the 25- to 50-fathom area between Seal Rock and Coos Bay, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is recommending all gear be moved to shallower water, preferably inside 25 fathoms.

Already, Oregon crab gear from this year’s fishing season was found in June on a dead juvenile humpback whale off of Point Reyes, Calif.

It is in the industry’s best interest to avoid whale entanglements.

Fishermen should also observe best practices to avoid whales, especially during these months of higher ESA-listed humpback and blue whales off Oregon. Those best practices include:

  • Removing fishing gear not actively tended;
  • Use the minimum amount of scope necessary to compensate for tides, currents and weather;
  • Remove excess lines floating at the surface;
  • Maintain gear to ensure lines and buoys are in good working condition and clearly marked;
  • Remove all crab pots from the ocean by August 14;
  • Bring derelict gear to shore in-season; and
  • Consider participating in the post-season derelict gear program.

Pacific shrimp: Biologists keep an eye on warmer water

January 31, 2020 — Oregon pink shrimp trawlers wound up with a harvest of 26.85 million pounds for their 2019 season. Those are the preliminary numbers from PacFIN, and at ex-vessel prices of 74 cents per pound, fleet revenues crunch out to $19.94 million.

As predicted, the 2019 season came in with lower production than the 2018 season, in which the fleet of 64 trawlers put in its third best season on record with 35.8 million pounds and ex-vessel revenues of $26.9 million. Ex-vessel prices averaged 68 cents per pound in 2018.

The mix of age 1 and age 2 shrimp dovetailed in the 2018 fishery and drove the number of harvestable shrimp upward. Biomass modeling had predicted a strong showing of age ones, and they came through.

This year, it was a strong representation of 2-year-olds that drove the fishery, according to Scott Groth, the pink shrimp and south coast shellfish project leader with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, in Charleston.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

West Coast Crab Managers Delay Primary Dungeness Season Again

December 10, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — State fishery managers confirmed Friday the primary Dungeness crab season will be delayed until after Christmas in Washington, Oregon and California due to spotty meat quality. The delay will last until at least Dec. 31.

Some areas showed improvement in the last month to meet season-opening criteria of either 23 or 25 percent, depending on the area. However, too many areas in between the improved areas were still below the thresholds and managers decided to delay the season from the U.S./Canadian border to Point Arena, Calif., again to let the crab fill out more.

The third round of meat recovery testing will be conducted sometime in mid–December, targeting completion by Dec. 20. The results will determine if the season should open Dec. 31, be further delayed or be split into separate areas with different opening dates.

Industry members in all three states generally agreed with the decision, choosing to wait in the hopes the whole coast can open at once. The delay will also ensure consumers get the best and fullest crab available with the season does open.

But not everyone was happy with the decision. Some fishermen were counting on a big payday in December to cover bills. Other fishermen simply wanted to access full, healthy crab after seasons in which some ports had to wait while domoic acid levels dropped or the crab became fuller.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said last year’s delayed crab season opening still brought in the second-highest ex-vessel value ever, $66.7 million, with 18.7 million pounds landed, just above the 10-year average.

In central California, crabbers are getting anxious to drop their gear. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton Bonham in late November delayed the season until mid-December after a survey showed 49 humpback and four blue whales in the area. A subsequent survey on Dec. 3 showed four humpback whales and one blue whale present in the same survey area.

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