Saving Seafood

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.

Oregon Receives Authorization to Remove California Sea Lions Preying on Imperiled Fish at Willamette Falls

October 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

California sea lions documented as repeatedly preying on threatened salmon and steelhead near Willamette Falls on the Willamette River can be removed and euthanized, under authorization NOAA Fisheries granted to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) yesterday.

The authorization is one element of ongoing efforts by ODFW, NOAA Fisheries, tribes, and many local and watershed groups to protect and recover threatened upper Willamette River steelhead and upper Willamette River Chinook salmon, which are also affected by a variety of factors, including dams, habitat loss, and other predators.

“This is an action we believe is urgently necessary to protect these highly vulnerable fish populations. It is a choice we wish we did not have to make, but at this point it is a necessary step to improve survival of these fish that we all want to see recover,” said Chris Yates, Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources in NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “The science tells us that the sooner we act to reduce predation, the better we will protect the fish and the fewer sea lions that would have to be removed in the long run.”

ODFW applied to NOAA Fisheries in October 2017 for authorization to remove individually identifiable California sea lions that are having a significant negative impact on salmon and steelhead that migrate up the Willamette River past Willamette Falls. Under the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries convened a task force of representatives from federal and state agencies, tribes, and conservation and fishing organizations to review the application.

Read the full release here

New Area 2A Halibut Season-Setting Process Begins in September

July 19, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Pacific Fishery Management Council, in an effort to reach out to non-Indian commercial fishermen, is requesting public comment on structuring the Area 2A (West Coast) commercial halibut fishery for the upcoming year at the September and November Council meetings.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also plans to hold public meetings to discuss the issue.

The process is part of the transition from International Pacific Halibut Commission management to the Council.

In June, the Council committed to working closely with the IPHC and stakeholders on the transition, according to a Council press release. The Council will focus on a smooth transfer of management authority for the commercial directed fishery, and will rely on the IPHC to continue to issue licenses for this fishery in the near-term. The Council intends to maintain the current management structure, but may consider changes to vessel poundage limits and open periods.

At its September and November 2019 meetings, when the Council typically considers changes to its halibut Catch Sharing Plan, it will also make management recommendations for the 2020 directed commercial halibut fishery trip limits and fishing periods. These meetings will provide an opportunity for public, agency, and advisory body comment. The Groundfish Advisory Subpanel meetings held in conjunction with the September and November Council meetings will also provide an opportunity for public comment on this issue. As always, public comment will be accepted through the Council’s e-portal (pfmc.pcouncil.org) before the meetings, the statement said.

The September meeting will be held September 11-18 at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho. The November meeting will be held November 13-20 at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, California.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold public meetings August 5-8 to discuss fishing periods and trip limits for the 2020 directed commercial halibut fishery. Meeting dates and locations will be posted online at http://tinyurl.com/y58ccqn3; information is also available at (541) 867-4741.

Currently, the Departments of Fish and Wildlife for Washington and California do not have public meetings scheduled to discuss the non-Indian commercial directed halibut fishery season structure for 2020.

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

Oregon lawmakers propose bill providing millions in funding for climate change research

April 15, 2019 — Oregon state lawmakers are proposing a bill which would provide nearly USD 2 million (EUR 1.7 million) to study and respond to the effects of rising ocean temperatures, low oxygen levels, and ocean acidification, according to a report in the Statesman Journal last week.

Thirty percent of man-made carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, which causes the water to become more acidic, the report said. The change in ocean pH levels has made it difficult for animals like crabs, oysters, and shrimp to make their shells, which could be a blow to the state’s shellfish industry.

Senate Bill 260 would provide USD 1.9 million (EUR 1.68 million) from the state’s general fund to respond to the problems caused by climate change.

If the bill passes, the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife would receive USD 470,000 (EUR 415,799) to map and assess estuaries – most existing research on acidification and hypoxia (low oxygen levels) has been done offshore.

Oregon State University would receive USD 370,000 (EUR 327,347) to conduct projects concerning shellfish breeding and ocean sampling and monitoring.

The Oregon Ocean Science Trust would receive the lion’s share of the funding, USD 1.06 million (EUR 937,727), which would be used for seven different projects, including modeling of aquatic vegetation, acidification and hypoxia monitoring, and a communications plan.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biologists: Killing hungry sea lions saving imperiled fish

April 5, 2019 — A plan to kill California sea lions to save an endangered run of fish on a river that cuts through Portland, Oregon, appears to be working just months after wildlife officials began euthanizing the giant marine mammals, biologists said Thursday.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began killing the sea lions in January after getting permission from federal authorities late last year. They have killed 16 so far, including three on Wednesday, said department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy.

In the same period, 2,400 steelhead fish have reached the upper Willamette River and its tributaries to spawn this spring — the most in three years and double last year’s tally, the agency said.

Less than 30 years ago, the number of steelhead making that journey was at least 15,000 a year but pollution and the construction of dams on key rivers reduced that number dramatically.

Sea lions have been eating an additional 25% of all returning steelhead at that spot in the Willamette River south of Portland, said Shaun Clements, ODFW’s senior policy analyst.

“We’ve definitely been able to reduce predation this year and provide some relief to the fish,” he said. “We’re saving considerable numbers of them.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

Killing Sea Lions to Save Salmon

January 31, 2019 — The following is excerpted from a story published today by The Atlantic:

Let us first establish that sea lions are supposed to live in the sea.

Since the 1990s, however, male sea lions—a handful at first, now dozens—have been captivated by the attractions of the Willamette River. They travel all the way from Southern California to Oregon and then swim up 100 miles of river to arrive at an expansive waterfall, the largest in the region. Here, salmon returning to spawn have to make an exhausting journey up the fish ladders of the Willamette Falls. And here, the sea lions have found a veritable feast.

“[They’re kind of sitting ducks,” the wildlife biologist Sheanna Steingass told me, describing the salmon. She paused to consider the metaphor. “Or sitting fish.” Every sea lion eats three to five fish a day.

In another world, this could just be a story about the intelligence of sea lions and their adaptability to river life. But in this world—where salmon populations throughout North America have plummeted, and where the winter steelhead run at Willamette Falls has fallen from 25,000 fish in the 1970s to just hundreds in 2018—it’s a dire story for the fish. After spending years trying and failing to deter the sea lions by nonlethal means, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, where Steingass leads the marine-mammal program, started “lethal removal” of sea lions in December. As of mid-January, they have trapped and euthanized five sea lions at Willamette Falls.

Killing animals to save other animals is always controversial. Animal-rights groups like the Humane Society of the United States denounced the sea-lion killings, calling them a distraction from the salmon’s real problems. And it’s true that a long chain of human actions—overfishing, destruction of salmon habitats, dams blocking their migration, hatchery mistakes—have led to what everyone can admit is this nonoptimal situation.

“In a perfect world, in an unaltered world, this wasn’t a problem, because historically there were 16 million salmon in the Columbia River,” says Doug Hatch, a senior fisheries scientist at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The sea lion’s appetites would have barely made a dent. It’s only because humans have so unbalanced the natural world that as drastic an action as culling sea lions could appear to be the fix.

Read the full story at The Atlantic